Here, participants in the Voluntary Scientific Year (FWJ) report on their experiences in the Department of Psychological Methodology and Statistics at the University of Oldenburg.

Why did you decide to do a voluntary scientific year?

Hanna:
In my final years at school, I was always interested in science subjects and could imagine going into science and/or research later on. At the time of my A-levels, however, I didn't know exactly what I wanted to study and wanted to take a look at science and research first. The FWJ was the perfect opportunity to get to know science and research as well as everyday university life.

Merlind:
My reasons are actually very similar to Hanna's. I've always been interested in psychology and I could well imagine going into research later on. I found the perfect combination of both fields here. I also knew that I didn't want to study straight after leaving school, but that I wanted to progress in my future career.

Where are you employed and what are your areas of responsibility?

We work in three different studies and are responsible for different things depending on the study. The first study is about the rehabilitation processes of stroke patients after their stroke. Here we are responsible for contacting test subjects and sending out questionnaires. We were also allowed to write a code that statistically analyses and graphically displays the patient data.
The second study is about how hearing aids influence speech processing in the brain. Our task here is to prepare study mobile phones for a phase of mobile, everyday measurement. We also help the test subjects if they have problems with the study mobile phones. We recently started carrying out cognitive tests with the test subjects here in the laboratory.
The third study is concerned with improving genetic counselling and gaining a better understanding of patients' experiences during genetic counselling. To this end, we help with recruitment and introduce the study to new volunteers. After agreeing to participate, we send out questionnaires at certain times.
Outside of the studies, we help with various tasks that arise in the team, such as creating posters or flyers or trial runs for future studies.

What surprised you positively?

Hanna:
I was surprised by how much I enjoy programming. I had one year of Computing Science at school and didn't like programming that much. I also like the fact that we are used in so many different ways and can learn about so many things.

Merlind:
I was surprised that we can work so independently. Although I was already told in the job interview that I can organise my work relatively freely and that I can of course contribute my own ideas, I still found this particularly positive. Above all, this is a big difference to school, where a lot of things were prescribed.
What I also really like is that we can also attend lectures. These should already focus on the field of psychology, but if I also like another lecture, I can also get a taste of it. I think this makes everyday student life much more realistic and it's easier to imagine studying later on.

What do you think you'll get out of this year?

The voluntary year has definitely helped us to become more independent, be it in the household when you no longer live with your parents or at work when you have to learn and solve a lot of things on your own. We have also made progress in our decision to study. It helped us a lot that you get to know so many different degree programmes during the FWJ and can also attend lectures to get a taste of a particular subject.

What advice would you give to future volunteers?

We would definitely advise you to do an FWJ in our working group! :-) Everyone here is super nice, sometimes we even meet up outside of work to play games or have a Christmas party. You can just tell that everyone here enjoys doing research, which also really motivates you. Otherwise, we would advise you not to be afraid to ask questions or make requests, as everyone is super helpful and will try to make the most of the year with you.