Session 9

After months of hard work, you have finally completed your thesis, you graduated, and you celebrated with family and friends. But what are you up to next? What does the future hold after all this research, planning, numerous experiments and exams? Where do you turn to when you don’t see your professional future in research? 

We, the Maritime Cluster Northern Germany – branch office Schleswig-Holstein, would like to show you the opportunities maritime companies (SMEs – Small and Mid-sized Enterprise) in Germany offer. Your scientific knowledge as well as new technologies from science are relevant for SMEs. 

• How can you find those companies which are interested in new scientific approaches? 
• How can you thrive in the transition from academia to business? 
• What can you expect from the company and what kind of work awaits you? 

We are not going to provide theoretical answers. We are not going to give you information you can easily find in career books or career blogs. The best way to help you find answers and inspiration is to introduce you to people who ‘made it’. In this session you will meet former Master and Ph.D. students who will provide you insights into their daily work and into the challenges they had to face. They will speak about how they met the company they are working for, their achievements working for them and how important new research findings are for their business. They will share how they have built a network in business and how important their scientific network still is. They will tell you how to be successful in this transition. 

This session is for everybody who would like to know how to build a career perspective after graduation and how to find the right company. Also, this session is worthwhile for researchers who would like to continue working in science but are looking for contacts with companies that are open for cooperation.