IKaruS Newsletter, Issue 2/2026

Dear members of the University of Koblenz,

Amidst the height of summer, we have put together a colourful selection of the latest topics from the Interdisciplinary Career and Study Centre for the second issue of our newsletter in 2026.

As part of the new interdisciplinary Master’s programme, a new module has been developed at the Skills Academy: New Work. Key issues relating to the changing modern world of work are addressed here in a series of workshops.
We organised a highlight of the IKaruS year at the start of June: the University Experience Day. In this newsletter, we offer a brief glimpse behind the scenes of the event for prospective students.
The IKaruS counselling team has been part of the Working Group on Doubts about Study Doubts, where counsellors from various universities, colleges and universities of applied sciences exchange ideas on how to advise students who are having second thoughts about their studies.
Finally, let’s take a look at our a wide range of events and briefly highlight a few events from the past few months.

We wish you a lovely summer!

Best regards
The IKaruS team

A new module in the Skills Academy: New Work

Since the summer term of 2026, the Skills Academy has been offering the new module New Work. The subject area New Work takes the structural changes in the world of work as an opportunity to explore the following questions:
How do we want to work in the future? What role do we ourselves play in this?

In this module, students can expect workshops featuring practical examples, discussions and periods of reflection, during which they will critically examine modern forms of work and organisation. The focus is on topics such as work-life balance, time prosperity, pressure to perform, sustainability of corporate culture and contemporary leadership. They will learn to identify structural challenges within organisations, assess new working models and develop future-proof solutions. At the same time, participants will have the opportunity to reflect on their own values, their ideas of success and their personal understanding of leadership.

The following workshops are on offer during the summer term:

• Shaping diversity strategically – Diversity, power and responsibility in the workplace (12 June 2026)
• Family. Work. The Future. – How a family-friendly corporate culture enhances sustainability in organisations (3 July 26)
• Lead the Change – Modern leadership starts with me (4 July 26)
• Working to live, or living to work? Time prosperity as a key skill for organisations in the future (10 July 26)

The module was developed as part of the newly accredited interdisciplinary Master’s programme. Currently, students on Master’s programmes can have workshops from this module recognised for credit, provided that these include (optional) skills development within the Skills Academy.
You can find the workshops and further information about the module here: Module: New Work

University Experience Day 2026 – Behind the Scenes

At the start of June, staff at the IKaruS once again organised the University Experience Day – which proved particularly nerve-wracking in the run-up to the event this year due to the uncertain weather forecast. Our organising team had been keeping a close eye on the weather forecast for quite some time, because whilst there is always a ‘sunny’ and a ‘rainy’ version of the stall layout, the Mikado Square would have remained rather empty in the event of rain and therefore would not have offered much of an experience.

The final weeks leading up to the University Experience Day are always hectic for the team. Thanks to the four years’ experience we’ve now gained, we have a very solid project plan in place for the event, and our team has developed effective routines for many of the processes. Nevertheless, there are simply a great many tasks to be completed in the months leading up to the ‘big day’. To name just a few: There’s, for example, the production of printed materials such as leaflets and posters, organising the numerous activities offered by our university’s participants (rooms, floor plan, website!), and coordinating the social media advertising campaign, which this year included TikTok adverts for the first time. We also send out materials to schools, recruit first-aiders for the day, book billboards and organise students to act as guides for the campus tours, for which a record number of 391 people – including groups such as school classes, but also individuals – have signed up!

This year, everything took place under even more challenging conditions. A few weeks before the event, the entire IKaruS team moved from ESS8 to ESS12, which meant that, right in the middle of the busiest planning phase, all the materials had to be packed and then unpacked again. All our promotional materials, welcome gifts for early bookers, banners, lists, decorations… So for a while after the move, the game was: ‘Which office did that end up in during the move?’.

So there was plenty going on, and for our team, the last few busy weeks leading up to the event day are certainly full of stress and uncertainties, but they’re also exciting – and this time really brings us closer together! And in the end, everything turned out well: the weather was kind to us, we had plenty of visitors and the atmosphere was brilliant. And most importantly: you! Without the many dedicated people from all faculties and institutions, the day simply wouldn’t have been possible. We’d therefore like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to everyone who took part and, through their various contributions, made it possible for visitors to enjoy a truly special University of Koblenz experience.

The IKaruS advisory team is part of the ‘Study Doubts’ working group

The ‘Study Doubts’ Working Group was established as part of the Career Service Network Germany (csnd) and organises a meeting twice in each term to facilitate an exchange between counsellors supporting students with doubts about their studies at other universities, higher education institutions and universities of applied sciences. The IKaruS counselling team is part of the working group, which focuses on specific topics and methods relating to counselling for students with doubts about their studies, as well as on aspects such as public relations and resources related to counselling.

Counselling for students experiencing doubts about their studies covers specific issues and challenges, as the reasons for these doubts can vary greatly. For example, some students have doubts about their choice of study programme or subject, whilst others question the idea of studying itself. Often, organising one’s own work is also an issue, and the doubts are not based on any specific subject matter. As such, the scope of support for students ranges from time management and decision-making to assistance in finding alternative resources and opportunities. The aim is to provide open-ended counselling to help students find the path that suits them best – whether at the University of Koblenz or elsewhere.

Discussions within the working group show that the problems and issues are often very similar regardless of location or subject area; as a result, for example, joint consideration is given to how students can be better supported at different stages of their studies through tailored support programmes. The numerous factors that play a role in students having doubts about their studies or dropping out entirely make the discussions within the working group – involving counsellors from other educational institutions who also focus on students who are having doubts and/or are at risk of dropping out – extremely valuable for the IKaruS counselling team.

IKaruS’s varied programme of events

In addition to established event formats such as the workshops and seminars organised by the Skills Academy, our Language courses and the growing number of Self-study courses The Interdisciplinary Career and Study Centre team is also constantly organising new events.

In March, for example, the Online information session on the dual-subject Bachelor’s degree took place, at which anyone interested could find out more about this study programme. For the first time, an Networking event for first-generation students was organised, bringing together alumni, lecturers and other university staff, as well as students.

In June, the Career Service organised its second ‘student hour’ event, offering students the chance to win one of ten places for a professional job application photo shoot via a wheel of fortune. At the end of June, there was also the first edition of Connect & Create in the Alumni Edition, which gave students the opportunity to get in touch with alumni from various faculties. The format “Connect & Create” will take place once a term in future.