Internship at GFZ
We offer internships in all areas of GFZ, which include research departments as well as administration.
These internships in one of our 4 departments, the Data-, Information- and IT-Services division or Administration, will offer a first insight into a non-university research institution.
Further information on GFZ Departments here:
Your application should include an informal covering letter, which has been written by yourself. The covering letter should explain exactly why you are interested in completing your work experience at GFZ. In addition, please tell us your school year, the exact dates of when the work experience will take place and one Department or three to four Sections, one Technology Transfer Centre, IT, the library or two administrative areas in which you would like to carry out your work experience.
Please attach your CV, a copy of your most recent school report/ grades and confirmation of your school if this is a mandatory work experience, to your covering letter. Going by the information you provide, we will then endeavor to find supervision for you. Please compile your application in one single PDF, which should not exceed three Megabyte and use our online application system to apply.
When allocating work experience places, we take into consideration the quality of the application as well as availability of supervisors for the required subjects and during the required periods of time.
You can find our current advertisements for student internships here under the menu item "Internships".
You can then use the link provided to send us your application documents directly.
Course-related Internships and Voluntary Internships
Internships are meant for students who have a concrete interest in a specific area of research. To obtain an internship, it is therefore necessary to first find and then contact the relevant person who is working within this area of research, directly. To find the correct contact for your area of interest, we recommend that you start by looking here.
An application needs to be directed to that contact person (!) and should consist of a covering letter, a CV, as well as certificates or a list of grades, respectively.
Payment: Work experience as well as mandatory internships of students are unpaid. Voluntary interns, who spend more than 4 weeks as students at the GFZ and do not live in Potsdam, Berlin or the surrounding area, will receive an allowance of 250 EUR per calendar month.
Voluntary Social Year in Science, Technology, and Sustainability (FJN) at GFZ
The FJN is a special form of the Voluntary Social Year (FSJ). The volunteers work full-time for one year with social insurance at GFZ, get involved and get to know the profession of a researcher or an employees in the Public and Media Relations office. Subsequently, a qualifying certificate is handed out. Joint seminars enable the exchange with with other volunteers.
The FJN at the GFZ is organised by the International Youth Community Services (ijgd) Bundesverein e.V. (Federal Association). Applications are to be addressed to the ijgd
The following options are available at GFZ:
In section Climate dynamics and Landscape Evolution we deal with several aspects of natural climate variability and the influence of climate change on human habitats in the past. We offer two positions (WG Sea Sediments and WG Tree Rings).
Main location of work is GFZ in Potsdam (lab and office). The willingness and physical ability to participate in field trips for sample collection is desired, but not a must.
In direct cooperation with the scientists, the activities include, among others:
- Laboratory work (support sampling activities, preparation, investigation/analysis)
- Field work (like investigation of lakes, sediment sampling in lakes)
- Computaitonal data evaluation
- Insights into the work of a geoscientist
- and more
Requirements:
The two positions are intended for: scientific interest, sense of responsibility, personal flexibility, enthusiasm and the ability to work in a team. Skilled craftsmanship is welcome for the position at AG Seesedimentuntersuchungen.
The School Lab of the GFZ Public and Media Relations unit deals with knowledge transfer from science to schools. The offers are aimed at children of pre-school and primary school age as well as pupils of the secondary levels I and II. Furcher, courses on various geoscientific topics, experiments or laboratory visits are offered. The position is located in Potsdam.
The activities include:
- Practical supervision/cooperation as well as preparation and follow-up of the laboratory days of the student laboratory
- Support in the organisation and implementation of special events (e.g. Long Night of the Sciences, Open Day, Future Day)
- Work in the back office of the student laboratory
- Production of exhibits and materials for pupils
- Room for your own ideas and interests
Requirements:
- Interest in working with groups of children, especially in the 5-12 age group
- Strong interest in geoscientific/scientific topics
- Personal flexibility and enthusiasm, ability to work in a team, sense of responsibility and independence
- Craftsmanship and creativity
In the editorial office of GFZ's Public and Media Relations unitthe FJN produces and edits content for the GFZ web presence as well as social media. Here, scientific content of the GFZ is prepared for several target groups, for example in the form of texts, stories or videos.
The activities include:
- Production of science communication content for social media (image, film, text, especially for Twitter, Instagram and YouTube)
- Production of content for the website (mainly text and images)
- Maintenance of website content
- Production of content for the audiovisual media sector (lighting technology, sound technology, video editing)
Requirements:
- First experiences in the creation of editorial content (e.g. working on a student magazine, writing a blog, creating YouTube videos)
- Fun with text works, images, and sound
- First experiences in dealing with social media
- Creativity and the contribution of your own ideas
- Enthusiasm, ability to work in a team, independent and careful working style
- Interest in the public relations work of a scientific institution
