After the Hochschule Niederrhein initiated the mentoring program "Als Frau in Führung gehen" ("Taking the Lead as a Woman") in February in cooperation with the Untrnehmerschaft Niederrhein andthe Krefeld network "Leading Ladies in Town," the ten tandems have filled the program with life in recent months. At the mid-term event, the female graduates of the Faculty of Industrial Engineering and their mentors took stock.
Since the ambitious young women have been assisted by managers from companies in the Lower Rhine region, a lot has happened, they say. "My mentor actively encourages and challenges me to independently reflect on my work and actions, to further develop my professional identity," says 25-year-old Eva Houben, who has now been in an exchange with Wiebke Rumpf, managing director of AMETEK GmbH in Meerbusch, for five months. "I am happy to be able to pass on my experience to my mentee. The exchange not only broadens her horizons, but also mine," says the experienced manager, who is responsible for AMETEK's business at several locations in Germany. "By dealing with a young, ambitious talent outside my direct environment, I leave my routines. So in parallel, I'm also taking stock of my own life, goals and habits, so I'm also benefiting personally from the program."
Mentee Sarah Luther also draws a positive balance. The 31-year-old mother of a young daughter is currently pursuing her master's degree in energy management and is working with her mentor toward her goal of becoming a project manager. "My focus is therefore on support in project management and team leadership." A job made for Sabine Weber from Pierburg GmbH in Neuss. As a program manager, she has experience in leading project teams, which the mentor is happy to pass on. "I want to help my mentee remain a woman in a man's world. To do that, you have to learn how to set boundaries. In addition, I provide assistance in teamwork and crisis management."
The exchange of knowledge and communication between different generations is beneficial for both sides, agree Prof. Ralf Kampker, Faculty of Industrial Engineering, HSNR Equal Opportunity Officer Dr. Sandra Laumen, and project manager Dr. Inge Röhnelt. Together, they held profile-building workshops for the tandems. "But the core of the mentoring program is the monthly tandem meetings, which are primarily about active listening," Kampker said. He said the program focuses on the young women's career entry, active career planning in a male domain, and relies on mixed teams. "This is more effective in successfully integrating more women into technical professions and the STEM field in the long term," Röhnelt explains.
"Our goal is to raise and utilize personnel potential for the local economy, which is more than urgently needed in times of acute shortage of skilled workers," says Kirsten Wittke-Lemm, Chief Executive Officer of the Lower Rhine Business Association. "We have seized the opportunity to support women in planning their own professional careers at an early stage, to prepare them in a practical way for professional requirements and for management positions, and thus to increase the proportion of women in management positions in the long term - from practice for practice!"
The mentoring program "Taking the lead as a woman" will run until September - with the prospect of a subsequent expansion of the project's scope. It is planned to serve other faculties of the university in the future.
