Placement Report
Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy
of the Federal Republic of Germany
Severin Altmeyer
RUG Placement Supervisor: Bastian Aardema Student Number: s3632512
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Content
1 Introduction ... 1
2 Orientation and Application Process ... 1
3 Expectations and Preparation ... 2
4 Placement providing Institution ... 2
5 Tasks and Activities ... 4
5.1 Introductory Remarks and the COVID-19 Pandemic ... 4
5.2 Preparation of the Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue ... 5
5.3 Communication Programme on German Energy Policy ... 6
5.4 Preparation of Meetings, Speeches and Conferences ... 6
5.5 Other Work ... 8
6 Reflection on Activities, Performance and Expectations ... 9
7 Link to Master Programme and Career Outlook ... 11
8 Living Conditions in Berlin ... 12
9 Advise for future Students ... 12
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1 Introduction
I conducted my placement from 2nd of January 2020 until 31st of March 2020 at the German
Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) in the divisions responsible for international energy cooperation. This report aims to describe the placement process as a whole starting from first thoughts on possible placements until completion. A particular focus is set on reflection of the activities and the respective learning outcomes.
Following the introduction, section 2 and 3 start with a description of the preparatory time before the placement including my motivations to apply for the BMWi as well as the individual steps of the application process and personal preparations to put myself in the best starting position. Section 4 provides a brief overview of the BMWi as the placement providing institution. Section 5 continues with a report of tasks and activities conducted during the placement. It is important to note that my work at the BMWi was classified as ‘for official use only’ (German: “Nur für den Dienstgebrauch”) which restricts my possibilities for a detailed description of all activities. This report was sent to my former colleagues of the BMWi for approval before submission.
Section 6 reflects on conducted activities and describes difficulties experienced during the process. Furthermore, the section shows skills developed during the placement and solutions found to tackle challenges. The following Section 7 links my internship to the Master programme, in particular attended seminars and my master thesis. Section 8 briefly describes living conditions in Berlin and section 9 provides tips for students considering internship opportunities at the BMWi. Section 10 concludes.
2 Orientation and Application Process
I specialised in energy policy and economics during the master programme with prior knowledge from my bachelor programme in economics, attending the seminar ‘Energy Security’ and writing my master thesis about an energy related topic. Thus, I intended to conduct an energy policy related placement from the very start. The BMWi was on top of my list and the first institution to submit my application to, as this had to be done 6 to 9 months before the potential start of the internship. I also submitted a few other applications mostly
2 to private or government related think tanks and institutes. I got a accepted at the BMWi roughly six or seven weeks after sending in my application.
The application process itself was straightforward. All commonly known documents of a regular application had to be submitted plus filling out a special sheet of information, where it was also required to indicate which divisions I would prefer to work. There was no interview necessary and I was informed right away by the division for educational affairs at the above mentioned time that I was accepted to conduct my placement at the division for international energy cooperation. A response to confirm the placement had to be sent back within 5 working days to guarantee the placement position. The correspondence with the responsible division for educational affairs was straightforward and I received responses to my emails quickly.
3 Expectations and Preparation
My expectations about the placement were in some ways very high, but I surely had a lot of respect for the work at the BMWi. I felt a lot of uncertainty what it would be like to work for a high-level governmental institution. I friend who once conducted an internship at the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety was not charged to capacity most of the time, as she was not well integrated into the team. Her work was limited to creating presentations with MS Power Point and simple ad hoc functions. Thus, I was a bit worried about having a similar experience being unchallenged. On the other hand, I was very excited about the placement as I was very enthusiastic about the field of international energy and the acceptance in my preferred division.
My individual preparation for the internship focused on getting up to date with German national energy policy and the status of current affairs. Throughout the master programme, my work was mostly focused on EU and international energy policy, which also provides the framework for national energy policy. This background knowledge helped me a lot, but updating my in depth knowledge on the German energy system proved to be a good choice.
