Starting signal for the third "i-work Business Award"
JenaWirtschaft and FSU Jena award prizes for cultural diversity in companies
Clear the ring for round 3: Companies from Jena and the region can now apply for the third "i-work Business Award - Intercultural Business Award 2019". All companies that specifically recruit foreign workers and welcome them into the company are invited to take part in the competition.
"Once again this year, we want to highlight successful examples in order to recognize successful HR work and at the same time show what intercultural openness in business can look like. More cultural diversity in the team also promotes innovation and global competitiveness, as we can see in many successful institutions. These examples should set a precedent," says Wilfried Röpke, Managing Director of Jena Business Development (JenaWirtschaft).
Last year, the two award-winning companies - LightTrans International UG in the "Small and medium-sized enterprises" category and Carl Zeiss Meditec AG in the "Large enterprises" category - impressed with their ideas and concepts. In both companies, team members from different nations and cultures work together in an exemplary manner.
Dr. Claudia Hillinger, Head of the International Office at Friedrich Schiller University Jena (FSU), knows the challenges international students face in gaining a foothold here: "One of the main difficulties is that many Thuringian and Jena-based companies are not so well known internationally and international graduates then look beyond the region." According to Dr. Hillinger, there are many great career opportunities locally.
Wilfried Röpke adds: "For us, this competition is about openness to all international workers, regardless of qualification level and sector." The current Jena 2030 study on skilled workers shows that Jena is already relatively well positioned compared to the rest of Thuringia with around 3,500 international skilled workers. "Immigration plays a key role for the location in order to continue to develop positively, summarizes Wilfried Röpke. According to Röpke, this also includes a welcoming culture on the company side.
The closing date for applications for the third i-work Business Award is 08.09.2019. The award ceremony will take place on 05.12.2019 at Villa Rosenthal. Applications are now open on JenaWirtschaft. Ramona Scheiding (Tel.: 0049 03641 87300-36, ramona.scheiding@jena.de) is available to answer any questions.
Background
Wirtschaftsförderungsgesellschaft Jena mbH and Friedrich Schiller University Jena are presenting the i-work Business Award 2019 under the patronage of Minister Heike Werner, Thuringian Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Health, Women and Family. The i-work Business Award was created as part of the project "HiTh-Hochqualifiziert. International. Thuringia." - funded by the Free State of Thuringia from the European Social Fund - and was awarded for the first time in 2017. The competition is aimed at companies in Jena and the region that use innovative concepts and measures to promote intercultural openness for international skilled workers in a special and exemplary way.
The prize will be awarded on 05.12.2019 in the Villa Rosenthal. There are two categories - SMEs and large companies - to take into account the different structural, personnel and financial resources available to the participating companies.