Here, participants in the Voluntary Scientific Year (FWJ) report on their experiences in the Department of Prevention and Rehabilitation Research at the University of Oldenburg.

Why did you decide to do a Voluntary Scientific Year in the Prevention and Rehabilitation Research working group?

After graduating from high school, I already knew that I wanted to study, but I was interested in various subjects, including medicine, sociology, philosophy and psychology. In this respect, this healthcare research working group at the interface between all these disciplines was a perfect fit for me. I can get to know the content of all these subjects and have now been able to make a decision.

The FWJ is also a great opportunity to get to know a university in the year after leaving school, but without having to start a degree programme straight away. The impressions of science and research that I gain here remain foreign to the students, but I can still attend lectures on various degree programmes without any complications. In addition, FWJ students can use and try out all other leisure activities, such as sports, music or theatre, just like students. You can also make contacts with students.

What are your tasks and activities in the FWJ?

First of all, I am involved in all departmental and departmental events: these can be regular meetings, workshops and congresses in and outside Oldenburg, meetings of the Departmental Council, symposia and scientific lectures, lectures and seminars by colleagues or public study presentations.

My tasks cover all areas of quantitative (e.g. questionnaire studies) and qualitative (e.g. interviews with experts and stakeholders, photographic and observational data) studies in the department. I am involved in the preparation of the studies by writing ethics proposals and study procedures, designing study flyers, collecting data, processing and interpreting the data and finally presenting the study results in presentations and publications.

I also help out in preparing lectures and seminars, organising events and sometimes in other departments.

Which studies are you involved in?

I am often involved in a study on the age-friendliness of the city of Oldenburg. In it, we are investigating how older people rate the age-friendliness of the city in various areas, which personal factors this depends on, what they would like to see more of and what potential for improvement exists in the city.

The TriaDe study, which examines care arrangements involving people with dementia, their relatives and 24-live-in carers from Eastern Europe on the basis of questions of ethics, communication and care in collaboration with the Department of Ethics in Medicine and the University of Essen, is another example.

Further information on these two studies and others in which I am involved can be found on the department's homepage.

What advice would you like to give future volunteers?

You'll be joining a department with super friendly and cool colleagues! So you don't need to be afraid of not understanding anything and you can always ask questions. The field of research is totally varied and exciting, it never gets boring because they always make sure that you have a variety of tasks as a volunteer.

The great opportunity of the FWJ is to try out and participate in a wide variety of things. So it's also important to have a bit of courage - or, if in doubt, to learn :) - Ask questions, always say yes to interesting offers, look around for opportunities and tasks yourself and enjoy the different things you experience.