U.S. Embassy Organizes the Fourth Event in the Alumni Mentorship Program

Panel Discussion About Entrepreneurship with John Hasler and Markus Streichhardt and Angelo Juric[edit]

August 11th, 2016

Iñaqui Gonzalez, Berlin Global

The fourth event in the Alumni Mentorship Program took place in July at Microsoft Berlin. It focused on entrepreneurship and the process of designing, launching and running a new business.

Two panelists at the event were John Hasler and Markus Streichhardt from Fulbright, a program administered by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the United States Department of State. The Fulbright Program operates under policy guidelines established by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board (FSB) and works in cooperation with a number of private organizations.

The third panelist was Angelo Juric from the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP), the U.S. Department of State’s premier professional exchange program. Through short-term visits to the United States, current and emerging foreign leaders in a variety of fields can experience the country firsthand and cultivate lasting relationships with their American counterparts. Professional meetings reflect the participants’ professional interests and support the foreign policy goals of the United States.

The panelists spoke with 40 young professionals in Berlin, many of whom are also USG program alumni. The mentors shared their personal experiences in the field and gave advice for budding entrepreneurs, before moving into the networking portion of the event. There, the mentors and mentees had the opportunity meet and connect as both alumni and professionals, and expand their network.

The program began at 16:00 with a welcome address by U.S. Embassy officials and Microsoft, followed by a Career Panel on Entrepreneurship at 16:15. It finished at 18:00 with the final networking meetings.

The Alumni Mentorship Program seeks to link U.S. sponsored exchange alumni with the established alumni community. Fostering this relationship emphasizes the importance of using knowledge and lessons learned from their exchange program when they return to their home country. This program also provides valuable work experience for young alumni, builds stronger ties within the alumni network, and encourages senior alumni to play active roles.