KIT Career ServiceStudentsInternational Career ServiceStart Your Career
Briefly explained
What is the “Start Your Career in the Karlsruhe Technology Region” event?
“Start Your Career” is your gateway to the German job market. Here, you’ll learn how the transition into the workforce really works and what matters most.
Together with the Welcome Center, the International Career Service will show you which steps are crucial when transitioning from college to a career and how to tackle them in practice.
The focus is on two exciting panel discussions:

  • Alumni share firsthand accounts of how they found a job in Germany, what really helped them, and what challenges they had to overcome.
  • Companies provide an honest look at what you need to get hired and what really matters in the application process.
In addition, we’ll introduce you to various counseling and service offerings—from KIT’s internal departments to external partners like the Employment Agency. At the “Market of Opportunities” that follows, you’ll have the chance to talk directly with experts, recruiters, and alumni, ask your questions, and make important contacts for your future in Germany.

Start your career
Key Information at a Glance
When: May 12, 2026, doors open at 5:00 PM, starts at 5:30 PM – ends at 8:00 PM
Where: Studentenhaus of the Studierendenwerk, “Festsaal,” Adenauerring 7, 76131 Karlsruhe
What: Orientation, information, and networking event
For: Internationals at KIT and HKA:
  • Degree seeking students,
  • Graduates up to one year after graduation,
  • Doctoral candidates,
  • Postdocs
Language: English
Admission: Free with registration
To the registration

Advantages
Why should you attend the “Start Your Career in the Technology Region” event?
It’s simple: You’ll learn how starting your career in Germany really works and meet exactly the people who can help you along the way.

Your benefits at a glance:
  • Get honest insights from alumni on how they found their first job in Germany—and what really helped them along the way.
  • Understand, from a company’s perspective, what it takes to get hired and what matters most in the application process.
  • Learn how the International Career Service can specifically prepare you for your career path with CV reviews, coaching sessions, and workshops.
  • Get answers to your specific questions right on the spot and take home concrete tips for your next steps.
  • Network with relevant contacts regarding applications, careers, and working in Germany—all in one place and in one evening.

Target group
Who is “Start your Career in the Karlsruhe Technology Region?” for?
For international students, recent graduates (within one year of graduation), doctoral candidates, and postdocs at KIT who want to work in Germany and find out exactly how to get started.

This event is perfect for you if you:
  • want to know how international graduates found their first job in Germany
  • want to understand what companies really expect and what matters in the application process
  • are still unsure how to approach entering the German job market
  • have specific questions about applying for jobs, working, and living in Germany
  • want to network with relevant contacts who can help you along your path
To the registration

Here’s how the event will unfold:

Doors open 5:00 pm

To kick things off, you’ll get an overview of the event and learn what to expect.
You’ll receive guidance on entering the German job market and learn how CV reviews, coaching sessions, and workshops can help you move forward
The Welcome Center will give you an overview of key topics related to working and living in Germany, and specifically in Karlsruhe.
Alumni will share how they found their first job in Germany, what helped them, and what challenges they faced. These alumni share their experiences

Panel Discussion:
  • Ana Paula Pi Legorreta - Working Student in International Customer and Project Management for „Identity Access Management“ at Robert Bosch GmbH, B. Sc. in Industrial Engineering and Management at KIT
  • Iman Baratvakili - PhD Graduate from KIT in International Urban Planning Project Manager bei Stadt Baden-Baden, Teaching Staff at the Faculty of Architecture Communication Lead FWL Baden-Wüttermberg
  • Danqing Liu - Master’s in Informatics, Business Process Consultant at SAP
Companies will show you what really matters in the application process. These HR professionals share their insights:

  • Eftychia Michailidi of Gameforge

    - Online Games / Gaming Industry

    - Gameforge is a publisher and developer of online games with millions of players worldwide

    - Represented by: Sabrina Santa, Team Lead Human Resources & Eftychia Michailidi, HR Administrator

    - Profiles: Informatics, Game Design, Business Intelligence

    - Entry options: Internships, working student, entry-level (junior) roles

    - International teams, English as working language


  • Marcella Klumpp of ATMOS Space Cargo - Space Industry

    - ATMOS is making return from orbit reliable, regular, and affordable by creating an infrastructure that researchers, companies, and innovators everywhere can use.

    - Marcella Klumpp, Head of HR

    - Space nerds

    - Interns, Working Students and Entry-level roles

    - Our team is multinational and diverse, with offices in Lichtenau and Strasbourg. We work in a collegial, hands-on culture where people support each other, take ownership, and keep learning every day. English is our company language.

  • Christina Merkel-Reif of Init

    - Init innovation in traffic systems SE; IT Industry – Hard- and Software für Public Transport (Intermodal control systems, Ticketing, Passagerinformation Systems)
    -World market leader for ITS solutions in public transportation
    - Represented by: Christina Merkel-Reif; Principle HR Legal Counsel/HR Management
    - Profiles:
    - Entry options: internship, working student position, Bachelor/Master Thesis, entry-level role, Juniors)

    We need all types of candidates—those with a background in computer science, but also in electrical engineering; those with a background in economics, but also those with interdisciplinary backgrounds, such as industrial engineers.

    - Information Technologie
    - Computer Science
    - Communications Engineering
    - International Technical Sales
    - Business Administration
    - IT Specialists
    - Industrial Engineers
    - …
    - We offer working students in Softwaredevelopment, Business Administration, Projectmanagement, also Thesiswork

    Why it is relevant for international students ?

    - In most teams, we require German language skills at least at the B2 level, but we also have international teams that work with colleagues from the U.S., Ireland, and Dubai and primarly speak English, Projects worldwide in Englisch, round about 30 % German based Project

    - We are a global company with subsidiaries around the world and win projects worldwide

    - We offer German courses

    - We have employees of various nationalities
Here’s where things get real: Talk directly with partners, companies, and alumni, get your questions answered, and gather helpful information for your next steps. Participating companies will be featured here in more detail shortly.

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Services in Karlsruhe:




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Europe's largest regional high-tech network.

With more than 1,200 members, CyberForum e.V. is the largest regional high-tech business network in Europe. The network brings together startups, companies, creative professionals, experts from scientific laboratories, institutes, and universities, students, business angels, and trainees. In total, the members represent over 30,000 jobs in the Karlsruhe region.

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Agentur für Arbeit Karlsruhe–Rastatt

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The Higher Education Team at the Federal Employment Agency offers students and graduates guidance on career decisions, job search strategies, and entering the workforce in Germany. The counseling is free, personalized, and independent.

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Contact and Support

Julia Neer
Julia Neer
Career Advisor & International Students