14 March 2007, No. 09/2007

Young professionals on major tour

The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation's Federal Chancellor Scholars are starting their study tour of Germany in Dresden on 18 March

Every year, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation grants up to ten Federal Chancellor Scholarships to young professionals under the age of 35 from the United States, the Russian Federation and, since last year, China, too. The Federal Chancellor Scholarship Programme was initiated by former Federal Chancellor Kohl and originally addressed leaders from the USA. In 2002, the programme was extended at the suggestion of Federal Chancellor Schröder to embrace the Russian Federation and last year, by Federal Chancellor Merkel, to China.

During a 12-month visit to Germany, the scholars from the most diverse disciplines have an opportunity to carry out projects of their own in order to promote their career development and gain comprehensive insights into politics, economics, academia and society in their host country. 

The Federal Chancellor Scholars are selected and sponsored on the basis of their potential for becoming decision-makers in politics and society. Thus, the programme for their 14-day study tour includes both sightseeing at historical and cultural sites and visits to environmental organisations, companies, the Federal Constitutional Court, the European Commission and NATO. 

The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation is not only dedicated to academic excellence but to international dialogue, too. The scholars' tours are often the beginning of enduring contacts between scholars from the most diverse cultural backgrounds. This year, for the first time, a group of Federal Chancellor Scholars composed of three different nationalities will make its way through Germany as far as Brussels.

The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation 

The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation annually enables more than 1800 researchers from all over the world to spend time researching in Germany. The Foundation maintains a network of some 23,000 Humboldtians from all disciplines in 130 countries worldwide - including 40 Nobel Prize winners.