Sophie Breideband

My name is Sophie Breideband and I am 20 years old. Since August 1, 2018, I have been apprentice as an IT specialist for systems integration at  Fraunhofer IWKS in Alzenau. I chosed Fraunhofer for various reasons. Firstly, because I personally attach importance to sustainability and because I can support the research team in this way. On the other hand, I already had the feeling at the interview that I was very welcome. In addition, I was offered a short tour of our building and laboratories during the interview, which gave me some insights.

In the first few days I learned a lot about Fraunhofer IWKS and the world of work. Together with my educator and my apprentice colleague, we travelled a lot in our branch offices, for example in Würzburg, our main location. There we looked at the existing hardware, such as server cabinets. Otherwise, we were able to work a lot independently and got to know other areas of our administration, such as controlling and purchasing. There we were able to check incoming goods and work with project data.

My apprenticeship began in August 2018. Since then I have learned and experienced a lot. I was mainly occupied with the IT hotline. There, colleagues approach us when they have questions about software and hardware. I try to help them as much as possible to solve their problems. Often the problems are simple hardware configurations and software installations.

I also get quotes for various IT projects. For example, I recently planned a media concept for our new building with my colleague. We also maintain, configure and install our server cabinets. For example, by installing a switch system. What's more, I'm a telephony, licensing and security officer.

In general, I can say that I feel very comfortable at Fraunhofer. I can always count on support. Fraunhofer offers many opportunities for further education and training for apprentices.