Source: Own Illustration
The ZKI working group “Training” has invited to a joint meeting in Wolfenbüttel from May 14 to 16, 2024. As trainers in the Service and Communication department at the IT Center, we were of course there to exchange ideas with 10 other universities from all over Germany.
We dealt with the following questions, among others:
“How does training work at other universities? What is the recruitment and induction process like? What do modern job interviews look like for us?
Preparation and Arrival
A business trip needs to be well planned. For our trip to Wolfenbüttel, this meant booking train tickets, choosing a hotel and putting together all the necessary documents.
We were impressed by the view of the old town as soon as we arrived.
Wolfenbüttel is a town in Lower Saxony with around 52,681 inhabitants, where old half-timbered houses give the town a special charm.
The First Day
Source: Own Illustration
The meeting took place at the Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences.
A total of 26 trainers from various cities came together to discuss the topic of training.
After a short reception with coffee and pastries, the meeting of the working group began with a round of introductions of all participants. This was followed by a presentation on the topic of “dual studies”.
The Second Day
Source: Own Illustration
On the second day of the business trip, the day began at 09:00. As we had not been able to complete the introductory round the day before, we continued straight away. After we were able to gain a rough insight into the fields of activity of all those involved, there was a presentation on the topic of “A different kind of recruitment test – GenZ”. Following on from the lecture, there was an interactive re-enactment of a recruitment test. This gave us the opportunity to slip into the role of the applicant and the role of the recruiter, which will be very helpful for us and our work with the new Generation Z.
We then formed various working groups.
The “Training Manager” working group aims to create a standardized platform that can be used by trainers and trainees at universities. This platform is intended to make the organization and process of training simpler and more innovative.
Corona has prevented university trainee exchanges from taking place in recent years. The “Trainee Exchange” working group would now like to change this by reviving the exchange program.
Students from the participating universities have the opportunity to complete a one-week exchange at two different universities. The exchange universities are spread throughout Germany and all have their own focus.
Another working group looked at how recruitment and application procedures can be made more modern in order to reach young people. Anyone can now generate a letter of application using AI. But what does that say about you? Generally very little! We have learned about interesting alternatives to the classic application letter and would like to incorporate our new knowledge into the next application process.
The topic of AI is now part of everyday life for most people. But what exactly is LLM or ML? How do I use an AI assistant correctly? What dangers does its use entail? The “AI in training” working group has defined training content and fields of application that should be taught in future training courses in order to prepare our trainees for the future.
Over the past year, a working group has been working on creating a promotional video for training at universities. The associated working group is not quite finished yet … but stay tuned!
Afternoon Program and Networking
After getting to know the city of Wolfenbüttel on a city tour on the first day, we got together for dinner in the evening. Some colleagues from the working group went on to the “quiz evening” in the Irish pub. The 3rd place was won. Congratulations again at this point!
The next day, we explored the Wolfenbüttel beach bar after work and took advantage of the good weather to explore the old town. Afterwards, we met up again for dinner.
We took the opportunity of the face-to-face meeting and informal exchange in the evening to deepen our discussions and get to know each other better personally.
Conclusion
The mixture of professional meetings, productive working groups, cultural experiences and personal exchanges made this business trip particularly successful.
We found it super exciting to see how quickly the requirements for good training change and have to change and adapt with the new generations approaching. We see a great benefit from this meeting and take away a lot of positive incentives to question and optimize our processes.
We are looking forward to the new trainees who are starting their training in dialog marketing this year and are open and happy to welcome them.
Want to find out more about our training?
Take a look at our blog posts on the subject.
Responsible for the content of this article Nina Laakmann and Katharina Röhrig.
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