Press Release of 1 September 2012

Since 1965 the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) trains German young professionals in its Postgraduate Training Programme for Development Cooperation. Alumni of the Training Programme are, among others, Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Ingrid Hoven, German Executive Director at the World Bank, Bruno Wenn, Chairman of the Board of Management of DEG - Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH as well as the Member of the Board of Deutsche Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), Hans-Joachim Preuß.

On 3 September 2012 the 48^th Training course will start with 20 participants. The 20 young professionals are from different academic disciplines such as economics, political sciences, international relations, development policy, humanities and Africa studies. The cornerstone of the training programme is the 11-weeks field research in a developing or transformations country. The four country working groups of the 48^th course will carry out their field study in Indonesia, Morocco, Nepal and Ruanda / Burundi. On site the groups work in close cooperation with the local partner organisations. The research results will afterwards be published in a report.

Since the first Course almost 900 young professionals have been trained in the Postgraduate Programme. Of the 400 applicants each year around 20 highly qualified academics are selected. The Institute’s Training Programme is concentrated on courses dedicated to development-related themes and issues bound up with shaping the process of globalisation as well as with improving trainee communicative and social skills. The Programme serves to provide trainees with an opportunity to gain practical experience with what they have learned by participating in concrete consulting-oriented research projects. Once they have completed the Training Programme, the graduates find career opportunities with development organisations at home and abroad.