Leuphana Recruiting Dinner. Discovering talent from course to course

An unpaid internship after graduation and subsequently writing 200 unsuccessful applications? That used to be a common routine. Today, it's almost the other way round: in order to attract the best talent, many companies look for suitable junior staff online or at job fairs.

Given that trade fairs often only allow for brief conversations and online interviews are no substitute for real encounters, Leuphana University Lüneburg connects talents and companies in a special way, at the Recruiting Dinner. With each event focussing on a specific topic, the successful format used to bring companies and Leuphana students together even before the coronavirus pandemic, at a location in the city. This year, however, they met for the first time in the foyer and forum of the Leuphana Central Building - whose special atmosphere delighted students and visitors alike.

University President Sascha Spoun welcomed entrepreneurs and students and emphasised the successful combination of disciplines at Leuphana and their great importance for companies. Along these lines, the Dean of the newly founded School of Public Affairs, Prof. Dr Axel Halfmeier, and Prof. Dr Paul Drews, Dean of the School of Management and Technology, emphasised the modern design of their degree programmes and pointed out the specific professional qualifications for which their students are prepared early on in their studies. On this evening, however, the focus was on the students in order to build up even closer contacts with industry and a professional network. Dr Michaela Wieandt, Head of Leuphana College, emphasised later on that this is a wonderful opportunity for the students, not least because they are also perceived as a figurehead for the university.

Before the start of the dinner, the students were able to meet and talk to the participating companies - AC Christes, BDO, BRL, Commerzbank, Curacon, Deloitte, Ernst & Young Freelance Partner, FTI-Andersch, Gebr. Heinemann, Grant Thornton AG, Horváth & Partner, IKOR, KPMG, Mazars, Möhrle Happ Luther, RSM Ebner Stolz, SKNvonGEYSO, TauRes - at informal stands in the foyer. At the subsequent dinner, they spent around 40 minutes per course talking in detail with representatives of their favourite companies to find out how the skills and ideals they had acquired at Leuphana could be put into practice there, before moving on to the next course at a different company table. After dessert, the lively dialogue continued in the foyer at the open end of the event.

Feedback from companies and students alike showed that the event was a success: The format has found many new enthusiastic supporters who would like to attend the next dinner - and preferably again on campus.

For those who would also like to visit a classic career fair: Leuphana FOR YOUR CAREER will take place on 12 June 2024. And perhaps some companies will then meet talented people who were sitting at their competitors' neighbouring table at the recruiting dinner and win them over after all.