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

Why did you decide to do a voluntary academic year?

After leaving school, I wanted to get my bearings and gain some academic experience before deciding to do an apprenticeship or go to university.

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

I am completing my FWJ in the Department for Research and Technology Transfer at the University of Oldenburg.
I am working in the diverse area of transfer. The core tasks here are knowledge transfer and science communication, start-up support and technology transfer. In other words, the aim is to bring the knowledge and expertise generated at the university to the various sectors of society and to engage in dialogue with these sectors. The Start-up and Innovation Centre (GIZ for short) is also part of the transfer and advises students, employees and researchers on issues relating to start-ups.

My interests and skills were taken into account here from the very beginning and we defined areas of responsibility together accordingly. My tasks now cover various areas of activity.
I support colleagues from the team at my place of work, the Innovation Campus. Among other things, this is where the digital lab and the innovation workshop are located. It's a place where innovative ideas are developed and where, for example, analogue and digital prototypes can be constructed using 3D printers.
I find out about current projects at regular jour fixes and receive updates from the whole team.
Basically, I help with various marketing measures, for example designing promotional items and producing content for social media.

I support the planning teams for the "Healthcare Hackathon Oldenburg" and "Hirn vom Hahn - Wissen frisch gezapft" events. I am also involved in the programme design of The Smart House Oldenburg.
In addition, I also work on various smaller "projects" and have numerous administrative tasks, such as updating the website, sending out magazines, editing photos from a workshop or creating an overview of funding programmes.

I also work on the podcast "Hirn Gehört: Oldenburger Wissensschnack" throughout the year. The podcast is an initiative of the Oldenburg Network for Science Communication, which brings together various regional research institutions. I edit the recorded raw material into a final podcast episode. This means that a new episode can be published every month. I also take care of the social media here - completely on my own - i.e. creating and posting articles and stories on various platforms.
Overall, I have a super nice, young and open team around me, who I can always turn to with questions and concerns and who fully integrate me :-)

What do you think this year will bring you? What have you learnt so far during your voluntary service?

Experiences. Experience in many different forms.

I've learnt a lot about work itself and have gained great insights into how flexible and exciting everyday working life can be. It has been particularly helpful for me to experience this after school.
I have also learnt to organise my working day and my tasks independently, as not every day is the same and there are meetings and events in between.

I learnt skills in dealing with TYPO3 by taking part in a corresponding course. I was also able to optimise my skills in editing and design programs and acquire them in Adobe InDesign, for example.
I have also developed personally, particularly in terms of independence, openness to new things, flexibility and communication skills.

Apart from that, I completed the "English for University Studies" language course (compulsory during the FWJ), in which I was able to improve important subtleties in the use of English - adapted to my language level.
As there is also the opportunity to attend various courses and lectures at the university during the FWJ, I was able to gain an impression in various areas. This enabled me to consolidate my study plans, for example.

I also got to know a bit about student life!

Basically, in addition to the opportunity to gain experience and insights, this year also gave me the time to orientate myself after school, after graduating from high school, and to think about my future path in peace. I also got to know some great new people, especially through the training days.