On 12 March 2025, Natalia Moriz, research group leader at the Institute Industrial IT (inIT) and member of the gender equality team at Technische Hochschule Ostwestfalen-Lippe (TH OWL), welcomed a special group of visitors: women exploring new career prospects as part of a joint project between AußerGewöhnlich GmbH and Jobcenter Lippe. The aim of the project is to question traditional role models through gender-neutral counselling and to encourage women to consider technical and scientific professions.
AußerGewöhnlich GmbH (english: ExtraOrdinary GmbH) supports people individually in recognising their personal potential and discovering new career paths. Natalia Moriz warmly welcomed the visitors to the CENTRUM INDUSTRIAL IT (CIIT) and gave them a brief insight into her work in the field of gender equality and professional re-entry for women at TH OWL. She then guided the participants through the open and modern research environment. Together they explored the SmartFactoryOWL, the FutureFoodFactory and the InnovationSPIN.
Experience technology: Exciting tours of the campus
The first stop was the SmartFactoryOWL, where transfer manager Patrick Spanier gave the visitors a practical introduction to the production technologies of the future and highlighted the career opportunities offered by technical degree programmes and apprenticeships. The tour continued to the FutureFoodFactory, where Nele Jantz from the office gave an impressive demonstration of how technology and nutrition can be combined in innovative ways. Vivid examples from food technology gave the women concrete insights into possible career fields. The event concluded with a visit to InnovationSPIN, where coordinator Sandra Janczyk gave an insight into campus life and explained how technological developments are enriching traditional professions. She emphasised how the campus specifically supports interdisciplinary collaboration.
Exchange and inspiration through practical insights
The day's guided tours and talks were a complete success. The visitors gained a wide range of insights into technology, research and career opportunities in the STEM sector. The exchange was profitable, and the training and study programmes offered by TH OWL met with great interest, especially from four women who had fled from Ukraine.
Natalia Moriz is in charge of the re-entry programme for female engineers and scientists at TH OWL and drew a positive conclusion: "It was great to see how much interest the women showed and the exciting conversations that developed. Such visits clearly show how important direct insights and tangible experiences are in order to break down fears of contact with technical professions. Our factories and laboratories are ideal places for this and offer many points of contact with real fields of application."