Janek Schmidt

Janek Schmidt was one of the 2007 winners of the Nico Colchester Fellowship, which he spent working for The Economist in London.

Originally from Munich, Janek left Germany to go to university in Oxford and read Philosophy, Politics and Economics. After obtaining his BA, he took a gap year to travel and work in different South American countries. Back home in Europe, he returned to his studies of international relations at the Master’s Programme of Sciences Po in Paris.

Various internships in different areas eventually helped him to find his calling in journalism and he started his carreer on the graduate scheme of the German newspaper „Süddeutsche Zeitung“. The paper granted him a three months leave, when he had the opportunity to work for The Economist.

From day one, work in London was exhilarating as Janek was thrown in at the deep end and asked to write his first piece within less than 24 hours. The ensuing three months remained as exciting, and Janek wrote pieces about subjects ranging from intrigue in Bavarian politics to global fracas about the construction of mosques. For all the brilliance of his colleagues and the range of topics that he could work on, what Janek enjoyed most during his three months was the warm and welcoming atmosphere at work.

Now Janek is back at the Süddeutsche Zeitung in his home town of Munich working on the Foreign desk. Though life and work there are great, he sometimes wonders whether work anywhere can be as enjoyable as it was at The Economist.