Could you tell us briefly about yourself?

I took a bachelor’s degree in chemistry at Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität in Münster (Germany), and am now completing my master’s in business chemistry. I chose to major in this because I wanted to move from basic research in academia to application-oriented work in industry, but without losing touch with my chemistry background. And that’s what brought me to Evonik.

So how exactly did you get to Evonik?

Before completing my studies I wanted at all events to gain some initial practical experience in a chemical company. As a global and especially innovative specialty chemicals group, Evonik appeared to be the right choice. Because innovation management had already been a focus area of my studies, I was particularly interested in Evonik Creavis GmbH, the strategic innovation unit of Evonik. After my semester abroad, I quickly found a suitable internship at Creavis on the online career portal for portfolio development. And then things moved very fast: I uploaded my documents, sent off my application, got a mail in reply, went for an interview, and in July 2017 started my internship. Up to the end of November I worked mainly in two areas, occasionally alone but often in a team with colleagues.

And what are you doing now at Evonik?

After the internship I completed my final module at WWU Münster and then returned to Evonik—and in fact to Evonik Creavis GmbH—in February 2018, to work on my master’s thesis. This had already been arranged during my internship, and for me it was perfect to be able to flexibly coordinate my return with my academic schedule. We’re now already into late July of 2018 and I’ll soon be completing my master’s thesis. In the last five and a half months I’ve been working on the design of a systematic approach to the digital transformation of the Tissue Engineering Project House. This involved mainly digital collaboration, but also digital knowledge and stakeholder management.

What, according to you, are the distinguishing features of Evonik?

During my work at Evonik I was particularly struck by the future-oriented thinking there and the associated study of new technologies and trends. The lively, open culture and encouragement to act on one’s own initiative make everyday work demanding and varied. Although Evonik is a large group with a workforce exceeding 36,000, you feel right away that you are part of the company and quickly network with the relevant contacts. This is achieved particularly through open communication and good use of enterprise social networks. For me this adds up to a well-rounded overall package!