Career Launchpad WS25/26

Empowering International Students to Build Careers in Germany

On 27 February 2026, students at Paderborn University came together for Career Launchpad, an evening dedicated to helping international students navigate the German job market, strengthen their professional profiles, and take confident steps towards their future careers.

Organised by the ASV in collaboration with the DAAD-funded project – InRegioFIT, with support from the International Office, the event brought together a diverse group of student and non-student speakers who shared practical insights from different academic and professional perspectives.

From university to the German job market

The workshop event focused on some of the most important questions international students face when preparing for their careers in Germany. The sessions covered topics including:

• Relevant skills and projects for building a strong professional profile
• CV and cover letter preparation
• Job-search strategies and platforms
• Interview preparation
• Practical experiences and insights into developing a career in Germany

The evening began with an opening by the President of the ASV, Sarim Syed Zuhair Haider, and Anna Miroyan and Lakshay Khanna (representing InRegioFIT) followed by presentations from speakers representing a range of academic and professional backgrounds.

The speaker lineup included:

• Dr. Ashwin Prasad – Computer Science
• Kshiti Chitte – Applied Neurosciences in Sports and Exercise
• Adviteeya Saha – Physics
• Soham Roy, Annada Prasad Sahoo & Syed Sarim Zuhair Haider – Electrical Systems Engineering
• Zafeer Khan – International Economics and Management

The variety of speakers was one of the strengths of the event. Rather than presenting career development as a one-size-fits-all process, the sessions offered students perspectives from different disciplines and experiences, helping attendees understand how they can translate their own academic journey into a professional profile suited to the German context.

A hybrid event that reached beyond the room

Held at Paderborn University, Career Launchpad attracted a strong in-person audience. At the same time, the hybrid format allowed students who could not attend physically to participate remotely.
More than 50 participants joined online, making the digital participation one of the event’s notable successes. The combination of in-person interaction and online access helped extend the reach of the programme and enabled students with different schedules and circumstances to take part.

A particularly meaningful event for Applied Neuroscience students

The event received especially positive appreciation from students of the Master’s programme in Applied Neuroscience in Sports and Medicine. For many of these students, Career Launchpad represented one of the first career-guidance initiatives organised by the student body specifically offering practical support for their professional journey.

The enthusiastic response highlighted the importance of creating more opportunities where students can openly discuss career preparation, ask questions, exchange experiences, and learn from peers and other speakers who have navigated similar academic and professional paths.

Building a stronger career community

Career Launchpad was ultimately about more than CVs, applications, and interviews. It created a space for students to think about how their academic experiences, projects, skills, and interests can come together to form a meaningful professional profile.
The collaboration between ASV, InRegioFIT, and the International Office also demonstrated the value of bringing student initiatives and university-supported programmes together to address the practical challenges faced by international students.

With the positive feedback from students across programmes, Career Launchpad marked an important step towards creating more student-led career and professional development opportunities at Paderborn University.
As international students continue to build their futures in Germany, initiatives like this can help turn questions about “What comes next?” into concrete conversations, strategies, and opportunities.

The ASV plans to organize this event every semester with InRegioFIT, and seeks to involve other entities including district councils, companies from the region, and keynote speakers from the university.

Organizational Credits

A huge thank you to the volunteering team who contributed to making Career Launchpad a successful event! Special thanks to the Head of International Office, Stefan Schwan, and the coordinator of InRegioFIT, Anna Miroyan, for the collaboration support.

Event Organization

• Syed Sarim Zuhair Haider — Conceptualising and planning, speaker on-boarding and communication, and spearheading the event
• Lakshay Khanna — Planning, media & marketing, technical support
• Nikita Pathare — Planning and organization, technical support
• Pavan Rao — Planning and organization, and manager of the technical department

Thank you to every volunteer for the time, teamwork, and effort that made the event possible!