4 Placement providing Institution
The BMWi is a cabinet-level ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany responsible for economic affairs, European policy as well as energy policy. A distinctive feature of the BMWi
3 is its function as the main Ministry responsible for European policy, usually in close coordination with the Federal Foreign Office (~ Ministry for Foreign Affairs). Following a restructuring of the responsibilities for energy affairs the former Federal Ministry for Economics and Technology became the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy in 2013, concentrating energy issues in a one ministry. The BMWi has around 1500 employees and is headquartered in Berlin with a second office located in Bonn. The BMWi is structured into ten departments which themselves consist of a varying number of sub-departments. The sub departments then consist of the individual divisions. There are two departments responsible for energy policy. Each of those departments are headed by a director general. Between the rank of Federal Minister and the departments are State Secretaries, which correspond to the rank of a permanent secretary (UK) or vice minister in other countries, but is not to be confused with a Secretary of State (~Minister for Foreign Affairs) as e.g. in the USA. The BMWi has three State Secretaries who are civil servants., i.e. they are not ‘politicians’, but have either been serving as a civil servant for most of their career or come from an industry background by appointment of the Federal Minister. In addition, there are three Parliamentarian State Secretaries, meaning they are Members of Germany’s federal parliament, the Bundestag. The Bundestag internationally corresponds to a ‘Lower House’ elected directly by the voters with Germany being a bicameral parliamentary system. Their purpose is to improve communication between the parliament and the Federal Government. Each State Secretary is responsible for a specific policy area. Thus, there was one State Secretary responsible for both energy departments as well as a Parliamentarian State Secretary.
All energy related divisions are located in the headquarters in Berlin. At the time of my application there was a single large division for international energy cooperation. Before the start of the placement, this division was split up into two individual divisions. The first one focuses on the principal guidelines of Germany’s international energy cooperation and multilateral energy cooperation. The division mainly worked within multilateral frameworks and international energy organisations like the International Energy Agency (IEA), the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and energy related issues within the G20 and G7 formats, among others. The second division is responsible for bilateral energy cooperation, i.e. cooperation with individual countries and its respective governments outside the EU. Central instrument of this division are the bilateral government to government energy
4 partnerships. Despite the formal separation of the two divisions, there was close coordination and interaction due to the overlap of topics, common history and shared responsibilities. This coordination included common projects. In addition, there is an extra division responsible for EU energy coordination, which I communicated with on a few occasions. Although I was officially assigned to work for the multilateral division, I worked for both, the multilateral and bilateral division, equally.
5 Tasks and Activities
5.1 Introductory Remarks and the COVID-19 Pandemic
Throughout the placement I conducted a variety of tasks which were diverse in their nature, topic and time frame. The tasks quickly grew in numbers and also became more demanding over time. Task types ranged from ad hoc functions to long term projects lasting over the entire length of the placement. There were two long term projects which stretched over the three months period. Firstly, a supporting role in the preparation for the Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue which was scheduled to take place on the 24th and 25hth of March, but
was cancelled due to the Corona Virus pandemic. Secondly, a permanent supporting role in the management of a communication programme providing insights into German energy transition strategy, commonly known as Energiewende. A central area of my work was the preparation of meetings, conferences, speeches and other conversational formats. Furthermore, I conducted a lot of in-house communication and information management as well as research on various topics.
The Coronavirus pandemic of 2019 and 2020 affected my placement particularly towards the end. As I worked for the departments for international energy cooperation and we prepared a large international conference with over 2000 participants from around the world, we followed the course of the pandemic from the very start. As all large events, the Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue was cancelled due to the pandemic. All international conferences and planned trips of my colleagues were cancelled as well. Thus, in the second half of March for the last two weeks of my placement my tasks became more laborious due to most staff and myself had to work from home office. As I did not have an authorised official laptop to take home, my possibilities of working from home were limited. I mainly did research on various topics using my university account and reviewed non-confidential publications, usually communicating by e-mail.
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5.2 Preparation of the Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue
The Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue (BETD) is an annual conference on the global energy transition established in 2015. The forum brings together key stakeholders of the energy industry including high-level policymakers, industry, academia and civil society. At least 50 international ministers were expected. The event is officially hosted by the German Federal Government with the BMWi and the Federal Foreign Office acting as the executing ministries. The event is organised by the German Renewable Energy Federation (BEE), the German Solar Association (BSW-Solar), the German Energy Agency (Dena) and a consulting firm in cooperation with the above mentioned ministries. Both divisions responsible for international energy cooperation worked together in organising the event.
Each week there was a group meeting of the organisers and the responsible ministries. By the time I joined the organisational process, the structure of the event already had been developed and the meeting primarily focused on distributing confirmed speakers to speaking panels as well as gaining additional speakers. Each speaking panel addressed a topic of international energy. Among the speakers would have been academics, industry representatives, NGO representatives and government officials. A speaker was chosen and assigned to a panel based on his or her expertise (academics), sector (industry/NGO) or country of origin (ministers or other government officials). Additionally, the meetings were used to discuss all sorts of issues and challenges. For the discussions a very good knowledge of the energy world as a whole was required. Knowledge of countries and their specific energy systems were of upmost importance to improve the quality of speaking panels. A good knowledge of the energy industry and academia was a necessity to identify and approach key stakeholders for the panels.
