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At SerNet, three young women master the balancing act as dual students between academic training and practical work experience. Through the special corporate culture and mentoring, they receive valuable insights and support on their educational path.
This text first appeared in the Fall 2023 issue of Character magazine.
Alma Altergott, Alina Schnur and Saskia Ripplinger are the three up-and-coming power women at SerNet in the fall of 2023. As dual students in "Business Administration", they balance a demanding workload of work at the company and course content at the VWA Göttingen. SerNet Managing Director Reinhild Jung accompanies them as instructor and mentor.
The three young women are at different stages of their training: Alma Altergott has her final exams behind her and her bachelor's degree in her pocket. Alina Schnur is starting her 5th semester, and her final thesis is within reach. Saskia Ripplinger, who has just completed her financial management training, is venturing a new start at SerNet. For her, the lectures and seminars at the VWA will begin in October, where logistics and procurement, human resources management and labor law are on the schedule in addition to general business administration. Ripplinger: "I'm looking forward to the dovetailing of theory and practice."
Strong role modelsarein demand
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Study and work to combine is ambitious, the three agree. For this, it needs plenty of power. Keeping at it, showing stamina - that's how the years of study can be mastered. Altergott: "When you have your bachelor's degree clearly in sight, you know you can do it: I can do it!" She has already achieved this goal and is starting her master's degree in business administration at the TH Lübeck. She remains loyal to SerNet as a working student in event marketing.
Both Schnur and Ripplinger benefit from their experience. The students exchange ideas intensively. It is important - especially with this double burden - to have orientation "and someone you can ask how to solve a job situation or what to expect in an exam," says Schnur.
Helpful are the two students' experiences.
Models who have already walked a longer career path are also helpful. Like Reinhild Jung, who has been at SerNet for more than 20 years. Early on, she took over the supervision of trainees and still fills this role with enthusiasm today. Since 2019, she has been the managing director of SerNet and the promotion of young talent is close to her heart. She is happy to pass on her knowledge and valuable experience, motivate her young colleagues and guide them.
She cannot report anything about the much-maligned Gen-Z mentality. "I experience young people at our company who have a desire to get stuck in." In recent years, she says, all "her" female students have even taken advantage of an additional offer from the Göttingen Chamber of Commerce and Industry: In cooperation with the VWA, they can take the exams for a Chamber of Industry and Commerce degree as external candidates, usually for office management. Jung: "This means additional learning effort, but it is a very good additional qualification for the further career path."
Various career paths
What Jung calls the "advantage of flat hierarchies," Altergott describes enthusiastically, "SerNet is simply very collegial." Everyone takes time and is interested in sharing their knowledge. "This makes it fun to ask questions and learn." Ripplinger already noticed this open atmosphere in a positive way during the job interview: "Everyone approached me in a friendly manner."
The open structures in the company can also be used by the female students to complete stations in different departments. Says Jung, "They are free to either immerse themselves in administration, sales and marketing or - depending on the arrangement - spend time in our specialist teams if they are interested in business informatics, for example." Altergott took advantage of this opportunity: after a stint in the verinice team, which publishes open source software for information security management, she devoted herself to marketing. At the beginning of 2023, she was able to independently organize two important annual conferences for the company, sambaXP and verinice.XP. The successful events with satisfied, international participants are a lasting sense of achievement for her. Before the end of the year, Altergott will be heading to the USA, where she will be organizing a SerNet trade fair stand at a major conference in California. Schnur specializes in sales and Ripplinger starts in technical purchasing as her first stop at SerNet.
More than 20 years of training
For more than 20 years, SerNet has been providing training in the commercial sector. For 10 years, the Göttingen-based company has been a partner company for dual studies at the VWA Göttingen. As an IT service provider specializing in secure infrastructures and information security, SerNet also offers other entry-level opportunities, including apprenticeships in IT systems integration or application development.
At the start of the new training year, there are 10 young trainees, dual students or working students in the company. There is also a new, internal event series specifically for their skills development. Topics are dealt with that are often neglected during studies and in-company training: From strategic foundation and company development to self-presentation on LinkedIn and financial topics such as taxes and retirement planning.
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Working at SerNet
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Curious? We provide information about working at SerNet and current training opportunities. Our team of trainers can be reached at ausbildung@sernet.de.
