2020
The experts
Gabriela Ahrens – Senior Director of Leisure Sales for Home Markets, Lufthansa Group
After completing her training as a travel agent, Gabriela Ahrens worked first in London and then worldwide on behalf of Lufthansa AG and Lufthansa Cargo in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Sydney, Singapore and Shenzhen. She has been based in Frankfurt since 2012, where she has held senior positions in sales at Lufthansa AG; she is currently Senior Director of Leisure Sales for Home Markets.
Stefanie Berk – Executive Board Member, Deutsche Bahn Fernverkehr AG
After completing her studies in Worms, Stefanie Berk initially held various positions at DERTOUR, including Director of Product Management for North America. She then moved to Thomas Cook, where she held various senior positions, most recently as Managing Director of Thomas Cook in Germany and Managing Director for Central & Eastern Europe. Since March 2020, Stefanie Berk has been heading the marketing division of DB Fernverkehr AG on the Executive Board. You can find the recording of the live stream in the Moodle course ‘FocusFrauen – Summer Semester 2020’.
Eva Rieger – Head of Marketing, Lufthansa City Center
Following her apprenticeship as a travel agent and her graduation in 2011 in Worms, Eva Rieger initially worked as a travel agent at CTW Vacations and as a conference manager at ITB Berlin. Since 2013, Eva Rieger has held a senior position as Head of Marketing at Lufthansa City Center. You can find the recording of the live stream in the Moodle course ‘FocusFrauen – Summer Semester 2020’.
Click here to read the press article.
On 9 June 2020, the FocusFrauen initiative launched a new programme for international female students and female students from migrant backgrounds. Through live streams on various topics, participants were able to network and exchange ideas. This allowed them to listen digitally to conversations with inspiring women and ask questions live and directly. The aim was to engage with fascinating guests and build a network. The series kicked off with the topic ‘New in Germany? Studying and working in a foreign culture’. The speakers were Olena Kuzhel and Teodora Peeva.
Olena Kuzhel
I am Olena Kuzhel, a Ukrainian student currently completing my degree at the Faculty of International Business Administration at Worms University of Applied Sciences. I came here in 2017 with the aim of getting a high-quality education – my first time in a European country – with a lot of preconceptions in mind. From day one, I faced various challenges, ranging from mountains of paperwork and the German education system to everyday misunderstandings in communication and finding the ‘right’ community for me. I am now a graduate with international experience in Central and Eastern Europe and the Americas. I have worked in three different sectors (finance, automotive and IT) alongside people from more than 30 different nationalities. I cannot offer advice on how to be a top-tier university student, but I can encourage you not to give up and to keep exploring this challenging yet fascinating world!
Teodora Peeva
My name is Teodora Peeva; I was born on 13 August 1986 in Varna, Bulgaria. After completing my bachelor’s degree in tourism in Bulgaria, I went on to do a master’s degree in tourism in Worms. I have already gained professional experience in various roles: at the International Centre at the University of Worms, at the Nibelungen Festival in Worms (theatre and events) and as project manager for Schoko Pro (trade fair and conference). After nearly suffering from burnout, I changed jobs and am now a training coordinator and Scrum Master at KEGON AG.
My goals and aspirations for the future are varied: further training as a transformation coach, starting a family and, if possible, bringing my own family to Germany. My faith gives me strength on my journey towards my greatest wish: to be happy and fulfilled. My message in these times of the coronavirus pandemic: Every crisis is also an opportunity!
2019
For many women, a career as a university professor is not something they consider – the “FocusFrauen Hochschulkarrieren” initiative aims to change this and brought together female professors and interested women for an informative round-table discussion.
Women still hold only 23 per cent of professorial posts at universities of applied sciences – despite the fact that the proportion of female students in most Faculties has been significantly higher for some time now. This is where the ‘FocusFrauen Hochschulkarrieren’ series of events comes in – a collaborative project between Worms University of Applied Sciences, Mainz University of Applied Sciences and Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz: the aim is to use role models to motivate interested women to pursue a career as a professor. The aim of the event series is, on the one hand, to highlight career paths and working conditions within the profession and, on the other hand, to familiarise participants with the ‘rules of the game’ in higher education through personal discussions with female professors, thereby enabling them to prepare themselves optimally for the real-world demands of a professorship.
As in previous years, on 4 December2019, the 15 participants in the FocusFrauen Lounge University Careers took the opportunity to learn about the role of a professor at a university of applied sciences as a career prospect during a relaxed discussion in the Old Music Hall at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz.
This year, two female professors presented their career paths: Prof. Dr Keiko Kirihara from the Faculty of Tourism and Equal Opportunities Officer at Worms University of Applied Sciences, and Prof. Dr Eleonore Reuter from the Faculty of Practical Theology, Dean and Equal Opportunities Officer at the Catholic University of Applied Sciences in Mainz. Coming from two different Faculties, the two professors were able to share many valuable tips and insights with the participants by recounting their exciting and very different career paths. The participants agreed: “It was very interesting and informative because the ‘living examples’ told their stories in a very vivid way.”
Monika Stegmann from the Equality and Diversity Unit at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and the Programme for Young Female Academics (ProWeWin), as well as Christina Schrandt, Equality Project Co-ordinator at Mainz University of Applied Sciences, hosted the evening.
The participants appreciated the “open, honest exchange” and, during the get-together that followed, took the opportunity to ask specific questions of individual female professors in order to gain further inspiration for their own career and life planning. In a relaxed atmosphere, successful career strategies for a career in higher education were discussed and shared.
You can find further information on the FocusFrauen Lounge: University Careers 2019 here.
