About RDWP | F.A.Q.
Russia-Germany relations: Economics and Politics (RDWP) is a one-year complementary programme for MGIMO bachelor students, which aims to promote academic and personal exchange between Germany and Russia in the context of social sciences. This corresponds to three subgoals:
- Transmission of regional expertise about Germany and the European Union as well as profound knowledge of the German language,
- Strengthening of economic and social science methodological and theoretical knowledge,
- Promotion of intercultural competences.
Most university cooperations between Germany and Russia take place in the field of technology and science. A range of courses in economics and social sciences that impart regional expertise, language skills and intercultural competences is therefore of cultural and even political relevance. Cooperations between universities can make a significant and lasting contribution to a better understanding between the two countries and societies and promote exchange where politics reaches its limits. Social sciences in particular offer opportunities to build bridges beyond economic and technical exchange.
RDWP is based on the program German Studies Russia, which was restructured into RDWP in 2019. In the meantime, the two programs count more than 200 alumni, many of whom have connected their lives with Germany.
Who is behind RDWP?
Russia-Germany relations: Economics and Politics (RDWP) is a joint project of the Institute for East European Studies at the Free University of Berlin and the School of International Economic Relations at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO).The program is led by Theocharis Grigoriadis, Alexander Libman and Oleg Pichkov and supported by the RDWP Team in Berlin and Moscow.
Who can participate in RDWP?
The participants of RDWP are Bachelor students of all disciplines at the MGIMO. Due to its intensive supervision, the programme is designed for no more than 15 to 20 students. Although students can participate in RDWP between their second and fourth year of study, the majority of applicants are in their second and third year of study. The core criteria for admission to RDWP is good knowledge of the German language at least at level B1/B2. There is no formal language examination, but rather an interview with a German-Russian selection committee.RDWP has an active student and alumni network. Larger alumni events take place at least twice a year in Moscow, where the majority of alumni live.