I conducted a variety of roles related to the BETD over the course of my placement. Primarily, I supported the team with the management of participants, first and foremost documenting the attending international ministers. As there was a special programme of events and potential meetings for the attending ministers, record keeping included following up on a variety of events or meetings for the ministers to attend. Other divisions needed to be informed about recent developments if it touched their field of work. After each weekly meeting or the division meeting, there were usually several tasks to follow up on afterwards.
6 This included communication with involved persons, small research tasks or organisational matters in writing or by phone.
As the BETD was cancelled due to the Corona-Virus epidemic, a large share of the work just before the conference was cancelled as well. On the days of the conference, it would have been my task to manage and be present at the booth of the Federal Government to answer questions by the international audience on German national energy policy as well as protocolling the discussions and contributions on various panels.
5.3 Communication Programme on German Energy Policy
From the very start of the placement I supported colleagues managing a communication programme which aims to inform international audience and political partners on German national energy policy, projects and initiatives. For this purpose the BMWi worked with external service companies to develop a variety of media solutions, which could be universally used on a variety of occasions. Media solutions included information sheets, presentations, newsletters and reports. My task was to review those solutions and eventually distribute the documents to divisions of the required expertise and ask for a review. This work was done on a daily basis, sometimes taking longer or shorter depending on the day. It was the goal to complete a number of information sheets for the BETD to offer information for the international audience attending the conference. From time to time I attended a meeting to inform colleagues as well as external service providers on recent developments and the status of current works.
5.4 Preparation of Meetings, Speeches and Conferences
A typical task was the preparation of a meeting, a conference or speaking contribution. This ranged from a short preparation for a colleague who would just need a brief overview of an issue or a document to preparing an entire international conference where the German delegation would participate in several panels and workshops with speaking contributions. In the following I give an overview on the preparation of a G20 work stream preparation conference to provide an example about the steps required to be taken. The annual G20 conferences attended by heads of government, presidents or ministers are prepared by smaller conferences of the individual work streams. My division responsible for multilateral energy cooperation attended the work stream for international energy policy. Before the
7 conference, the country holding Presidency of this year’s G20 summit sent in preparatory material informing the visiting delegations about event schedule and addressed topics. The events stretched over multiple days. Each workshop or panel addressed a current topic of energy issues and required individual preparation
The preparation required the use of a template providing information on the individual event, attending persons and the name of the preparation`s authors. The first section of such a paper presents the topic and explains expected problems. This also entails the stance of the German government towards this issue as well as positions of opposing countries and their respective counter arguments which are likely to be put forward. The second part of the document would provide the speaker with bullet points for possible speaking contributions. This is not a fully formulated speech, but rather a guideline to the arguments formulated precisely in English. This method of preparation enables the delegate to respond dynamically to the discussion. The information had to be gathered and put into good form to serve the purpose of the conference. For some topics, other specialised division had to be contacted and asked for an up-to-date. For example, for the preparation of a discussion on carbon capture and storage technologies, it was required to get in touch with the division specialised in this particular topic and ask for the most recent state of affairs. This information had then to be processed, expanded with our own material and put into appropriate form.
A conference like the G20 work stream meeting usually stretches over multiple days with many events to attend. Therefore, an entire folder with the preparations of the individual events is prepared. Furthermore, this folder contains the preparatory material, programme schedules, background information on energy policy issues and information on logistics (e.g. flights and hotels).
Throughout my placement I prepared many different formats following this structure and method. While the G20 preparation was largest by its extent, I prepared other small conferences, several smaller preparations for colleagues of my division and also a preparation for the director general of my department. Another interesting work was the writing of a speech for a senior official of the BMWi which would have been held at the BETD.
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5.5 Other Work
Over the course of the placement, I conducted a great number different roles and many ad hoc tasks. The scale of these tasks varied to a large extent ranging from ad hoc tasks taking just around half an hour to larger single projects which cannot be categorised in the previous sub sections. For many tasks I took over in-house coordination to get reviews and comments from other divisions on various topics. Often I was asked to read material, provide an evaluation.
