Prague, Feb 7 (CTK) – The Czech counter-intelligence service (BIS) has offered a special week-long study stay to university students with the aim to choose potential young candidates for future cooperation, daily Pravo writes yesterday, citing BIS spokesman Jan Subert.
“We are trying to address quality and promising students who are seriously interested in our work and who might later join us,” Subert is quoted as saying.
During the stay, the participants can “try” the work of BIS officers.
The BIS emphasises that it is not interested in young “pure adventurers,” the daily writes.
“By no means will the university students train intelligence skills by joining real [BIS] operations in real situations,” BIS director Michal Koudelka said.
Subert said the students can choose from four basic issues to focus on, which are cyber security, law, IT and the fight against terrorism.
To be admitted, the applicants must be Czech nationals with a clean criminal record, and they have to submit an essay dealing with one of the issues involved.
Besides, the BIS will choose from among the applicants also based on their letters of motivation, Subert said.
He said foreign secret services organised similar stays as well.
The BIS took active steps in search of new personnel several times recently. Unlike in the past, it had a stand at a job fair, Pravo writes, adding that the BIS previously received a special subsidy to reinforce its staff and equipment.
Subert said it would be too early to assess students’ interest in the planned BIS stay, since they are supposed to lodge their applications by the end of February.
Thousands of applicants addressed the BIS within previous staff recruitment campaigns, Pravo adds.
