History

After a break due to corona, the company day finally takes place again in presence. 148 companies participated in this years’ company day. Following the digital trend, all preparatory workshops were offered digitally and the fair catalog was also available exclusively in digital form. Paper-saving and sustainable!

Both students and companies very much enjoyed the direct exchange with us in the Hochschulstraße.

Another milestone in the history of the careers fair: Company Day is extended to two days, the services offered are expanded and updated. The website is relaunched in April with a new design and new technology; it now provides a wider range of digital services and offers an interactive experience for exhibitors and visitors alike.
Thanks to the high demand from both exhibitors and visitors, we are delighted to be hosting even more companies and platforms for forging contacts and preparing to start a career!

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The 2019 faces are Corazon Herbsthofer (biology), Silvia Kohlhas (business administration) and Simon Klein (business administration).

Tim Bürde (Business Management), Dina Büscher (Business Administration) and Yorick Tran (Computer Science) are chosen as Company Day ambassadors. The event is attended by more than 120 exhibitors; jobs are advertised on the newly renamed “job board” (previously known as the “job wall”) and positioned in two different locations; social media marketing activities are expanded. The social media takeover organised by Yorick Tran using the hashtag #unternehmenstag2018 is particularly successful.

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Record figures in the catalogue: more than 30 advertisements, 170 pages.

Company Day unplugged. Another attempt is made to sabotage the event with butyric acid. This time, the fire brigade uses powerful blowers and the event is pervaded by an odour that is unpleasant but bearable.

The fair in January is attended by 95 of the 109 companies who were to exhibit in November 2018. This requires a major effort on the part of both the organisers and the companies, as staffing has to be planned and equipment for the event transported even though this is not scheduled in the calendar. The space available for the fair on Hochschulstraße is limited, which means that the stands are distinctly more compact than usual. No supporting programme is offered. Visitors are offered free application photos and application reviews; there is also a job market with more than 300 job advertisements. The concept is a success and the exhibitors are very happy with the alternative event in smaller surroundings.

2017 – Timo Klein (Business Administration), Sophia Hoge (Business Psychology) and Hamidullah Ghafoorie (Business Information Services) are Bachelor’s degree students and the ambassadors for the 17th Company Day. The number of exhibitors rises to 123. New this year: a colour-coded orientation system. The stands have a scoreboard that shows the disciplines sought. The colours match the respective departments. These are intended to help visitors find their bearings. Applications are reviewed in the so-called “Career Lounge” in building section C, where the university’s career service also offers individual career advice.

The exhibitor catalogue becomes the careers fair catalogue.

From face to ambassador. Carina Fischer (Applied Biology), Duy Huynh (Business Psychology) and Ahmed Edris (Mechanical Engineering) are this year’s Company Day ambassadors and are always ready with a smile at all promotional events.

Inspired by UEFA Euro 2016, our team creates a brand new format known as “Career Foosball”. Students form teams, each with a company representative, and play to win. While doing so, they forge contacts and make a lasting impression. The idea is a hit with students and company representatives alike.

The most important careers fair for students and graduates in the region has to be cancelled at short notice after an unknown person enters the university building on the previous evening and sprays it with butyric acid. This decision is made following urgent advice from the fire brigade not to allow exhibitors and visitors to spend the whole day in the building because of the health risk.

The organisers decide to reorganise the event at short notice.

Daniel Danyali (Business Information Systems), Julitta Schmidt (Business Management), Hamza Skouta (Business Management) and Kevin Walter (Business Psychology) pose in front of the camera for this year’s Company Day (from left). The wording changes from “university fair” to “careers fair”. The event has now become a fixture with more than 100 exhibitors, workshops, presentations, application reviews and a job wall. Parallel to the free application photo service, a photo box is set up at which anybody interested can fill out a short profile. The photo is then printed together with the applicant’s key data. Applicants can then introduce themselves to a company representative at the stand and hand over a short CV as a kind of business card. The exhibitors also allow their creativity full rein when setting up their stands and even bring a popcorn machine.

Singular becomes plural. Robin Lettau Ferreira (Business Management), Yasin Erol (Applied Biology), Johanna Hupfeld (Business Administration) and Jasmin Nouri (Business Management) are the faces of this year’s Company Day (from left). This group format reflects the diversity, dynamism and international orientation of our university. The project management team’s ideas are equally creative: a business speed-dating session is organised. Two hours, four employers on a rotating principle. The employers are keen, but unfortunately the students are more hesitant and the session is cancelled.

Exhibitor numbers are again in triple figures. The average number of talks held at each stand is 50; more than 80% of attendees would recommend the fair.

“I am studying at H-BRS because rather than having everything put in front of me, I am required and encouraged to question things critically and make my voice heard so that I can see beyond the end of my own nose.” Simon Sedaghat, Business Administration student at the Rheinbach campus, bears away the palm with this application sentence and an informal photo.

During the preparations for the event, we set ourselves the goal of strengthening the students’ soft skills by offering various topics such as “Elevator Pitches”, “Non-Verbal Communication” and “Emotional Selling”. The programme is rounded off by a series of presentations on “Pathways Abroad” organised in cooperation with the International Office.

The event’s success is reflected by its figures: once again, more than 100 well-known names are represented, while 40% of the exhibitors are repeat attendees, 17% are first-timers and more than 60% are major corporations. There is now a long waiting list for spaces at the fair. All this reflects the urgent need for qualified young professionals.

