At the beginning of the event, Ministerialrätin Beate Lindner, head of the office, greeted the new members and welcomed them to the elite network. She gave them a brief overview of the history and objectives of the elite network and the various funding programs. Currently, the network supports over 3500 active members in the Max Weber Program, in 31 Elite Graduate Programs, in the Marianne-Plehn-Program, in seven International Doctorate Programs and in seven Junior Research Groups. In addition, there are now more than 11,000 alumni.
Subsequently, the newcomers were given vivid first-hand insights into the many opportunities offered by the elite network outside of their studies. Various events and projects enable a lively cooperation and promote personality development. Members enthusiastically reported on their interesting experiences at the Academy for Political Education in Tutzing, at the Nobel Laureate Meeting in Lindau and at the EuroScience Open Forum in Leiden. The EliteCup, the soft skill seminars, the graduation ceremony and the intranet were also the subject of entertaining and informative presentations.
After a break with coffee and cake, the students and about 50 alumni listened to two keynote speeches on the topic of "Careers in Science and Business" in the second part of the event. Prof. Dr. Gordon Cheng, head of the Elite Graduate Program "Neuroengineering", and Dr. Melanie Langermeier, qbilon GmbH, alumna of the Elite Graduate Program “Software Engineering”, spoke very vividly about their inspiring academic and professional careers. Following the presentations, the students took the welcome opportunity to personally ask the two speakers questions.
At the subsequent buffet dinner, many new contacts were made and existing ones deepened. The event ended in a pleasant atmosphere with music.
Text: Coordination Office of the Elite Network of Bavaria