Alumni4Students: Guidance for the Transition into Professional Life
Making the right decision about a first job can often be challenging when coming straight out of university. The project Alumni4Students@KIT, run by Career Service & Alumni and House of Competence, brings students together with alumni. Alumni share their experiences from their first years of professional life with those who are about to make the transition themselves. In the end, everyone benefits from the exchange.
Talks and weekend seminars help students prepare for entering the workforce. However, the focus is less on subject-specific expertise and more on a personal level, helping participants assess different career perspectives, overcome uncertainties, and find answers to their questions. The easiest way to achieve this is through conversations with alumni. Having made the transition into professional practice several years ago, they can look back and share what worked for them and what they consider particularly important in hindsight.
Insider Knowledge from the Working World
Where do you work now, and what does your work involve? How did you get there? What was the application process like? These are the kinds of questions that students bring to the events, where networking is also a central component. For project manager Lea Lahrsow, the program offers significant added value for everyone involved because the shared background quickly creates an open and honest atmosphere: “Our alumni can relate very well to the students, and the students, in turn, can easily identify with them because of the many similarities in their experiences.”
On a regular basis, Lahrsow organizes and moderates talks on career perspectives featuring three or four alumni from individual faculties. They provide concrete insights into how they successfully took their first career steps in their respective industries after completing their degree programs.
In addition, seminars on key topics such as Positive Psychology serve as another bridge to professional practice while supporting personal development. During these seminars, students engage with alumni as well as experts and gain insights into their everyday professional lives. Participants also receive ECTS credits for the module Interdisciplinary Qualifications.
Information about the winter semester dates is available on the websites of Career Service and HoCampus.
Finding Your Own Path
Students particularly appreciate the personal stories shared by alumni and the opportunity to understand the advantages and disadvantages associated with different career paths. Katharina Mayer participated in both a talk and a seminar:
“For me as a student, it was incredibly valuable to exchange ideas with people who were already working professionally and to learn where they are today, which steps they have taken, and how they made their decisions. It was extremely helpful and gave me a broader perspective. The seminar in particular gave me greater clarity and helped me take the first step after graduation.”
The alumni also benefit from the project. Most still remember very well what it felt like to be approaching graduation and wish they had had access to similar support at the time. Murat Aygün has been working as an architect for ten years. For him, participating in the talk was an opportunity to see how university studies have changed since then. Above all, he wants today’s students to understand that there is no single correct path: “The best approach is to try different things during your first years rather than remain fixed in one place.” His message is: “Be open to change. That is the only way to gain the greatest amount of experience.”
Simone Heinrich, September 24, 2026