For the first time, visitors can browse a digital catalogue of exhibitors.

Digitising the fair: processes that were once handled manually now have to be implemented more quickly due to the higher figures and increased number of tasks. Online forms for registering as an exhibitor and forms for creating company profiles for the exhibitor catalogue are developed in close collaboration with the university’s IT department.

The number of stands reaches triple figures. The large number of visitors means that a fire watch has to be present for the first time. 30 student assistants help the project team set up and dismantle the fair.

For the first time, one of the speakers for the presentation programme addresses the audience from his office rather than the lecture room. A live link to Stuttgart is organised for the first webinar in the history of Company Day! Theme: “Starting Salaries and Pay Negotiations”.

The photo shoot for the face competition is also held at the Rheinbach campus. Nhi-ha Nguyen is the “face of the year” chosen from 30 candidates and almost 1,000 photos taken over 2 days of shooting. She is in the fourth semester of her Business Administration degree course at the Rheinbach campus; as a study buddy, she looks after students from China and France and is the winner of the DAAD’s PROMOS scholarship, which aims to increase the mobility of German students.

The preparatory programme is expanded and application reviews are popular. The number of exhibitors remains stable; integrating future employees at an early stage is one of the fair’s most important goals, and internships are the main topic of conversation. The high exhibitor numbers mean that more structure is required when organising the event. Consequently area managers are introduced. During the fair, each of them is the main contact for approx. 20

exhibitors. This year, the face of Company Day is Bozica Mikulic, who is studying Technical Journalism.

New record figures thanks to enhanced networking activities. More than 100 companies from all over Germany register as exhibitors. The number of attendees continues to grow: 25% of visitors come from outside the university; the most strongly represented disciplines are Business Management, Computer Science and Mechanical Engineering. The students are mainly interested in practical semesters.

Patrycja Muc wins over the jury with her friendly smile and the sentence “I am studying at Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg because it’s just like me: no longer the youngest, but modern, versatile and successful”, and is nominated as the face of the year. She is in the fourth semester of her degree course in Technical Journalism/PR; she is also the editor-in-chief of the university radio station BonnCampus96.8 and a participant in the NRW scholarship programme.

Why buy when you can do it yourself so much better? The university organises the first internal photo shoot on the Sankt Augustin campus with the goal of presenting itself as an institution with which its members can strongly identify. Anousch Mahmoudi, computer science student, is accordingly chosen as the face of Company Day. Our verdict: chic and authentic!

For the first time, the Mensa (canteen) is cleared within a couple of hours and transformed into an exhibition area. The exhibition area is centred on Hochschulstraße and the Mensa (canteen), which together can accommodate 96 companies. The “free instant application photo” service is also new.

The fair continues to grow: more than 105 exhibitors showcase their companies. The catalogue design becomes fresher and we show a face on the cover for the first time. Advertising space is selling briskly, with 20 advertisements giving the catalogue an extra touch of flair. This is the last fair in which the University of Bonn will be involved as a co-organiser.

The chosen motto is “A question of mindset”. Thanks to our increased marketing and PR activities, we are able to set a new record: 95 stands! These fill the whole of Hochschulstraße and the ground and first floors of building section C. The exhibitors’ job vacancies are made available in paper format for the first time, thus leading to the creation of the “job wall”.

The number of exhibitors continues to grow, and so does the space required. 12 companies are also placed in extension E, which now forms the Business Forum. The first visitor survey is held. Changes have to be made to the catalogue: until now, it was possible to create the layout internally together with the corporate design, but the fair’s enormous growth means that this task is assigned to an external printshop for the first time. The number of advertisements increases from 8 to 14.

The university has a regional compass: students and graduates of other universities in the region are equally welcome. This leads to a partnership with the University of Bonn, which becomes a co-organiser. The number of visitors increases accordingly. The number of exhibitors also rises, with the event now hosting more than 70 companies. Based on previous experience, the programme is condensed to just one series. Workshops to prepare for visits to the fair are offered for the first time. The patron is Minister President Jürgen Rüttgers.

The organising team still consists of three members who settle on the motto “Getting In, Getting On” for that year’s fair. The first exhibitors from other federal states apply to take part and thus, the number of stands grows. In order to accommodate them all, space for 10 exhibitors is created on the first floor between the senate room (room A 102) and the library. Power cables are laid by the organisers themselves with the help of a number of students. Three series of presentations and the supporting programme “Fit for Work” offer plenty of input for the visitors. The catalogue expands: it includes the programme and a coloured reproduction of the floor plan to help visitors find their way around.

The boundaries of the Rhein-Sieg region are abolished and companies from all over Germany come to showcase themselves. The number of exhibitors rises to 60; they fill all of Hochschulstraße and the automation room (now building section C). The first image advertisements are booked in the catalogue. The presentation programme fills 30 time slots and covers all kinds of topics from application tips to company presentations. Minister President Peer Steinbrück is the event’s patron.

The name Unternehmenstag (Company Day) is introduced and the fair becomes more structured. The concept becomes more specific and is advertised correspondingly.

During the first year, there was no poster. The image shows a snapshot of the foyer on the first Company Day. At that time, it was still called “Engineer Day”.