It wasn’t just the sweltering heat, but also a wealth of important information from physicists at the University of Oldenburg that had 45 school leavers from Oldenburg, Bremen, East Frisia, the Emsland, the Oldenburg Münsterland and Osnabrück racking their brains on 1 July 2010. Professors, PhD students and undergraduates from the Institute of Physics informed the newly qualified school leavers about studying, research and the requirements for the physics subject at the University of Oldenburg. “Physicists can expect excellent prospects on the job market after successfully completing their degree,” promised Prof. Dr Dr Birger Kollmeier, Head of the Department of Medical Physics and organiser of the workshop. The demand for well-trained physicists far exceeds the number of graduates, and the vast majority of them are satisfied with their professional roles and pay.
The students’ enthusiasm for physics was also evident in their accounts, as they explained why they had chosen to study in Oldenburg and how they had managed to overcome academic challenges, particularly with the help of fellow students and lecturers. Key factors included: the Institute is manageable in size, there’s a friendly, family-like atmosphere, there’s no distance between students and professors, the laboratory facilities are excellent, there’s a wide selection of forward-looking research focuses, and accommodation isn’t too expensive. But the physics students in Oldenburg certainly don’t miss out on a good time either! It was precisely this information that was important to the A-level students. Their main concern was assessing their own abilities: “Can I actually manage a physics degree?” Consequently, the informal discussions between the young adults and the (aspiring) physicists centred on questions about the demands of the degree programme and the prerequisites students should bring with them. The participants gained an insight into the main research focuses at the Institute of Physics at the University of Oldenburg during guided tours of various laboratories. They cooled off in the wind tunnel at the ForWind Wind Energy Research Centre and learnt about the challenges involved in turbulence research. Others, meanwhile, were introduced to the production of thin-film photovoltaic modules at the EWE NEXT ENERGY research centre, or gained an understanding of the capabilities of human hearing during a guided tour of the ‘Hörgarten’ at The Haus des Hörens. Everyone shared their impressions with one another at a barbecue that evening. And for most of the A-level students, any doubts they’d brought with them had now been dispelled: “The professors are much more approachable than I’d thought,” remarked one of the young men in surprise. Some of the A-level students were relieved that it was now clear to them that studying physics at the University of Oldenburg would be the next step in their lives after school.