One of the most interesting tasks of my placement was my work on international hydrogen strategy. Hydrogen is regarded as a significant fuel to decarbonise industry and store energy over longer periods of time to balance volatile renewable energy systems. It is expected that hydrogen may not be produced solely domestically, but also by international trading partners to meet demands. As Germany’s National Hydrogen Strategy is not passed by the government and work on the international dimension continues, details cannot be issued because they are classified. In general I worked on the development of opportunities for international cooperation on hydrogen production and trade.
Other common activities included research on various topics, organisations and current issues. A sample for an activity would be a research on an organisation like a non-governmental organisation (NGO). On several occasions I had to find out basic information like the agenda, members, supports, outreach and impact of the organisation. Sometimes my work would also include a recommendation if it is target-aimed to commence cooperation with the respective organisation. On several occasion I was asked to analyse and evaluate publications and summarise for a quick review. This could be in preparation of a presentation by the authors at the ministry or in preparation for meetings of various purposes. Sometimes it was required to write summaries also to filter information on individual aspects of the paper.
Moreover, I was invited to attend meetings to provide me with insights on the nature of working at the BMWi. These included meetings of divisions of different expertises of the BMWi, meetings with officials of other ministries or video conferences with international partners.
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6 Reflection on Activities, Performance and Expectations
The nature of the work at the ministry was naturally different than pure academic work conducted in my master and particularly my master thesis. Nevertheless, the knowledge and skills acquired in my master gave me a good base knowledge. First and foremost, my analytical skills acquired in the programme were transferable to the work at the BMWi and definitely helped me to work to a high standard in a very short period of time. Furthermore I made great progress in multitasking, i.e. managing several activities at the same time and under time pressure.
The number of activities in the very beginning were low, but eventually grew quickly. As time progressed I had to follow up on multiple tasks at the same time, which required even better self-organisation than in my master programme. As elaborated in the previous chapter, I conducted tasks which required some work every day over the entire course of the placement. These had to be arranged with other current projects and ad hoc tasks. Thus, it became more and more challenging over time to stick to deadlines and not forget to fulfil my responsibilities with appropriate commitment to each task. On a busy day, I would need to work on my BETD responsibilities, the communication programme while preparing another project. Additionally, it happened frequently, that a colleague called me to prepare some work which would need to be completed on the same day within 1 or 2 hours. These situations were very challenging in particular in the beginning. After the first weeks I noticed, that I was not quick enough on some activities and some tasks were delayed. In consequence of which I started to make a weekly plan with deadlines and improved the structure of my work. Developing a calendar with notes on deadlines, challenges other significant information on any task, regardless of its overall importance helped a lot to fulfil my tasks. I also discussed these issues with my colleagues and benefited from their experience.
As I was working for two divisions, there was plenty of work for me to do. I was very happy being busy as I enjoyed my work and got along with my team very well. Over the course of the placement, the number of colleagues who would assign tasks to me grew and so did my tasks. A young colleague warned me about being too ambitious and at some point I realised I had accepted too many tasks and had problems following up on some of them. In consequence which I stopped accepting new tasks for a few days and took some time to catch up on my work. This as well was an important lesson. I should have communicated earlier that my tasks
10 became too many to still work up to the highest standard. This dynamic style of working was different to studying at the university. During the first semester of the master programme there were three courses to attend, and the schedule and all deadlines were known long before. The work at the ministry was much more dynamic, unforeseeable and it was required to respond to a particular situation much more flexible than one is used to from university. Prioritising tasks is a key skill for this.
The nature of writing was also quite different than in academia. Academia requires particular formalities when writing papers, e.g. the elaboration on theory and methods. Theory has not a lot of space in the everyday work of the ministry. Papers like the meeting preparations had to be as short and as precise as possible. Long introductions and lengthy and figurative writing style are misplaced. A necessary skill is writing for a specific audience from the perspective of someone else, i.e. a representative of the German government. It is important to keep in mind that one does not necessarily argues one’s own position or political view, but act as a delegate of a country. Furthermore, the speaking points for meeting and conference preparations also needed to fit the audience. It is required to adjust speaking points and the structure of the argument to the conversational partner and its country of origin. For the case of energy policy, it is important to know the energy system of the country and its significance for economy and society. The argument needs to fit the audience to bring the position across and maximise results.
Another area where I definitely improved was communication skills. I generally got more practice in all sorts of communication. My abilities to express myself definitely improved, but I also noticed that I still need to work on this. In particular, in discussions with multiple conversational partners I am sometimes too quiet. Generally, I got more fluent in expressing myself professionally and reacting eloquently to unexpected situations.
