The Alfa Fellowship program, which provides internships for US and UK specialists in Russia, was started in April 2004 and is one of the Bank’s initiatives aimed at promoting and reinforcing social and cultural relations between Russia, the US and the UK. The program seeks qualified professional in the fields of business, economics, journalism, law, and public policy, attracting graduates from universities such as Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, George Town University, Boston University and other high ranked international universities. The Program provides participants with the opportunity to undergo training at private companies, state and public institutions in Russia.
We strongly believe that the Alfa Fellowship program will assist a new generation of specialists to adapt to the realities of the new Russia. The program is coordinated by an Advisory Board headed by Petr Aven, President of Alfa-Bank.
The program participants spend 9 months in Russia: they study the Russian language with the leading educational institutions of Moscow, attend workshops and take internships in both commercial and public organizations, in particular, State University The Higher School of Economics, the Expert Institute at the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, the Carnegie Endowment, Echo Moskvy radio station, Expert magazine, Alfa Capital, TNK-BP, INDEM Foundation, and others. The most interesting component of the program are tours to Russia’s regions and other CIS countries. This allows the fellows to experience the uniqueness of Russia’s cultural, historical, political and economical environment. The training also involves meeting with members of the Russian Government, the State Duma, heads of regional administrations, editor- in — chief of the leading media publications, cultural figures, executives from Alfa Group Consortium and leading Russian businessmen.
In the USA, the Alfa Fellowship program is coordinated by CDS International, Inc., which is also involved in selecting the candidates. On the Russian side, the program is overseen by the Centre for International Fellowships.
