A doctorate in cooperation with Fachhochschule Dortmund is a rewarding, stimulating but sometimes challenging journey. Promoting connections and friendships among aspiring (young) researchers is therefore a particular concern of the Graduate Center. At this year's summer party, the doctoral students, supervising professors and all other guests had the opportunity to get in touch with each other outside of research.
In a relaxed atmosphere, the summer party gave guests the opportunity to talk about research or private matters. The speech by the Vice-Rector for Research and Transfer, the presentation of thank-you gifts and congratulations on completed doctorates also created a festive atmosphere for the joint toast.
However, as networking goes beyond mere formalities and was one of the main components of the summer party, each visitor received an additional name badge right at the beginning. This made all participants one half of a couple, such as Barbie and Ken, Asterix and Obelix and Hansel and Grete. The challenge for the rest of the event was to find the matching counterpart and take a photo together for the photo wall. This game brought the doctoral students and guests together with each other and with random visitors to the summer festival. This provided the perfect opportunity to make new contacts, break the ice and facilitate conversations outside of one's own circle of acquaintances. In the end, a total of 18 couples managed to find each other and immortalize themselves on our photo wall.
The game also served to strengthen the sense of community among all doctoral students at Fachhochschule Dortmund, as everyday research can sometimes be difficult or lonely. We want to strengthen the feeling that the community of doctoral students can also serve as a support in difficult times and the Graduate Center is always open to help with any difficulties.