My expectations towards the placement were definitely exceeded. I was very happy as I was very busy throughout the placement apart from the restrictions towards the end due to the coronavirus pandemic. I got challenging tasks and was trusted with interesting work which I am thankful for. My team was very friendly and the working atmosphere was always comfortable and productive. I probably enjoyed the work in the field of energy and international relations even more in practice, as I had the feeling of contributing effectively
11 with the knowledge I had gathered. I enjoyed meeting so many different people with different backgrounds.
7 Link to Master Programme and Career Outlook
As already briefly mentioned in the previous section, I could use various skills developed and knowledge acquired in my master in my placement. Through my seminar energy security and my master thesis I acquired a wealth of knowledge of the international energy system which I could put to good use in the ministry. Throughout my master thesis, particularly in the beginning, I read a vast amount of material on energy which eventually did not necessarily end up in the thesis itself, but helped to build background knowledge on a broad range of current energy issues. Thus, topic wise there was a strong connection between the master programme and my placement. Although the master was in parts very focused on theory, which was the opposite in the placement at the ministry. I still believe that a background in theory helped better to understand and think in international structures which was a necessity for both, the master and the placement. The IR programme generally focuses on interdisciplinary. Considering all possible aspects and effects of a decisions, is key to political thinking. Thus, I think the analytical skills developed in the master really helped me during my placement and will do so in the future
On my introduction day colleagues asked me about my academic background as well as my thesis and papers. My background was very well received by the team and I personally felt I could participate actively during discussions from the very start as I already knew current international issues, the important international organisations and, through self-study, the energy system of Germany. I think this was a reason why I was integrated into the team quite quickly.
My placement at the BMWi definitely improved my position on the job market for future opportunities. Though, a direct transfer is not possible as I have to formally apply at the BMWi and pass through the application process. With a letter of recommendation by the ministry I am surely in an advantageous position on the job market of the energy industry. Additionally, I picked up many names of companies, governmental institutions and think tanks which are not well known outside the industry, but offer interesting job opportunities for the future.
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8 Living Conditions in Berlin
As Germany is my home country and I have been to Berlin many times before, living conditions were neither unknown nor an issue to me. I shared a flat with a fellow student and friend from the master programme who conducted his placement at the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development at the same period of time. We both faced the same situation and, thus, it was nice to share experiences and do activities together on weekday nights or the weekend. As we were two persons, we had better opportunities to find an affordable place in Berlin. Rental prices have risen a lot in the past years in Berlin, but we eventually found our place quite quickly. Our rent was not cheap, but reasonable considering the circumstances. We lived in calm neighbourhood in Berlin-Charlottenburg. My commute lasted just for half an hour which is a short commute in Berlin.
9 Advise for future Students
First and foremost, students who would like to apply for a placement at the BMWi need to do so as early as possible. It is required to send in the application 6 to 9 months before the start of the internship. As it was not necessary to have an interview, I assume that the positions are evaluated based on a student’s CV, study content and ‘first come first serve’. As my team reacted positively to my specialised background in energy, I would recommend to apply for specific divisions based on one’s personal expertise and background. The application letter should specify why one can contribute to the work of the chosen divisions. It is equally important to familiarise with the current affairs and topics. I prepared myself by expanding my knowledge on the German energy system and searching the website of the BMWi. Also browsing BMWi newsletters can give hints on current projects. A must do is to search the BMWi website for recent publications related to topics of interest.
Furthermore, it is important to proactively approach colleagues to ask for tasks in the beginning. I was integrated into the team very quickly and soon were busy also working long hours. But other interns often were bored as they only received small ad hoc tasks from time to time. This also may depend on the individual team, but it is important to show what you can do and that you can actively support the team with your skills and commitment.
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10 Conclusion
My placement at the BMWi was a great experience which exceeded my expectations. I helped me to develop many skills and abilities. Before international relations seemed very abstract and I could not imagine what it would be like to work for the government. Through this placement, this became tangible and I can definitely imagine myself to pursue a career in this field. The placement set up me well for the time ahead as I got an extensive overview of the energy industry and its various actors.
I certainly developed many skills including communication, writing, multitasking and self-management. The placement also helped me in identifying my weaknesses and offered an opportunity for self-reflection. I support the idea of an obligatory placement towards the end of the master as it is crucial to put the acquired knowledge and skills of the master into practice.
