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Bundestag Internship Selection Committee Holds Interviews in US
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Program: Bundestag Member Freitag speaks to guests at the dinner. |
On their first stop in the United States, the selection committee for the International Parliamentary Internship Program (IPP) came to Washington on December 7 to interview applicants at the German Embassy. The delegation, which was led by German Member of Parliament Dagmar Freitag, also included Prof. Dr. Frank Behrendt from the Technische Universität Berlin and Prosper Schücking from the Bundestag administration. They were aided by former participants from the American Bundestag Alumni Network.
The International Parliamentary Internship Program was founded in 1986. Although the program was originally open only to American graduates, now participants hail from 21 countries, including the US, France and a range of Eastern European nations. In addition to a three-month stint as an intern for a German MP - during which fellows enjoy wide-ranging access to committee hearings and party meetings - the program also provides opportunities for cultural immersion, such as university courses. The Bundestag provides housing and a monthly stipend.
MP Freitag stressed that while the program makes great demands on individual applicants - excellent command of the German language, sound knowledge of Germany’s political system and institutions and a keen awareness of German current affairs are required - it has also become a melting pot of diverse cultures and backgrounds in recent years, as all participants are housed together. While most applicants are humanities and social sciences graduates, the program also seeks to attract a greater number of applicants from the natural sciences.
| Event: State Secretary Boomgaarden, right, shares a moment with Hamburger Abendblatt correspondent Cornel Faltin at the dinner.
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Being among the most important scholarships awarded by the German Parliament today, the IPP program attracts significant numbers of both applicants and sponsors. This year applicant numbers reached three figures in the US alone, while close to 200 members of parliament lined up to secure participants as interns. The IPP has proved a real stepping stone for some careers in government and past participant include current Hungarian Minister of Justice Dr. Petrétei József.
The Bundestag actively seeks to maintain relations with former IPP participants. In the US, IPP alumni are organized through the American Bundestag Alumni Network (ABIN). The latter was represented at the interviews by Matthew Keller and Lynnea Shane, ABIN’s president and vice-president respectively.
December 13, 2005
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