Within a spring school project students from the University of Opole (Poland), the Technical University of Liberec (Czechia) and the University of Zittau/Görlitz worked in Görlitz on the current challenges in human resources management. Last week, some students visited CASUS to learn how a scientific institution addresses talent acquisition.
The project included different lectures and workshops, among them an intercultural workshop to emphasize that embracing cultural differences is important to successfully accomplish joint endeavors. The spring school participants also visited several Görlitz-based employers to talk about their approaches to mitigate the impact of the current shortfall of professionals. At the end of the project week, the participants pooled and generalized the insights they had gained.
Currently, employees from about 25 countries work at CASUS. As many of them do not speak German in the beginning and are not familiar with local practices when they arrive, CASUS has established the International Office. Weronika Mazur, responsible for the CASUS International Office, introduced the idea and practical implementation of this human resources and talent management instrument. Answering the students’ questions, she pointed out that current employee satisfaction is critical to acquire and retain future talent. This also includes making newly arrived employees feel that they are welcome – by their employer, by the authorities and by the city at large.
“We very gladly supported the project,” confirms Mazur. “In view of the steadily declining number of people in employment in Germany and many other European countries, a number of challenges await us. I think that such practice-oriented projects during the academic studies are an important preparation for the future.”