Alissa Aarts provides further information on the current status of the side programme planning and talks about her experiences and feelings.
Some time has passed since my first blogpost on the side programme and in the beginning everything was very abstract – so many different ideas were buzzing around in my head. Now – three months before the event takes place – the programme gets more and more concrete.
As I told you before, I was a bit afraid that there would be little interest in the side programme and its parts. But it turned out that there was no need to worry, as nearly 100 participants have already registered for the event. And the best for me: They are also interested in the different parts of the side programme, especially in information about working as a scientist in Germany (66%).
With this positive response in mind I proceeded to plan the side programme in more detail and the results are the following: We will offer a career fair, a CV-Check, info-lunches, a panel discussion, a round-table-discussion and a dinner for all participants. All these parts of the programme aim to provide information on studying, doing a PhD and working as a scientist in Germany. Furthermore they intend to support African scientists who are interested in a research stay in Germany. If you are interested in the programme you can find more information on its specific parts here: http://www.geoverbund-abcj.de/geoverbund/EN/Home/news-events-jobs/dates-and-events/PASCAL/side-programme/side-programme_node.html;jsessionid=75E37BD23E68121E31C0AC6E6943C065
Forschungszentrum Jülich / Alissa Aarts
In this context I am very glad that we will be supported not only by colleagues from Jülich, but also by the partner universities of Geoverbund ABC/J: RWTH Aachen University, University of Cologne and University of Bonn will be represented either by experts or through detailed information material. Additionally representatives from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) Information Center Accra will participate in the event. When I contacted these partners, everyone was so enthusiastic and interested in supporting the project and they directly brought forward further ideas – as you can imagine I was really happy about these reactions and the great support!
The difficulty I have to face now is the detailed planning. From the beginning it was clear to me that planning an event in Accra is different from planning one that takes place at our campus in Jülich – but now I really experience the differences and difficulties. This includes even trivia such as the possibility or in this case the “non-possibility” to have a look at facilities and the rooms on site. As I am someone who wants to plan everything as detailed as possible (I sometimes even double- or triple-check things to ensure that everything works), it is a kind of personal challenge for me to deal with the uncertainty which – I think – will only vanish completely after the event has taken place successfully.
