{"id":981,"date":"2026-06-17T11:31:51","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T09:31:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stay2grow.de\/?p=981"},"modified":"2026-06-17T11:31:51","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T09:31:51","slug":"starkes-netzwerk-fuer-internationale-fachkraefte","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stay2grow.de\/en\/starkes-netzwerk-fuer-internationale-fachkraefte\/","title":{"rendered":"Strong Partnership Network for International Talents"},"content":{"rendered":"

An increasing number of partners are committed to supporting international talent in the wir4-region.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences in Kamp-Lintfort, around 2,300 young people are enrolled, many of them with international backgrounds. More than 80% remain in Germany after graduation \u2013 representing enormous potential for securing skilled labour in the wir4 region.\n\nThis is precisely where the STAY2GROW (S2G) project, funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, comes in. The initiative connects international students at Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences with companies, municipalities, associations and other regional stakeholders, with the aim of creating career opportunities and fostering long-term social integration.\n\n\u201cWe want these students to stay in our region. To achieve that, they need to feel at home here and be aware of the career opportunities our companies have to offer\u201d, says Beate Tr\u00e4m, Managing Director of the wir4 Agency<\/strong> , which is responsible for the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the launch of the project in spring 2025 and the successful kick-off forum in October, STAY2GROW has continued to gain momentum. A broad-based network has emerged, bringing together representatives from businesses, local municipalities, the university, the student community, as well as stakeholders from the cultural and sports sectors.\n\nLast Monday, the mayors of the four wir4 municipalities met with the STAY2GROW network for a photo opportunity at the Kamp-Lintfort campus. The occasion also provided an opportunity to learn about the current status of the project\u2019s activities and its planned future initiatives. Julia Zupancic, Mayor of the City of Moers,<\/strong>is convinced of the importance of the project:\n\n\u201cWe have excellent opportunities and great potential here in our region. It is important to make the most of these strengths by supporting international students on their journey, facilitating their integration into our region, and opening up long-term career prospects for them locally.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In close cooperation with the university and the students themselves, the project team is working with the network to develop concrete measures that help international students integrate into community life and enter the regional labor market, while at the same time securing a pipeline of qualified young professionals for local companies in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creating Connections, Building Belonging<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creating pathways to social integration through sports and culture is a key element of STAY2GROW. In cooperation with local sports clubs and the university sports department, a Just for Fun - soccer tournament<\/strong> is currently being planned. The event will bring together students, members of various sports clubs, employees of local companies, and staff from the four wir4 municipal administrations, fostering interaction and exchange through sport.\n\n\u201cSport creates opportunities for people to connect in a simple and uncomplicated way. Shared sporting activities encourage interaction, help build new friendships, and support international students in settling into the region and feeling at home here in the long term\u201d, explains Heiko Osthaus, University Sports Coordinator at Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences<\/strong> . The tournament will take place on Saturday, 26 September 2026, at the sports facilities of Alemannia Kamp e.V.. All teams will be mixed-gender teams consisting of both women and men. Registration will open shortly and will be announced through STAY2GROW\u2019s communication channels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A different kind of career fair \u2013 that is the idea behind the \u201eCampus and Career Run (CCR)\u201c<\/strong> , developed by the STAY2GROW network. Companies and students get to know each other in an informal setting during a shared running event. With routes of three and five kilometers, the focus is on fun, networking and social interaction. For both companies and students, the event offers an excellent opportunity to combine team building with recruitment. The Campus and Career Run will take place on 28 April 2027 at the Kamp-Lintfort campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the cultural sector, Susanne Rous, Eva Marxen and R\u00fcdiger Eichholtz are championing initiatives for international students. A Culture Pass is being developed to provide students with discounted access to concerts, festivals and other cultural events. In addition, an information platform is currently under development to raise awareness of these opportunities and make them easily accessible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Companies Create Opportunities and Share Experiences<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A key milestone of the project is the establishment of the STAY2GROW Network for International Talents<\/strong>Within this network, companies work together to connect with international students at an early stage, create pathways to internships, working student positions and graduate employment opportunities, and exchange experiences on the integration of international professionals. For Gudrun Hodey, Head of Human Resources at VitalCentrum Hodey KG,<\/strong> the initiative opens up new opportunities:\n\n\u201cSTAY2GROW provides companies with a valuable platform for networking and for working together with the university to develop solutions for securing skilled labor. We are currently planning a bachelor\u2019s thesis project in the field of IT within our company and hope to build a long-term collaboration from this, helping us future-proof our IT operations.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Companies that would like to connect with international students at an early stage and actively help shape the future of skilled labor development are warmly invited to join the STAY2GROW Network for International Talents<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next network meeting will take place on 8 July from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.<\/strong> at Schirrhof, Kamp-Lintfort.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contact for interested companies and associations: Josephine Runge <\/strong>(Tel. 02841 999969-13, josephine.runge@wir4.net<\/a>) or Sarah Bothen <\/strong>(Tel. 02841 999969-15, s.bothen@wir4.net<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Preparations are underway for the launch of a \u201cCampus Meets Company\u201d Week<\/strong> in spring 2026. During this initiative, companies will invite students to visit their facilities and gain first-hand insights into their operations. The aim is to provide students with a concrete understanding of the career opportunities available within the region. All companies in the wir4 region are very much invited to participate. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further initiatives currently being planned include workshops with students as well as a mentoring programme in cooperation with the Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur f\u00fcr Arbeit).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On 8 July, STAY2GROW invites companies from the wir4 region to join its Business Network for International Talents event.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":989,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-981","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stay2grow.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stay2grow.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stay2grow.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stay2grow.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stay2grow.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=981"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/stay2grow.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/981\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":990,"href":"https:\/\/stay2grow.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/981\/revisions\/990"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stay2grow.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/989"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stay2grow.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stay2grow.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stay2grow.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}