After more than two decades of successful support for young professionals from the Western Balkans and Croatia to gain their first professional experience in companies in Germany, the Zoran Đinđić German Business Scholarship Program is shutting down.
The program was launched after the assassination of Serbia’s first democratically elected Prime Minister, Zoran Đinđić, in 2003, at the initiative of the German Business Committee for Eastern Europe, and under the patronage of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.
In 2007, the scholarship program was extended to other Western Balkan countries and Croatia, and thanks to it, more than 1,100 highly qualified young people from the region have had the opportunity to gain their first practical work experience in one of the leading German companies to date.
The Chairwoman of the German Business Committee for Eastern Europe, Cathrina Claas-Mühlhäuser, expressed deep regret that the program, which was called a “beacon” in the committee’s statement, will not be continued.
She pointed out that the program not only contributed to providing skilled labor in the region, but also contributed to economic development and reconciliation, and at the same time created a source of potential, highly qualified associates for many German companies.
“The scholarship program was therefore a beacon program in economic cooperation and built strong bridges between Germany and the Western Balkan countries, and not only economic ones, but also cultural and human ones,” said Claas-Mühlhäuser.
She said that there was a great desire for this successful program to continue, but that due to the expiration of public financing, it was left without a financial foundation. She thanked the former scholarship holders, the participating companies, the German Association for International Cooperation (GIZ), and the Zoran Đinđić Foundation in Belgrade.
The scholarship program enabled students from the region and recent graduates to acquire professional training lasting three to six months, and more than 260 prominent German and international companies participated in the program. In May this year, scholarships were awarded to the 22nd generation of program participants.
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Source: Danas, Photo: Paul J. Richards / AFP