"I hope to learn from my mentor's experience and at the same time broaden my professional and personal horizons," says 25-year-old Hannah Brockmann. She is assisted by Ella Seel, an experienced HR manager with management responsibility at Pierburg GmbH in Neuss, who is very concerned about the advancement of women. "I am delighted when ambitious young women want to advance their careers and am therefore happy to support them," says the 42-year-old. Experience is still the best teacher.

Michael Vössing from Venator Uerdingen GmbH also wants to accompany his 24 - year-old mentee Meret Kuhn on her career path. "I have been working in the chemical industry for over 20 years, eight of them as plant manager and managing director. I would like to pass on what I have learned during this time - in terms of employee leadership, project management, but also with regard to site strategies and dealing with difficult superiors," says the 52-year-old.

The mentoring program is accompanied by Prof. Ralf Kampker, Faculty of Industrial Engineering, the HSNR's Equal Opportunity Officer, Dr. Sandra Laumen, and project manager Dr. Inge Röhnelt, who want to offer the total of ten tandems of mentees and mentors workshops on profile building and impulses on future topics of the companies. "A great project to lift and use personnel potential for the local economy from practice for practice," says Kirsten Wittke-Lemm, general manager of the Unternehmerschaft Niederrhein, who appreciates the mentoring program not only for the enormous support it provides for the female graduates, but also for the opportunity it offers from a business perspective. "The project is an opportunity to combat the shortage of skilled workers!"

The mentoring program "Taking the lead as a woman" is initially scheduled to run until September 2023. After that, the scope of the project will be expanded to serve additional faculties at the university.

Photo: Andreas Bischof