A Look Behind the Science: Career Perspectives at CERN & Forschungszentrum Jülich
Curious about what it’s really like to work at two of Europe’s most exciting research institutions? Join our virtual career event and get exclusive insights into CERN and Forschungszentrum Jülich.
Alissa Aarts
The event is aimed at university students and graduates especially in engineering and computer science. into CERN and Forschungszentrum Jülich stand for cutting-edge research, groundbreaking technologies, and international teamwork. They offer state-of-the-art working environments and diverse career paths in science, technology, and IT.
You will gain exclusive insights, learn about fields of activity, and have the opportunity to ask questions directly to experts from two world-leading research organizations. Particularly valuable: the group discussions enable personal conversations.
Programme highlights:
- Inspiring kick-off & orientation: Welcome and introduction to the event
- Working at the forefront of research: Insights into CERN and Forschungszentrum Jülich as employers: projects, work culture and career paths
- First-hand role model talks: Four colleagues talk personally about their career paths, areas of responsibility, tasks and research projects
- Direct networking: Break-out sessions for personal exchange, individual questions and genuine contact with the speakers.
Participation is online and free of charge. Prior registration is required.
This offer is expressly not only aimed at external interested parties. Employees and alumni of both organizations are also very welcome. Especially against the backdrop of fixed-term contracts in science, this event opens exciting prospects and attractive opportunities for change into two top research institutions.
Meet the role models:
Tjorben Heine (CERN)
Tjorben is a graduate of the Erasmus Mundus programme "International Master of Science in Fire Safety Engineering (IMFSE)," for which he studied at the universities of Edinburgh, Lund, UPC Barcelona, and Ghent. Prior to this, he completed a B.Eng. in Rescue Engineering at HAW Hamburg. During this time, he worked in the fire and rescue services.
He conducted his master's thesis at CERN in collaboration with the fire safety engineering team and the CERN fire and rescue service. He developed a probabilistic model to assess the influence of firefighter intervention on a tunnel fire. After graduating, he started a graduate position at CERN, where he will be working, among other things, on the intervention concept for the planned Future Circular Collider (FCC).
Carolin Penke (Forschungzentrum Jülich, JSC)
Carolin Penke is a mathematician and high-performance computing researcher whose work spans numerical linear algebra, scientific computing, and artificial intelligence. She studied technomathematics at Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg and conducted her doctoral research at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems, where she developed efficient algorithms for structured eigenvalue problems in electronic-structure calculations.
In 2022, she joined the Jülich Supercomputing Centre at Forschungszentrum Jülich as a member of the Accelerating Devices Lab, contributing to the OpenGPT-X project. In this role, she supported the training of one of the first European large language models and helped ensure the efficient use of large-scale computing systems. Her recent work includes contributions to the HPC.nrw competence network and algorithm development for novel computing devices.
Tim Brücklmayer (CERN)
Tim Brücklmayer is a mechanical engineering technician at CERN, specialising in welding technology. He works on the development and manufacture of high-precision components for large-scale scientific research facilities. In his talk, he will provide an insight into his work at CERN, as well as the specific requirements for manufacturing and welding technology in an international research environment.
Simon Gottschalk (Forschungszentrum Jülich, IBI-4)
Simon Gottschalk is a mechanical engineer with experience in product development, experimental research, and rheological measurement technology. During his bachelor’s studies, he gained practical insight into the automotive industry at an OEM and later completed his Master’s degree at FH Aachen, focusing on product development in mechanical engineering.
After gaining one year of international experience in Canada, he completed his doctoral research at Forschungszentrum Jülich, where he developed a novel miniaturized rotational rheometer for low sample volumes. His work combines mechanical design, prototyping, experimental validation, and the transfer of research ideas into practical applications. In his current role as a postdoctoral researcher at IBI-4, he focuses on advancing this rheometer technology and promoting its broader scientific application.