Today's working world is characterized by constant change and increasing demand for a wide range of skills and qualifications. Young alumni, in particular, often face questions like these:
Our goal is to be there when you need us. In our Resource Center, you have access to helpful handouts and downloads on relevant topics. Why not listen to our podcast with interesting conversations with alumni of our university when your out and about, too? Our Resource Center is work in progress and will be continuously expanded. It's worth visiting us again and again.
Should you wish a 1:1 career counseling session, the Alumni & Career Service Center will be happy to help you. Simply ask for an appointment:
careerservice(at)tu-braunschweig.de
Episode 1: Working for a Start-up (with Okapi:Orbits, German language), July 19, 2023
Just do it...! More and more often, students are being invited to think about founding a company right after graduation, or at least about working temporarily in a start-up as an alternative to being employed by an established large company. Our alumna Kristina Nikolaus has founded such a start-up (together with others). And our alumnus Esfandiar Faravashi found the business idea (IT solutions to prevent collisions between satellites and space debris) so exciting that he turned his back on his previous employer and job and joined the spin-off from TU Braunschweig. In this episode, the two of them talk about the start-up process, well-known business partners and "happiness-making work factors". On top of that, there are application tips for start-ups.
Episode 2: Working in the Consumer Goods Industry (with Nordzucker, German language), Novemeber 6, 2023
The labour market in the Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel region is very much characterised by the automotive industry. However, there are also many other areas of work in which you can make a difference. Alumnus Malte Fiedler, for example, works as an industrial engineer at a company in the food industry with 13 plants and 4,000 employees, which has its headquarters in Braunschweig. Malte's job allows him to work very directly on exciting strategic topics, and he talks almost exclusively about a surprising expansion of a business area. He also describes farmer co-ownership, the international working atmosphere and flat hierarchies. Malte also reveals how many kilograms of sugar each German citizen consumes each year!
Episode 3: New Work (with Bredex, German language), November 30, 2023
Rosy new world of work? In times of digital transformation, frequent disruptions in the world of work and a shortage of skilled labour, new forms of work organisation are constantly sought to maximise productivity. Alumna Pia Krone first came in touch with the topic while working on "Mobile work as a challenge for leadership" in her Master thesis. She now works as a personnel developer for a Braunschweig-based software and digitalisation service provider that is committed to good service and efficiency as well as "people-centred work". It ensures a high level of job satisfaction for its employees through flexible work conditions and other benefits, as well as continuous "re- and up-skilling" tailored to individual needs. However, Pia also talks about the limits and challenges of "New Work": not every manager is able to lead employees with confidence, and not every employee has enough self-management and time management skills to deal responsibly with the new freedom they have gained...
Episode 4: Working on Electromobility (with Phoenix Contact E-Mobility and Bertrandt, German language), February 7, 2024
(Internal combustion) cars and road traffic have characterised this region and our idea of mobility for many decades. However, climate change, supply bottlenecks resulting from crises and wars and the growing scarcity of resources have motivated political leaders in Europe and Germany to call for a change in transport policy. The targets and expectations placed on the automotive industry are enormous. The German government wants to develop Germany into the "lead market for electromobility". At least 15 million electric cars are to roll over German streets by 2030. At the same time, the network of charging stations is to be massively expanded nationwide - the goal: one million publicly accessible charging points by 2030. This is precisely the context in which alumni Jonas Ost and Christian Thienemann work. They talk about the challenges that their employers and they personally are facing, but also reveal where and how progress is being made with electromobility.
Episode 5: Working as International Graduate in Germany (with BGE TECHNOLOGY, English language), March 12, 2024
We desparately need skilled labour for the German economy! Who hasn't heard this lament from employers and politicians? The German population continues to age and around two million jobs are currently unfilled. According to the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK), almost 100 billion euros in added value is being lost. On the other hand, the proportion of international students in the total number of students is steadily rising and more and more international graduates are trying to gain a foothold in the German labour market. Time to have a chat with two of the target group: our alumni Meghal Shah and Eric Simo! They talk about their experiences with the job search (also beyond well-known job boards) and smart networking, German application processes, and visa issues. They both strongly recommend mastering the German language and tolerance of frustration. But they are also encouraging: starting a career in Germany is absolutely feasible!
Episode 6: Working on the cities of the future (with City of Braunschweig and Quartier:PLUS; German language), April 24, 2024
More and more people around the world are living in cities, making them the most important living spaces of the future. This creates both exciting and complex challenges, as the cities of the future must not only be climate-neutral, energy-efficient and connected and accessible for as many people as possible, but above all they should be vibrant and liveable, too! In this episode, our alumni Ayat Tarik and Bernd Schmidbauer talk about where and how they dedicate their professional activities to this goal. For Tarik with her preference for "real-world labs", for example, her own Master's thesis became a third-party-funded neighbourhood project. Bernd, on the other hand, provides insights into larger urban planning processes reconciling citizen participation with political guidelines, talks about the "sponge city" and the foreseeable development away from the "monofunctional shopping city". And both alumni have a sympathetic vision of cities as places with affordable living space, a high quality of life, many opportunities to meet, and a diversified mobility concept. Research projects such as the "CO_LIVING CAMPUS" at TU Braunschweig are bound to provide exciting insights here...
Episode 7: Working on modern leadership (with Akkodis and VDM Metals; German language), July 30, 2024
‘Shut up and stay busy!’ For far too long, employees and teams were managed according to this principle. TU Braunschweig alumnae Larissa Graumann and Tatiana Hentrich - both of whom have considerable management responsibility at their employers Akkodis and VDM Metals - do things differently out of conviction and try leading in a modern way. Among other things, they believe in more approachability, fault tolerance, and motivation. Tatiana also talks about the special value of mentoring experiences, and Larissa demonstrates superb associative skills right at the beginning and reveals how to literally ‘sweeten’ work life.
Episode 8: Working as Social Scientist (with Gemeinde Uetze und Sparkasse Celle-Gifhorn-Wolfsburg; German language), September 25, 2024
Social Sciences students all wear Che Guevara T-shirts, have a desk full of thick books, muesli bars and extra-large coffee mugs and study for a minimum of 30 semesters - because the end is inevitable: a job as a taxi driver and contemptuous, pitying looks from other people for the rest of their lives. So much for stereotypes. Alumni Luisa Woellenstein and Eike Fromhage were also confronted with this back in their student days, as they explain in our podcast. But what's the reality? Things actually went much better for both of them. Luisa was helped into a job which she didn't even have in mind by chance during the corona pandemic, and learnt to love before she started working in HR for the same employer. Eike chose the opposite path, so-to-speak: he began his professional life in various HR functions at an engineering service provider before moving to the communications department at a bank. In this episode, they reveal how this was possible and what advantage social scientists may even have in today's working world, which is characterised by change and uncertainty.
