What's next? Inspiration for the next career step at the 3rd Career Day

16 July 2025

What does the future hold for HI ERN graduates? At the third annual HI ERN Career Day, more than 50 doctoral candidates and postdocs enjoyed a successful mix of personal insights from alumni, networking with industry partners, and learning about various career paths in science, industry, and self-employment.

Cross-industry networking with companies

At the job fair, companies from various industries—including Semikron, Danfoss, Wacker, Clariant, Grünecker Intellectual Property Law, Bosch, Hydrogen Energy Bamberg, and Schaeffler—presented specific career opportunities. Many of the participating companies were represented by HI ERN alumni, who provided an excellent connection to today's young scientists.

Diverse career paths and support opportunities

During the subsequent lecture session, Dr. Bibouche Bachir explained how the alumni management team at Forschungszentrum Jülich supports current and former employees.

Alumna Ana de Oliveira described how her start in industry shaped her personally. She now works as a project and process manager at Clariant, a leading global specialty chemicals company. Her colleague, Dr. Lisa Völkl, head of process technology for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), also provided insights into her career path.

Those considering starting their own business could take away valuable information from Dr. Marck-Willem Lumeij's (Forschungszentrum Jülich) presentation on important ideas and framework conditions. The research center's innovation management team helps young researchers turn their innovative ideas into businesses. In addition to the JUICE program, the innovation management team offers individual consulting services.

Dr. Henriette Maaß chose the path to self-employment: She founded NanoStruct GmbH, a company that specializes in developing high-performance biosensors using precise nanostructures. These biosensors can detect bacteria in food much more quickly, allowing for prompt action. Maaß is a passionate entrepreneur who shared personal insights into the challenges of starting a business and why she has never regretted becoming an entrepreneur.

He wanted to be like Indiana Jones. Alumnus Patrick Preuster is a professor of hydrogen technology at Rosenheim Technical University. He discussed the opportunities and possibilities of an academic career as a professor, the differences between professorships at universities and universities of applied sciences, and the structure of the research landscape in Germany.

Successful end to the summer party

Young researchers were able to gain inspiration for their career planning at the third HI ERN Career Day. New and existing contacts were strengthened at the HI ERN summer party that followed. Friends and employees of the institute celebrated together in the warm weather with refreshing drinks and tasty food. The PhD Council organized an egg race and a beer mug lifting competition for those feeling sporty.

^{Photos Copyright: Marco Martini/HI ERN and Anja Kraus/HI ERN}