On the one hand, there are many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that need access to talented students, whose budget is not sufficient for elaborate recruiting campaigns or who, as “hidden champions”, are often less well-known than the “big players”. On the other hand, there are talented students who want to understand industry culture, are looking for entry-level opportunities beyond the research and development departments and, as international specialists, wish for uncomplicated access to the German labor market.
So why not bring both sides together? This is exactly what the Technical University of Munich (TUM) is doing with its “1,000+” project week. Following the successful premiere in January 2024, the project week will continue from January 13 to 17, 2025. The aim of the TUM-wide project week is, on the one hand, to familiarize Master's students with the industrial culture and, on the other hand, to give companies access to the talents and the TUM network.
TUM talents solve a real business problem
This is how the project week works:
Up to five TUM Talents will visit the company as a team for one week to get familiar with the work culture. Matchmaking is based on the preferences of the participating companies. The long-term goal is to place 1,000 TUM talents with 200 companies – hence the name “1,000+”.
The company leads the project week and introduces the team to a real business problem, which has been previously solved internally. The team learns about the business processes through interviews, workshops and role plays, among other things, and develops a solution. In this way, the company and students get to know each other better.
At the end of the week, the team presents the results to the company in the form of a poster. The company then presents its own solution to the real-life problem. Company representatives and students then have the opportunity to discuss the two solutions and to reflect on the reasons for the industry solution.
The 1,000+ teams will display their posters at a joint TUM event in April 2025. The corporate partners are invited to learn more about TUM and its institutions on site and to extend their network.
Both sides benefit
The 1,000+ project week offers many advantages:
So why not bring both sides together? This is exactly what the Technical University of Munich (TUM) is doing with its “1,000+” project week. Following the successful premiere in January 2024, the project week will continue from January 13 to 17, 2025. The aim of the TUM-wide project week is, on the one hand, to familiarize Master's students with the industrial culture and, on the other hand, to give companies access to the talents and the TUM network.
TUM talents solve a real business problem
This is how the project week works:
Up to five TUM Talents will visit the company as a team for one week to get familiar with the work culture. Matchmaking is based on the preferences of the participating companies. The long-term goal is to place 1,000 TUM talents with 200 companies – hence the name “1,000+”.
The company leads the project week and introduces the team to a real business problem, which has been previously solved internally. The team learns about the business processes through interviews, workshops and role plays, among other things, and develops a solution. In this way, the company and students get to know each other better.
At the end of the week, the team presents the results to the company in the form of a poster. The company then presents its own solution to the real-life problem. Company representatives and students then have the opportunity to discuss the two solutions and to reflect on the reasons for the industry solution.
The 1,000+ teams will display their posters at a joint TUM event in April 2025. The corporate partners are invited to learn more about TUM and its institutions on site and to extend their network.
Both sides benefit
The 1,000+ project week offers many advantages:
- The TUM talents learn to assess their interests and skills even better.
- The students will serve as ambassadors of the TUM, bringing their experiences with the company back to the university.
- Companies gain access to TUM and its young talents.
- The companies can actively recruit TUM talents.
