Applications are under review by project manager Patrick Benning (left) and head of DW-AKADEMIE's Asia division Dr. Andrea Rübenacker

The call for applications to the fellowship was launched online. The reaction to it by far exceeded all expectations. “We were extremely impressed by the high number of talented and qualified journalists applying,” says project manager Sabina Casagrande who spent two weeks evaluating the applications together with her colleague Patrick Benning. Both project managers admit they would have loved to invite more journalists to participate. “It was heartbreaking to have to reject so many promising candidates,” they say. However, six fellows between the ages of 25 – 35 will be heading to Germany in September for one-and-a-half months of journalistic and intercultural training. They will also be putting together a multimedia project on the topic of sustainability. Here’s a quick peek at the participants:

Ashish K Mishra

Ashish K Mishra works for Forbes India in Mumbai as their principal correspondent. His regular beats are the automobile industry and renewable energy sector – areas in which Germany demonstrates great expertise. For Ashish, being a journalist in a globalized world also requires insight into the German way of thinking. “I want to build empathy and understanding of a culture different from mine so I can do a better job,” he says.

Ruchika Chitravanshi

Ruchika Chitravanshi mainly focuses on tourism, as well as shipping & ports in her work as senior correspondent for the Business Standard in New Delhi. She aims to depict the cost of India’s phenomenal economic growth in her reporting, both on the environment and on the people. Ruchika is excited to learn more about multimedia reporting during the fellowship. “As the landscape of journalism shifts and changes, it is imperative for me to be able to adapt to the interplay of news and technology,” she says.

Idrees Lone

Idrees Lone is currently freelancing and has covered conflict-related issues for both broadcast and print media (The Asian Age, NewsX, BBC) for several years from Srinagar. Living in a tense region such as Jammu and Kashmir, Idrees can call a long list of national stories his own, but would like to use the fellowship to gain a broader perspective. “This project will give impetus to my interest in global issues,” he says.

Charu Kartikeya

Charu Kartikeya is busy both behind and in front of the camera at India’s parliamentary channel Lok Sabha TV in New Delhi. “Indian journalists at this point in time are craving to see and report on what the ground situation in Germany is like,” he says. As a journalist and anchor reporting on policy making issues about poverty, climate change and energy-related issues, Charu is looking forward to getting a first-hand view of Germany.

Sarah Abraham

Sarah Abraham is a senior associate editor for You & I in Hyderabad. In addition to her weekly column on football, Sarah reports on social issues for the magazine. She says that Germany is an unknown entity for most Indians. “At Deutsche Welle, I’ll get insight into the issues that need to be addressed effectively by Indian media – and see how it can be done,” she says.

Anjilee Istwal

Anjilee Istwal is a senior special correspondent for NDTV in New Delhi. She covers issues ranging from politics to health and environment. Anjilee says she is looking forward to examining the strong cultural and economic ties between India and Germany. “It will be interesting to study how the two countries can mutually benefit each other in every possible field,” she says.