Contact at Eye Level: STUDENT DAY Brings Companies and Students Together

The shortage of skilled labour is one of the most pressing issues in the packaging industry. Companies are desperately looking for young talent and numbers in the key degree programmes are falling at an alarming rate. Many companies have therefore recognised that it is important to establish contacts at an early stage in order to attract young talent. FACHPACK and the German Packaging Institute (dvi) act as intermediaries and have been offering platforms for establishing contacts for some time now.

The long-standing cooperation between the German Packaging Institute and the trade fair comprises various initiatives, including the presentation of the Packaging Award. This year, the partners are also joining forces to recruit young talent and are jointly inviting them to STUDENT DAY at the trade fair on 26 September 2024. ‘FACHPACK is a premium partner of the German Packaging Institute and supports, among other things, the student conference that was launched by the dvi a few years ago,’ reports Oliver Berndt, Head of Events & Marketing at the dvi. Discussions between the partners have now led to the idea of organising the student conference in parallel with the trade fair and as part of a STUDENT DAY. “This is a win-win situation for us and the trade fair. The students can experience the trade fair and at the same time the companies have the opportunity to present themselves during the STUDENT DAY,” continues Berndt.

The STUDENT DAY offers three main elements: a trade fair rally where students can visit the stands and get to know the industry in one place; lunch together in a speed dating format to encourage direct contact between students and companies; and workshops where companies work on practical tasks together with the students. This programme is designed to break down barriers and enable companies to interact directly with potential young talent. “The STUDENT DAY helps students to make valuable contacts, which are also useful for future student research projects or requests for materials. In turn, this keeps the companies in the students‘ minds as employers or for an internship,” explains Berndt.

Breaking Down  Barriers

The departments and locations of the participating students are mixed, which promotes dialogue and learning from one another. Students from different disciplines such as design and sustainability gain insights into the packaging industry and better understand how diverse and important it is.

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Eugen Herzau, who is organising a bus trip with students from HTWK Leipzig to FACHPACK for the last time this year, emphasises: “The biggest challenge is that packaging is omnipresent and is often seen as an annoying evil, without people recognising the great benefits that packaging has in modern society. In addition, young people often can't imagine that you can study packaging technology and end up with a future-proof degree.” As the former Dean of Studies of the Bachelor's degree programme in Packaging Technology and Sustainability, he has more than 30 years of experience in attracting young people to his degree programme: “Our degree programme, like the other packaging degree programmes in Germany, is not as popular with prospective students as the Social Work or Architecture degree programmes. But once we have the students in the lecture theatre, they quickly realise that the content is exciting and that they have chosen a professional field that will certainly not be boring and will also offer challenges in the future.”

Oliver Berndt confirms that the industry needs to become increasingly proactive in order to get young talent interested in packaging, instead of just waiting for them to come to them on their own. “Another problem is that many young people are influenced by social media and don't realise how attractive packaging can be,” says Berndt. Against this backdrop, the importance of events such as the STUDENT DAY, where young professionals can come into contact with the industry at eye level, is all the greater.

According to Berndt, an important aspect of this is the utilisation of success stories from former students who are now successful in the industry. Some of the specialists working in the industry today got to know their current employer at previous events. “These alumni, who previously attended the student conference, can give first-hand accounts during the event of how their career paths have progressed and how they have developed in their companies. Personal stories make the industry more tangible and attractive to new talent, as they offer authentic insights into working life rather than just theoretical marketing presentations,” emphasises Berndt.

In the future, the dvi plans to further expand its dialogue with universities in order to create synergies between education and industry. Thinking outside the box, breaking down prejudices and exchanging ideas at eye level are just as much at the centre of this as they are at the STUDENT DAY.