The President’s Office Hours Kick-off for a new dialogue format

Already at her inauguration in September last year, it was an important aim for Prof. Angela Ittel, President of the TU Braunschweig, to start a personal exchange with the members of the TU Braunschweig. Thus, in addition to the festive inauguration in the evening, there was a Meet Up in the afternoon, to which employees and students of the TU Braunschweig were invited. Since her inauguration, Prof. Angela Ittel has of course remained in close contact with the members of the TU; during visits to the faculties and the main research areas, in the committees and at many other appointments. Now, another format is being launched with which Prof. Angela Ittel would like to enter into a low-threshold and trusting exchange with all members of the TU Braunschweig – a office hour of the President. At the start of this office hour on April 25, we asked Prof. Angela Ittel about the idea of this office hour.

Prof. Dr. Angela Ittel, President of TU Braunschwei. Picture credits: Kristina Rottig/TU Braunschweig

How did the idea of this office hour come about?

Prof. Angela Ittel: It is important to me to be an accessible president for all members of the TU Braunschweig. For the top researcher as well as for the students or the science-supporting staff. This means that I need and want to be in contact with all status groups. For this purpose, we will offer different formats in the future and will test which exchange formats are best suited so that you can be heard and we can enter into a conversation. One of these formats is this office hour, which I will initially offer once a quarter.

How exactly can I imagine such a office hour?

Prof. Angela Ittel: The office hour is an offer, which gives you individually or also in small groups the opportunity to discuss a topic important to you together with me in a confidential setting in about 20 minutes. It can be nice or sad study or work experiences, things you would like to improve or questions you are looking for advice on. It can be research or proposal ideas or strategic considerations that we discuss. You bring your topics with you. We can choose to talk in German or English. The topics will be kept strictly confidential. There will be no documentation.

Prof. Dr. Angela Ittel talking with members of the TU Braunschweig during the meet up for her inauguration in September 2021. Picture credits: Max Fuhrmann/TU Braunschweig

Who can register for an appointment at your office hours?

Prof. Angela Ittel: All members of the TU Braunschweig are invited to take up this offer – either as an individual or in small groups.

What do you wish and hope to take away from the office hours?

Prof. Angela Ittel: I hope to gain a lot of different experiences and impulses from the topics you bring in, to get to know you better as individuals and as members of the TU Braunschweig, and thus also to gain a more comprehensive insight into our university. Only in this way can we work well together and develop proactively. I would be very glad if you take this opportunity!

The key data for the office hours

When: The president’s first office hours will be held on April 25 between 11 a.m. and noon. The next office hours this year are scheduled for August 25 and November 03. In each case, there will be an announcement or reminder in advance in the newsletter “Die Woche an der TU Braunschweig”.

Where: The office hours on April 25 will take place in the President’s office in the Forum building at Universitätsplatz.

How: In order to offer all participants better planning and a protected time frame, we have decided to divide the one-hour office hours into time slots of about 20 minutes each. You can register for the office hours as an individual or as a small group of up to 5 people via this link. In case of “overbooking” of the three time slots, the decision will be made by random draw, i.e. three registrations will be selected at random. We will let you know in the week before the office hours which time slot is reserved for you.

Any questions? Please contact Katharina Beckmann (Personal Assistant to the President) or Dr. Katharina Salffner (Acting Head of the Press and Communications Office).