As one of the best trainees in Germany, mathematico-technical software developer Christian Wegmann from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) was honored by the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK) yesterday evening (December 03, 2018) in Berlin. During the Best-of-the-Year event, Germany’s 200 best apprentices were handed over prizes. Key-note speaker at the event was Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
In early November already did Christian Wegmann receive the award for the best apprentice in Baden-Württemberg. From 2015 to 2017, the mathematico-technical software developer passed his vocation-al training at KIT’s Institute for Neutron Physics and Reactor Tech-nology in the Neutronics and Nuclear Data team headed by Dr. Ul-rich Fischer. Here, numerical methods, computation codes, software tools, and characteristic nuclear data are developed. This work per-fectly met with the mathematico-analytical interests of Christian Wegmann. From the very beginning, he was involved in the scien-tific activities of the group and, for instance, developed visualiza-tion programs for simulation data of particle motions in a reactor. “My agenda also covered geometrical computations, as our team also studies geometries of fusion reactors,” the former trainee says. He worked independently and developed solutions for concrete applications, from the concept to programming to implementation. This was not only much fun for Wegmann, but also pushed his pro-fessional development. “I learned a lot and had a good time with much freedom I do not want to miss.” The software developer was rather surprised about the triple honor - local, on the state level, and on the federal level. He completed his vocational training ahead of schedule after 2.5 years in late 2017. Meanwhile, he has started to study mathematics at KIT.
Christine von Vangerow, Vice President for Human Resources and Law, considers Wegmann’s prize another proof of quality of KIT’s vocational training: “Apart from academic education of our stu-dents, vocational training is of high priority at KIT. With 420 trainees, we are among the leading institutions offering vocational training in the region. Honors and prizes, such as that of Christian Wegmann now, reflect the high quality of vocational training at KIT and the generally very good results reached by this year’s class of trainees.”
On November 8, 2018, ten trainees of KIT, corresponding to nearly 10% of this year’s class, were honored by the Karlsruhe Chamber of Commerce and Industry for an average grade of 1.9 and better. Andreas Schmitt, Head of the Vocational Training Unit, considers the trainees’ good results a motivation to continue the efforts to win the best trainees every year. “These results also support us in providing and further developing conditions fostering high-quality vocational training,” Schmitt says. “I am very happy about this honor and congratulate Mr. Wegmann as well as all other successful train-ees and trainers at KIT.”
KIT offers to young people vocational training in more than 30 tech-nical, scientific or commercial professions. Twelve study programs are offered in cooperation with the Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University. The trainers do not only impart latest expert knowledge, but also promote individual skills of the young staff members.
For more information on vocational training at KIT, click www.bea.kit.edu (in German only).
The photo may be downloaded on the website of DIHK (in German only):
https://dihk.imageplant.de/media/detail/9979/category/343/?page=7
Being “The Research University in the Helmholtz Association”, KIT creates and imparts knowledge for the society and the environment. It is the objective to make significant contributions to the global challenges in the fields of energy, mobility, and information. For this, about 10,000 employees cooperate in a broad range of disciplines in natural sciences, engineering sciences, economics, and the humanities and social sciences. KIT prepares its 22,800 students for responsible tasks in society, industry, and science by offering research-based study programs. Innovation efforts at KIT build a bridge between important scientific findings and their application for the benefit of society, economic prosperity, and the preservation of our natural basis of life. KIT is one of the German universities of excellence.