How should I prepare for my return to my home country? What do my potential employers expect from me? Will I find a job where my new skills will be useful? DAAD alumni and scholarship holders discussed these questions during a workshop in Vietnam.
Science meets practice: Alumni, scholarship holders and employers getting to know each other in Hanoi
Photo: DAAD Hanoi
Under the title “Science meets Practice,” Vietnamese alumni of the Development-Related Postgraduate Programmes (EPOS) and the Public Policy-Good Governance programme (PPGG) talked about their experiences and about the challenge of returning to the workforce. The specialist backgrounds of the participants mirrored the diversity of EPOS courses of study: experts in environmental, energy, and water issues, in international animal health, forest, and agriculture management, as well as political science, came together in May 2014 at the DAAD office in Hanoi. Also present were two future EPOS scholarship holders, who will soon begin studies in Heidelberg (International Health) and Hanover (International Horticulture).
Getting to know the employers
The workshop was led by the staff of the DAAD office in Hanoi, together with representatives of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). A highlight for the participants was the introduction of the current GIZ program in Vietnam, with its focus on the environment, energy, and vocational education. In these areas,Vietnamese experts will be more and more in demand, especially those that have not only specialist knowledge, but also good management skills and international experience, ideally in Germany – perfect for DAAD alumni. The DAAD and GIZ are planning to create a new platform where graduates and future scholarship recipients of the DAAD-sponsored Master’s programmes can exchange ideas and work together with employees of the German development institutions.
A representative from the GIZ introducing the participants to the current GIZ programme in Vietnam
Photo: DAAD Hanoi
To be continued…
The DAAD and GIZ are already planning a continuation of the workshop series this autumn. “Based on the events from earlier this year, the future scholarship holders clearly benefit from the experiences of the alumni,” said Anke Stahl, Head of the DAAD office in Hanoi. “For the autumn workshop, we especially want to attract those Vietnamese scholarship holders who are now close to finishing their studies in Germany.”
More on this topic:
Challenge: Reintegrating into the workforce was the topic of the 2014 network meeting
Blog “Back Home”: Alumni talk about their experiences of returning to their home countries
Also: Alumni from different EPOS degree programmes plan to meet for an integration workshop in Bonn, 21-22 June. Millennium Express will be reporting from there!
