A varied program with speed dating, an information market, and a campus tour awaited the new University of Bremen employees on April 15, 2024. However, the term "new" was interpreted a little more broadly in this case. Some of the participants have already been employed at the university for a year or longer. Nevertheless, the interest in their new working environment and the diverse areas of the university was high.
Around 40 participants strolled through the information market at the top of the large GW2 staircase in the morning. Employees from a total of 15 university institutions, from Family Services to the Data Science Center, introduced themselves at information tables, some of which were very lovingly designed, and were on hand to answer all kinds of questions from university newcomers. BYRD (Bremen Early Career Researcher Development) was particularly busy at the beginning of the info market. On the wall behind her, BYRD employee Imke Girßmann had hung a poster with the current range of workshops for doctoral candidates and postdocs – which attracted a lot of attention. "We are connecting with our target groups very well here. It was definitely a worthwhile investment for us to attend," she concluded. And if someone came to her stand with a rather specific question about third-party funding, she was able to refer them straight to the colleagues from the funding advisory service of Administrative Unit 12: Research and Early-Career Researchers, who had set up their stand just a few meters away.
And what did the new employees think? "Very good, it's truly another warm welcome to the university," stated Uwe Schmidt, who has been responsible for regulatory affairs in Administrative Unit 13: Teaching and Studies since July 2023. He was at the event from the early morning, which included getting to know the University Executive Board and the interest groups in the form of speed dating. "I was given a lot of information today and everyone was very approachable," he commented. But then he had to move on, as he just discovered the State and University Library Bremen (SuUB) stand: "I've always wanted to know what else they have to offer besides library cards and sorting books."
