Prospects for students with a migrant background
Kassel is not only the headquarters of Wintershall Dea, but with around 25,000 students, numerous faculties and three scientific centres, it is also an important scientific location in the heart of Germany. After receiving an invitation from Wintershall Dea, the students funded by the Hamburg Stipendium visited the company for the second time in order to get acquainted with Wintershall Dea as a potential employer. This year, the 13 talented students from Hamburg were accompanied by the scholarship holders from Kassel. Thanks to the initiative of Wintershall Dea, it was possible for the Studierendenwerk Kassel to set up the Kassel Stipendium, providing financial support for six students with a migrant or refugee background.
During their visit, they were offered a varied programme. This included a talk with Mario Mehren about the current challenges in the energy sector, also they were able to ask specific questions about his own career and his job as CEO at Wintershall Dea. Carsten Bühl, Vice President of HR, and Ananya Kashyap, civil engineer and member of the SPEAD programme, showed the students how university graduates can get started in their careers. Katrin Kaiser, Vice President of Corporate Channels & Events, gave the students an insight into Wintershall Dea’s communication culture, and Fatima Dolic-Fromm, Communications Manager & Spokesperson, reported on the company’s initiative “Open for Diversity – Closed to Exclusion” and the importance of diversity and inclusion at Wintershall Dea.
"The energy industry faces a double challenge: it must ensure security of supply and at the same time make a significant contribution to the energy transition. We at Wintershall Dea have set ambitious and measurable goals to reduce our emissions. However, we can only achieve these goals through intensive knowledge and technology transfer between science and industry. For Wintershall Dea, supporting young talents at universities is therefore not only an important social commitment, but also an opportunity to promote tomorrows pioneers," says Mario Mehren, CEO of Wintershall Dea.
Another item on their programme was a guided tour around the University of Kassel. The scholarship holders from Kassel showed their fellow students from Hamburg the beautiful campus, including their favourite spots to study and to relax. In addition, everyone was given some exciting insights into the work of the Studierendenwerk Kassel and a glimpse behind the scenes of the central canteen. Besides the headquarters of Wintershall Dea and the University of Kassel, the scholarship holders were shown the most beautiful spots in the city of Kassel. This included a guided tour of the “Alte Meister” (Old Masters) art gallery and a walk around Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The mixture of learning, amazement and experience was a remarkable time, especially for the scholarship holders. "I was particularly impressed by the fact that the diverse programme organized by Wintershall Dea not only led to new friendships among the scholarship holders of the Hamburg scholarship, but also with those of the Kassel scholarship. In addition to the cordial dinner together, I appreciated the stimulating conversation with Mario Mehren and the fascinating tour of the "Old Masters" gallery in Wilhelmshöhe Palace. From there we also had a wonderful view of the snow-white city," says Hamburg scholarship holder Ngoc Anh.
Her fellow student Ronahi Khalil from Kassel agrees and adds: "Many thanks to Wintershall Dea for the great programme over these two days! It gave me a wide range of insights into the corporate culture and the company structure. Thanks to the effective communication, I was also able to get to know the personalities of the managers and thus broaden my horizons. I also got to know some great people with whom I had a very enjoyable time."
Over the next few years, the scholarship holders will continue to have opportunities to strengthen their networks with one another and with Wintershall Dea, as both scholarship programs are running for a period of three years. This should provide plenty of further occasions for personal and professional development under the special ideal support of the Hamburg and Kassel Stipendium.
In conversation with Mario Mehren
Walk in Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe
Meeting with Mario Mehren
Presentation of gifts (left: Andrea Gomez, right: Natalia Dianova)
Guided tour in the central canteen of the University of Kassel
Walk in the Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe
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