One of the best programs for journalists to study in Germany is the traineeship offered by Deutsche Welle (DW). Seminars, workshops, and quick courses with DW editorial offices are all part of this curriculum. Candidates for this traineeship program should have prior experience in journalism or be enthusiastic in moving from a career in law, economics, the sciences, or technology/IT to journalism in order to get more knowledge of journalism concepts and to hone their creative ideas.
The 18-month Deutsche Welle apprenticeship program takes you on a global adventure. You will learn a great deal about scientific and business matters throughout this period, in addition to news, sports, and cultural themes. Depending on your level of language ability, you will assist DW’s broadcast language departments whether you speak Chinese, Farsi, Spanish, or any other language. As an early member of the editorial teams, you will write and create reports, conduct interviews, oversee social media accounts, and assist in creating podcasts for radio and television. The DW training program includes seminars that will advance your professional development and is intended to be practical and hands-on.
TV moderation, multimedia storytelling, data journalism, social media, and virtual reality are just a few of the skills that are covered in the program in addition to in-person sessions at the DW editorial headquarters and our correspondent bureaux in Washington and Brussels. In addition to participating in long-term, worldwide creative projects, DW trainees have previously won the Grimme Prize and the CNN Journalism Award. The trainees often stay on staff at DW after completing their traineeship.
Deadline: November 27, 2023 (12 p.m UTC +1)
Program date: January 2025
Ending date: June 2026
Duration: 18 Months
Location: Bonn and Berlin, Germany
application portal: DW e-recruitment portal (linked below)
Key topics of Traineeship:
- – Media and Information Literacy (MIL)
- – Media Viability
- – Media and Journalism Education
- – Innovation for Dialogue
- – Digital Rights
Program benefits:
DW journalism traineeship
• 18 months
• trainee salary
• international broadcaster in 32 languages
• crossmedia: TV, online and radio
• six months of seminars
• internships in Berlin and Bonn
• placements with DW foreign bureaus
• international multimedia projects
• well-known media trainers
- Improve your skills in TV, radio, or any other online format productions from basic ideas to professional production.
- Job opportunity with DW.
Internship period benefits and expenses:
– Trainees cover their living expenses in Bonn and Berlin with a monthly salary.
– Initial salary: 1,896 euros per month.
– After six months: Salary increases to 2,074 euros per month.
– Final six months: Salary further increases to 2,173 euros per month.
– For foreign bureau internships (Brussels or Washington): Up to 850 euros per month for accommodation.
– DW covers all work-related travel expenses.
Program:
The traineeship includes:
- six months of theory and practice-oriented seminar modules in German and English
- nine months of placements with various DW editorial departments in Bonn, Berlin and one of our foreign bureaus
- a one-month internship elective
Requirements:
- Applicants must hold a university degree. College or equivalent in technology or IT, Science, Politics, Economics or Law.
- Must have initial experience in journalism concepts or be passionate to switch in journalism from other fields mentioned above
- Be able to work under deadlines independently or as a member of a team.
- Must be one of the DW’s native language speakers and have excellent knowledge of English (C1/C2) or German B1/B2)
- There is no age limit; everyone can apply.
- The DW program languages are the following languages: Albanian, Amharic, Arabic, Bengali, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Chinese, Croatian, Dari, English, French, German, Greek, Hausa, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Kiswahili, Macedonian, Pashto, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Tamil, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu.
Required documents:
- Updated Curriculum Vitae.
- Cover letter
- Photo
- Other support documents
- Work sample documents
- Passport or ID card or work permit.
Application Process:
there are three-stage process for DW’s bilingual (German-English) journalism traineeship selection:
– Initial round: Candidates submit online applications with work samples via the online system.
– Work samples must be in one of the DW program languages; multiple languages accepted based on language skills.
– No certified translation needed for work samples.
– Deadline adherence is crucial; applications sent by mail, email, or social media are not accepted.
– Second round: 50-60 selected candidates invited to an online assessment center in mid-May.
– Assessment includes tasks assessing creativity, team spirit, and language skills.
– Tasks include a general knowledge test, writing test, and camera test.
– DW editors, native speakers, evaluate candidates’ language proficiency.
– Approximately 20 candidates proceed to the final round, notified of their selection.
– Final round: Candidates meet with DW’s directors, chief editors, and top journalists for a panel interview to showcase their talents.
For more details, please visit the DW Traineeship Website
