Field report by Carina B.
If someone had told me in 6th grade that I was going to study mechanical engineering, I would probably have just shaken my head and replied "Rubbish!". After leaving school, I started an apprenticeship as a technical draughtswoman at ELHA, after which I enrolled at Paderborn University to study mechanical engineering after the first year of my apprenticeship. In the form of a dual study programme, I successfully completed my training as a technical product designer and obtained my Bachelor of Science at the university.
I now work as an engineer in sales in the XL Manufacturing Systems division and, as I only realised late in life that I would find my job in the mechanical engineering sector, I decided to take part in the MINTrelation project as an ambassador to get young girls interested in careers that focus on mathematics, IT, science and technology.
Various workshops and events took place during the MINTrelation project. It was very interesting and exciting to talk to other ambassadors about the experiences they had already had during their training. Over time, we got to know the ambassadors from the other participating companies better and the students were no longer strangers either.
Part of the project involved company tours, which the students were able to sign up for. My work colleague, who took part in the project with me, and I gave the pupils a brief insight into ELHA in the form of a presentation. We then went to the production and assembly halls. In our training workshop, the girls were then able to get to work themselves by making a mill game. They carried out various activities such as milling, turning and drilling. They also learnt about the workplace of a technical product designer. At the end of each company tour, the girls were pleasantly surprised at how much fun they had, especially working in the training workshop. "I can well imagine working like this," was the final sentence from many of the girls at the end of a visit to ELHA.
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