Get-together: Connections lead to success

For the second time, students of the International Health Sciences (IHS) study programme, alumni, professors and other employees of the Department of Health Sciences as well as representatives from the field gathered on a sunny Wednesday evening for a get-together - a course aimed at supporting networking and collaboration.

Networking was the central theme of the evening. As an introduction, the IHS team proclaimed networking as a far-reaching competence for professional orientation and career development. The speakers emphasised this by sharing personal anecdotes of how networking has positively influenced their career paths.

The course began with a presentation by Lucia Brugnara, Project Manager at evaplan GmbH in Heidelberg. She talked about her career path, which is full of international experience, and emphasised the importance of personal connections in the global health community. Lucia Brugnara gave insights into the work of evaplan, presented various ongoing projects and outlined opportunities for internships, motivating students to seek similar opportunities for their further skills acquisition.

Matthias Ballmann, IHS graduate, former intern and now project manager at evaplan, emphasised the importance of the topic of networking and encouraged students to view internships not only as opportunities to develop skills, but also as chances to make valuable connections within the global health community. His words resonated with the audience, emphasising the advantages of networking for personal and professional growth.

Current students then enthusiastically shared their internship experiences and illustrated the diverse opportunities that exist in Global Health. Felix Sporrer reported on his time at the Federal Ministry for Economic Collaboration and Development in Bonn, while Oshur Ozodi provided insights into his internship at the Protestant Organisation for Diakonie and Development in Berlin. Their experience reports sealed the potential of networking to open doors to new contacts, opportunities and experiences.

This part of the evening was followed by a relaxed get-together with music, snacks and drinks in the foyer of the department building. This gave those present the opportunity to practise their networking skills. Many questions were answered and many ideas exchanged - as the evening drew to a close, it was clear that many contacts had been made.

Are you interested in the Global Health study programme?