Careers

In order to prepare students for their professional life, an internship of at least six weeks is a compulsory component of the curriculum. The internship should be in one of the prospective areas of later employment. For many students, this actually becomes the stepping-stone into professional life. GSP staff will assist with information, recommendations and addresses whenever students require help.

For internships and employment, another vital source of help is the alumni network, which spans the entire globe and many fields of employment. In addition, there are the Alumni Organization of the University of Freiburg and regional GSP networks to be contacted through GSP staff. Students should make use of all these resources. Even though it is virtually impossible to remain unemployed after graduation, students should make sure to find the career that suits them best.

We compiled some examples of careers below. Feel free to also take a look at our Career Talks series, where we invite GSP alumni to present their current job and to give advice on career entry to our current students.

Track records

Christian Burgemeister, who graduated in 2004, currently works as management consultant. He was formerly located in Ludwigsburg, Germany, but since 2006 is located in Köln/Cologne. In 2005 Christian married: Fernanda from the 2002 GSP batch.

Ma Ling, a classmate of Christian Burgemeister, works in tourism planning and research at Zhongshan University in Guangzhou City, P.R.China.

Dakhina Mitra conducted empirical field research for the Mountain India Peoples Forum, funded by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), in North India. She now works for the Global Development Network, New Delhi, a Position she has held since October 2005.

Paruedee Nguitragool, on the other hand, stayed in Freiburg, where she is working for her Ph.D. in Political Science/International Relations. Paruedee holds a "Stiftung der Deutschen Wirtschaft" (German Business foundation) scholarship and is currently preparing her empirical field research in Southeast Asia on environmental issues.

Samira Bayat works as an Internal Recruitment Consultant for a small financial services recruitment agency called Paton Personnel, in Johannesburg (2006). After graduating in 2004, she first worked as a social scientific practitioner and researcher in the IOLS Research Unit of the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban.

Sandra Stengel, a member of the pioneering GSP 2002 group, was kind enough to return to Freiburg as the GSP Alumni keynote speaker for the GSP degree ceremony in 2005. She was travelling from Stuttgart, Germany, where she works in corporate and strategic planning for a multinational company: Daimler Chrysler AG, IT-Management.