Eight women gathered at the offices of Acatis Investmentgesellschaft in Frankfurt, alongside the Equal Opportunities Officer at Worms University of Applied Sciences, Prof. Dr Keiko Kirihara, and her colleague Mirjam Kronschnabel, as well as female managers from various companies and different sectors.
The female managers support the university’s own career development programme, FocusFrauen, which regularly organises events to bring female students together with women from the business world – for example, at the FocusFrauen Lounges. The aim of the networking meeting is to jointly develop further initiatives for FocusFrauen.
Click here for the press article.
The theme of this lounge event was “Agile Organisation – The Formula for Future Success?”. It took place on 6 June 2019 at 6 pm at Frankfurt Airport HOLM. The event featured Eva Guha, Senior Director of Marketing at Lufthansa City Center Reisebüro GmbH, and Gabriela Ahrens, Senior Director of Leisure Sales Home Markets, Lufthansa Group / Airline Sales Austrian, Lufthansa, SWISS.
2018
This initiative was launched last year as the first collaborative project between the equality officers at universities in Rhineland-Palatinate. The equal opportunities officers at the universities of Mainz and Worms, together with the Equal Opportunities Office at the University of Mainz, have joined forces to familiarise early-career female academics with the role of a university professor and to provide information on the requirements of the application process and the challenges involved in the appointment procedure.
This initiative aims to provide a platform for mutual exchange and to build a sustainable network in order to support ambitious female researchers in their career planning as early as possible.
Click here for the press article. [Please check: the original linked to a specific press release; the exact link could not be retrieved during migration – the link currently leads to the general press release overview]
Twenty selected young women travelled by shuttle bus to Frankfurt Airport City, HOLM (House of Logistics and Mobility), to take part in the event focusing on ‘Digitalisation – a creative challenge’. The two experts who spoke on the topic this time were from market-leading companies in the tourism sector: Birgit Kuppler, Senior Manager Events, at Lufthansa Cargo AG, and Diana Borde, Director of Organisational Development & Talent at Thomas Cook Group Airline.
Click here for the press article. [please check: see note above]
The inaugural meeting of the Group Airline Senior Female Leaders’ Forum (ASFLF) was organised by Ms Julie Armstrong, Director of Human Resources and a member of the Executive Board of the Thomas Cook Group, who flew in specially from Manchester to discuss with female managers from a wide range of countries and roles how the proportion of women in leadership positions could be further increased.
The sole external guest was Professor Keiko Kirihara, Equal Opportunities Officer and Professor in the Faculty of Tourism at Worms University of Applied Sciences. As the keynote speaker, Professor Kirihara presented ‘FocusFrauen’, a programme she had initiated to support women, which, through targeted initiatives and formats (e.g. lounge meetings with experienced female managers), helps female students at Worms University of Applied Sciences to integrate their studies more closely with their professional careers and to better prepare themselves for the first steps in shaping their careers (more at www.hs-worms.de/focusfrauen).
Click here for the press article. [please check: see note above]
2017
Just as in the business world, women are significantly under-represented in senior positions in academia. FocusFrauen Hochschulkarriere therefore aims to inspire young women to pursue a career as a professor and to support them in their career development.
Under the slogan ‘Become a female professor – your future prospects’, an inspiring lounge event took place at Mainz University of Applied Sciences on 9 November 2017.
Click here for the press article. [Please check: the original linked to a specific press release; the exact link could not be retrieved during migration – the link currently leads to the general press release overview]
For the fourth time, female students had the opportunity to meet successful female managers in person: at the FocusFrauen Lounge, which focused on the theme ‘Careers – here’s how!’, Stefanie Berk, Chair of the Executive Board at Thomas Cook Touristik GmbH, and Beatrix Eisenblätter, Senior Vice President at Lazard Asset Management, gave talks.
On 5 April 2017, the first FocusFrauen networking event took place, attended by a total of twelve women from eight companies and six sectors. The event was hosted by the FocusFrauen initiative at Worms University of Applied Sciences, represented by Professor Keiko Kirihara and Beate Schäfer.
Click here for the press article. [please check: see note above]
2016
The third FocusFrauen Lounge, focusing on the theme ‘Go international – opportunities and challenges’, took place on 10 November 2016 at HOLM (House of Logistics and Mobility), Frankfurt Airport City.
The speakers were Monika Pieroth from Boehringer Ingelheim and Andrea Windschild from Continental AG.
Click here for the press article.
You can find the participants’ feedback on the event here.
Under the theme ‘The “Me” Brand’, the FocusFrauen Lounge event organised by Worms University of Applied Sciences took place for the second time this spring at the HOLM (House of Logistics and Mobility) premises near Frankfurt Airport.
The speakers were Sabine Hermsdorf, Director and Member of the Executive Board for the Frankfurt Region at Deutsche Bank AG, and Nicole Nitschke, Managing Director of COTY Deutschland GmbH.
Click here for the press article.
You can find the students’ feedback on the Lounge here.
2015
On 3 November 2015, the inaugural FocusFrauen Lounge event organised by Worms University of Applied Sciences took place at the HOLM (House of Logistics and Mobility) premises near Frankfurt Airport. The theme of the event was: ‘I did my way – a career with a personal touch’.
The speakers were Gabriela Ahrens, Director at Lufthansa AG, and Eva Guha, Head of Marketing at the travel agency chain Lufthansa City Center.
Click here for the press article.
You can find feedback from participants on the event here.
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Family Services
You can find information on childcare, caring for relatives, the parent-child and breastfeeding room, and more on the university’s Family Services pages.
