Gunter Menge, Class 01-13
I worked at the NIT from 1999 (beginning with NIT Class 01) until 2015 as a Manager Educational & Student affairs as well as Associate Director.
Current place of residence: Hamburg, Germany
Currently working as: Since I have retired in 2022 I now enjoy the pensioner’s life. My last employer was the “Studienkolleg” at Hamburg University.
Where are you currently working and what is the biggest issue that you are facing at work or what is currently keeping you busy there?
In 2015, after 16 exiting and satisfying years at the NIT and TUHH, I made a new step in my professional life which led me back to my basic qualification as a teacher. During this period, many refugees from Middle East and central Asia came to Germany. Young students needed support during their integration process into the German educational system. So, I joined a professional school where I taught as a class tutor a group of young refugees in German as a foreign language, accompanied them to a first German school leaving certificate and supported them to find a position in vocational training in companies in Hamburg. Two years later I joined the “Studienkolleg” at Hamburg University as a lecturer and gave courses in History, Social Science and German language. This program is offered to international students from all over the world and leads to the German abitur (university entrance qualification).
Has there been a professional challenge since you were a student for which your studies or experiences at the NIT have prepared you for perfectly?
During the long period at the NIT I was mostly involved in management tasks in student recruitment, admission and examination affairs, German language training, support during internship placements, maintain contact with sponsor companies, international partner universities and German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). This experience and the possibility to work together with students from all over the world was a perfect background for teaching international students and preparing them to their study at Hamburg University.
What has happened in your private life in the meantime?
Now, as a pensioner, I have more time for social engagement in my home town, for traveling and for reading. And I have started to learn another foreign language (Spanish). Last but not least, we are happy now to be able, after retirement, to visit our grand-daughters and their families in Madrid as often as possible.
What is your most precious / special / remarkable memory from your time studying at the NIT?
Several exiting visits, together with NIT students and colleagues, to foreign universities both in Europe and overseas gave me unforgettable experiences. But the most remarkable memory from my time at the NIT was the possibility to develop individual relationships with so many interesting NIT students and to be able to accompany their personal and educational development from first contact during application process until final graduation and successful career start in NIT’s partner companies in Germany or abroad.
How to keep in touch with me:
Via LinkedIn.
Photos:
Below: During a trip to China with former NIT president Prof. Bauhofer and NIT student Wei Sun, Class 04, on a visit to a steel plant in Shanghai.
Above: As a pensioner in my garden in Hamburg.