Cheers to Summer – And to the IT Center! • IT Center Blog

Cheers to Summer – And to the IT Center!

July 30th, 2025 | by Mostafa, Malak

Source: Own Illustration

Sunshine, barbecue aromas, and lots of good cheer – on July 11, 2025, the IT Center held its annual summer party. And this time, the weather gods were smiling on us: instead of continuous rain like last year, employees were able to enjoy a dry summer party and were even rewarded with a few rays of sunshine.

The IT Center’s party team once again pulled out all the stops to give employees, trainees, student assistants, and alumni an unforgettable celebration. With a variety of grilled delicacies, salads, and refreshments such as soft drinks, beer, and cocktails, everyone celebrated into the night in good company.

We were particularly pleased to welcome Professor Bischof, the former director of the IT Center. To celebrate the occasion, he donated a keg of beer – much to the delight of all the guests. And as if that weren’t reason enough to be in a good mood, Professor Matthias Müller, the director of the IT Center, also gave everyone a free drink.

The IT Center Olympics

There was also plenty of sporting excitement: the Finance, Human Resources & Organizational Support, IT Service & Security Management/Staff/Management, Systems & Operations, Computational Science & Engineering, Networks, and Service & Communication departments competed against each other in several disciplines with one goal in mind: to win the coveted IT Center Cup.

These were the disciplines in this year’s Olympics:

Taboo with a twist:
The event kicked off with the typical guessing game. In the first round, the teams had to draw terms one after the other. In the second round, a term had to be acted out in pantomime, and in the third and final round, the teams could choose whether they wanted to draw or act. Points were awarded for correct terms and clever guesses. The team with the most points won.

Obstacle course for a pot:
The second discipline involved carrying a pot through an obstacle course. An upside-down cup was placed in the middle of the pot with a table tennis ball on top, which was not allowed to fall off. The tricky part was that the pot could only be held by the team members using four ropes and thus pulled across the floor or lifted and balanced over obstacles such as beer benches and bar tables. If the ball fell off the cup, it was back to the last station! The team that got the pot from the start to the finish line the fastest won.

Balloon relay:
This team game required coordination: one by one, the team members had to collect balloons, hold them between them, and run together in a growing line to the finish line without dropping a balloon – otherwise they would receive penalty seconds! Smaller groups had to get creative and even transport two balloons between two people. The team with the fastest time won.

Through the tube 2.0:
Anyone who attended the 2024 summer party will be familiar with this game: Teams had to transport various objects – from table tennis balls to spoons to lollipops – from A to B and back again using tubes. The aim was to tilt or rotate the tubes so that the objects rolled to the finish line without getting stuck or falling out. The team that got all ten objects to the finish line safely and fastest won the round.

Guess the age:
Things got tricky at the end: With two teams tied, the total age of the party team had to be guessed. The best guess won the last point and the winning team was decided!

And the Winner Is…

The winning team was announced in bright sunshine: the IT Center Olympics 2025 was won by the Systems and Operations department. This was the second time the department had won the trophy. Congratulations on this well-deserved and narrow victory!

As another highlight of the summer party, the party team had a surprise in store: the band Léger provided musical entertainment with classics to sing along and dance to.

A huge thank you goes to the IT Center party team, who once again organized a great summer party, as well as to the IT Center management, who always make these parties possible.

We are already looking forward to the 2026 summer party!