How to Become the Recipient of a Scholarship from the Federal Chancellor of Germany

Andrey Yakovlev, a board member of the Russian Association of Fellows of the Federal Chancellor of Germany and Director of the HSE Institute for Industrial and Market Studies, told us about the German Chancellor Fellowship Program for young leaders which is implemented by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

The German Chancellor Fellowship Program was founded in 1991 under the patronage of Chancellor Helmut Kohl in order to strengthen partner relations with the USA. This programme was opened to Russia in 2001 after a meeting and negotiations between Gerhard Schröder and Vladimir Putin.

In 2013 the German Chancellor Fellowship Program for young leaders is expanding the geography of its members and introducing some changes to its policy on attracting candidates and on evaluation criteria.

Programme Audience

The programme targets people with leadership qualities who have serious aspirations in their professional fields. The list of requirements for programme applicants doesn’t include obligatory achievements (academic degrees or titles); it is namely the applicant’s leadership potential that is evaluated during the selection process. Unlike other Humboldt Foundation scholarship programmes, this programme is mainly for people with a background in the social sciences and the humanities.

Geographical Origin of the Participants

Since 2006 this programme has also been implemented for young leaders from China. This year, Brazil and India will join Germany, Russia, and the USA. The expansion of the programme’s geography gives its participants new opportunities in terms of establishing international professional links.

The Character of the Projects and Applications

The suggested projects can be academic, but generally the programme is aimed at supporting participants’ professional careers. That’s why the Humboldt Foundation welcomes the formulation and implementation of tasks related to developing interaction between Russia and Germany in various spheres, from business to culture and public administration.

Each of the countries participating in the programme receives 10 scholarships. In recent years, about 30-40 applications have been made from Russia annually.

Detailed information can be found on the programme website.

Information on previously realized projects supported by this programme can be found here: http://www.humboldt-foundation.de/web/buka-reports.html