25 January 2017– Philippine Ambassador Melita S. Sta. Maria-Thomeczek hosted a fellowship night which brought together around 24 graduate students and young professionals from different parts of Germany at the Ambassador’s Residence on January 21. 

The overseas Filipino students and young professionals who attended the event are currently based in Berlin, Potsdam, Bremen, Bonn, Bochum, Greifswald, Göttingen, Essen, Erfurt and Munich. 

The attendees represent a diverse background ranging from industries and academic disciplines in the sciences, social sciences, business, engineering and information technology. 

Some of the young professionals currently work as lawyers, production designers, engineers, singer-composers, start-up entrepreneurs and consultants.  The MA and PhD students are enrolled in a wide array of disciplines including Molecular Plant Physiology, Public Policy, Botany and Landscape Ecology, Global History, Agricultural Sciences and Business Administration. 

Most of the Filipino scholars were introduced to the Embassy by the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD) or the German Academic Exchange Service.  With English-language courses increasing in Germany, more Filipino students may now avail of DAAD, Helmut Schmidt Programme (Masters in Public Policy and Good Governance) and EPOS-Programme (Development-related postgraduate courses) grants for the opportunity to study at German universities. 

The developments in the Philippine educational system, particularly that of the K to 12 Education Program will now also make it easier for Filipinos to pursue further studies overseas with the recognition of their degrees from the Philippines.

During the gathering, the Embassy launched the Geschenk-Ein-Buch Project which encouraged the guests to donate Filipiniana books to their universities and local libraries.  A number of books turned over to the Embassy by participating Philippine publishers at last year´s Frankfurt Book Fair were given to the guests as part of this undertaking.  Guests were also given a link to the National Book Development Board´s (NBND) list of award-winning books that they can them request from their libraries.

The Embassy encouraged guests to submit their profiles for the Department of Foreign Affairs-Filipinos Around the World project (goo.gl/zavBnJ). The aim of the project is to gather profiles and stories of overseas Filipinos from different parts of the globe, to be published on social media platforms.

The event served as an opportunity for the guests to discuss their upcoming projects and the various means that the Embassy and their fellow students and young professionals may be able to support their initiatives. END