What does the starry sky tell us? What goes on behind the scenes at a swimming pool? And how does our brain work? At the ‘Future Day for Girls and Boys in Lower Saxony’, pupils gained fascinating insights into the study and training opportunities available at our university.
Around 300 children and young people in Years 5 to 10 swapped their classrooms for locations on the campus and at the Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity (HIFMB) on Future Day. They were able to choose from 38 different activities and try their hand at the techniques and experiments that characterise the day-to-day work of researchers and craftspeople in laboratories, Institutes and workshops. Future Day was organised by the University’s Gender Equality Office.
‘Future Day for Girls and Boys in Lower Saxony’ has been taking place since 2005, running in parallel with the nationwide Girls’ Day / Boys’ Day. It is regarded as an important component of career guidance. On this day, girls and boys are encouraged to explore ‘gender-atypical’ careers – in particular those they have not previously considered, for example due to a lack of role models.
The university currently offers training in 13 professions, including in the commercial and skilled trades sectors, as well as in more than 100 degree programmes. It also offers the opportunity to gain initial work experience through voluntary service programmes – such as a Voluntary Academic Year, a Voluntary Social Year or a Voluntary Ecological Year.
