Internship in Renewable Energy

I found a summer program in renewable energy which may interest some of you. It is run by CDS International and involves taking young college students from the US and sending them to work for renewable energy companies in Germany. The rationale behind this is that Germany is a few years ahead of the US in developing its alternative energy industry and that it is beneficial for US students to get experience in the more mature German industry. Of course, there are a number of drawbacks. The best part of the program is that it will find a good internship for you, but you must pay $700 to enroll. Additionally, the nature of the internship requires that you be able to speak German. There are a limited number of stipends available for a 1 month training course in German before you arrive for your internship. You must secure (aka pay for) your own housing in Germany, but you can specify receiving a paid internship. The program will guide you through getting all the necessary work papers and visas - which is probably very helpful if you cannot (yet- speak German).

You also have to pay for airfare over to Germany. Overall, this seems like a mediocre deal to me - but it might be ideal for the student who has some extra cash, wants to work in Germany and get experience in alternative energy, and who can't speak German. If you can speak German, it might be cheaper to research internship opportunities in Germany yourself.

One important qualification: you are only eligible if you are a current university student AND WILL BE NEXT YEAR AS WELL. This means no seniors (sad face).

Anyways, check it out at:
http://www.cdsintl.org/fromusa/sip.htm

Be sure to click on the link to the New Renewable Energy program.

That's all for now!