Welcome: 16 young people start their apprenticeship
A warm welcome to our new trainees and students! © HZB
On 1 September, 16 young people began their apprenticeship, dual study programme or voluntary year at HZB. A welcome event, initial insights into the world of research and a communication seminar marked the start of this new phase in their lives.
As an experienced apprenticeship company, we are delighted to be able to accompany young people on their way into working life again this year. On 1 September – the official start of apprenticeship – we welcomed ten apprentices, four dual students in computer science and two participants in a voluntary year at a small welcome event.
‘You have chosen a job that is not only exciting for yourselves, but also important for our society,’ emphasised Silvia Zerbe from the communications department, providing insights into research at HZB. ‘Good science needs many minds in the background. It only succeeds when everything works together – for example, when the IT runs reliably, the workshop works precisely, the purchasing department procures equipment, and the human resources department takes care of our salaries. Starting today, you are part of this large team.’
Training coordinator Christina Herold encouraged the new colleagues to be open to new ideas and to ask questions: ‘Our experienced apprenticeship coordinators are happy to assist you. And the youth and apprenticeship representatives are also there for you at any time.’
Immediately after the welcome, the first joint programme began: a one-and-a-half-day communication seminar conducted by Christina Herold. Because sometimes the most difficult thing is also the most important – talking to each other respectfully, especially when things aren't going smoothly.
What professions are our new colleagues learning?
- 2 office management trainees
- 1 chef
- 2 precision engineers
- 3 IT specialists/system integration
- 2 IT specialists/user development
- 4 dual students in computer science
- 1 participant in the Voluntary Ecological Year
- 1 participant in the Voluntary Natural Science Year
We wish you a good start and lots of fun at HZB. We are glad you are here!
Links
- VOLT – Art in the shell of the HZB from 19 to 21 June 2026An extraordinary setting: from 19 to 21 June, artists and students from the Berlin University of the Arts will be exhibiting in the shell of the services building on the HZB campus in Berlin-Adlershof. The public is warmly invited to attend the three-day exhibition.
- Shaping diversity together19 May is German Diversity Day, a nationwide day of action that highlights diversity in the workplace. Silvia Zerbe and Ana Anselmo have been appointed as Diversity Officers at HZB. How do they view their role and what are their plans? A conversation about what we all stand to gain by embracing and actively promoting greater diversity. And why it is particularly important to stand up for this in times like these.
- Cool vaccines in rural Kenya: solar solution has been awarded by UNIn May 2026, Tabitha Awuor Amollo is spending some weeks as a guest scientist at HZB, analysing perovskite thin films at BESSY II. The Kenyan physicist from Egerton University, Nairobi, was recently recognised for her achievements in research and teaching. For the development of a solar-powered refrigeration system for use in rural health centres, she has been awarded the 2026 Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD)-Elsevier Foundation Award. An interview on exceptional projects and daily struggles of a scientist. Questions were asked by Antonia Rötger.