University of Stuttgart receives “Prize for an exemplary traineeship program in University Communications”

The University of Stuttgart has been awarded with the 2023 Volo Prize from the Bundesverband Hochschulkommunikation (Federal Association of University Communications) for its exemplary traineeship program. "We’re very happy to have won this award. It’s also very important to us to introduce young colleagues to the broad spectrum of scientific communications and give them the opportunity to independently improve their career prospects within a managed framework", says Lydia Lehmann, Acting Head of University Communi­ca­tions and Acting Press Spokesperson
Offices of the Assistants to the Rector. "This is the third time in a row we have received the award, which well documents a continuous quality of our training standards," she emphasizes.

Since 2016, the University of Stuttgart has been offering an editorial traineeship in the field of university communications. During the two-year training, the trainee works in all areas of the department, from press and public relations, website maintenance and social media to event management and the creation of print products. In addition, he or she gains an insight into many areas of the university, such as the Central Administration, the Office of the Rectorate or in research projects. The traineeship also includes several weeks of external training, for example in schools of journalism.

The current trainee at the University of Stuttgart, Jacqueline Gehrke, received the “Prize for an exemplary traineeship program in University Communications”. The Bundesverband Hochschulkommunikation introduced the Volo Prize 2019 to ensure that the traineeship in University Communications remains a popular and useful career move right across Germany. The University of Stuttgart is one of 18 universities to receive the prize this year. It was based on a survey held among trainees, who evaluated the conditions of their training. Among other things, the survey included questions related to the training plan, meetings between the trainee and their mentor, further training opportunities and remuneration.

The Bundesverband Hochschulkommunikation[de] is the association of the responsible parties for communication at universities in Germany. Its members include more than 1000 communicators from more than 340 universities, (technical) colleges, art academies, conservatories, sports universities, as well as cooperative state universities and private universities.