A A-levels can help, but other qualities often count: Anyone aiming for a scholarship should take a close look at the profiles of the various funding organizations.

In this series we present scholarship holders from various foundations.

Both were student representatives and were already interested in politics as teenagers.

Adrian Poot-Habisrittinger and Robin Balzereit receive grants from two of Germany's oldest foundations for the promotion of talent.

Both study at the University of Mainz and want to work for a better society.

One as a teacher for more democracy education in schools, the other as a lawyer for humanitarian and international affairs.

"In the beginning, I didn't have the foundation on my radar at all," says Adrian Poot-Habisrittinger.

The twenty-four-year-old is studying political science and philosophy to become a teacher.

Since 2019 he has received a scholarship from the Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation.

It was only through fellow students in the Juso university group that he came across the funding agency, which is close to the SPD.

The Friedrich Ebert Foundation is the oldest party-affiliated foundation in Germany.

It currently sponsors around 2,800 students.

They should identify with the values ​​of social democracy and be able to demonstrate good performance and social commitment.

The school was plan B at first

The future high school teacher came to the teaching post for more pragmatic reasons.

It all started with a bachelor's degree in political science, which he is continuing with in parallel to his bachelor's degree in education.

Going to school was initially plan B and then became plan A.

His convictions also played an important role.

“Democracy has to be learned and learned in order to be lived.

And that’s where school has to lead the way.” His second subject offers large thematic overlaps.

Anyone who deals with philosophical and ethical questions is fundamentally more reflective in a society than someone who does not.

He himself can identify well with the theoretical background of social democracy.

At the age of 14 he joined the party after intensive discussions with the SPD.

Poot-Habisrittinger got the practical side of the theory from 2018 to 2021, first through an internship and then as a student assistant in the office of an SPD member of parliament in Neustadt in Mainz.

From September 2020 onwards, the student even headed the politician's office until the state elections, which resulted in the politician having to resign.

Poot-Habisrittinger had previously dealt with politics on a small scale at school.

As a member of the student council and in the eleventh grade as student representative, he always campaigned intensively for the students' right to have a say, says the man from Mainz.

His school was very advanced in this regard.

A business game called “School as State”, which he experienced in the seventh grade, was the cornerstone of his political interest.

As a team leader, he organized its new edition “School as State 2.0” in the 12th grade.

“As a student council, we were very involved.

However, we also had to fight for our beliefs.

It's important to stand up for your classmates and do some good things."