Olaf Knopp is sitting in his office with a headset on this November morning, Karolina Düthorn in front of her desk at home. The founder and Managing Director of the Bonn-based IT company Wheregroup was already involved in the first round of the Geomentoring program in 2016. So he knew exactly what he was letting himself in for this year's repeat. In complete contrast, Karolina Düthorn, a 24-year-old geography student. When she saw the notice, she still had two standard semesters of her Master's degree ahead of her. And, of course, she had no idea what to expect from the mentoring program. She was at the start of her career, Olaf Knopp, 52, in the middle of it. The classic starting point for mentoring, in which the experienced person passes on their knowledge to younger people. Or is it?
Mentoring as an opportunity for both
The two don't see it quite so one-sided - here the teacher, there the learner. They did not come together by chance in this program, they were brought together according to their interests and wishes. "We fit together well as a team and have both seen the project as an opportunity. Sometimes one sits at the handlebars, sometimes he pedals," says Knopp. For him, it was a matter of course to be involved in such an experiment. After all, he is a geographer himself and knows how difficult it is to find a job that corresponds closely with the content of his studies. Knopp also completed training as a systemic coach at the beginning of the year and knows how much mentoring benefits personal development.
Professional exchange
Karolina Düthorn still needs about six months to complete her Master's degree. Her thesis will deal with 'Spaces of fear in the city'. She recently submitted the corresponding synopsis. As an experienced geographer, founder and managing director of an IT company with 40 employees and, of course, in his role as mentor, Knopp has played his part. "Olaf supported me with the direction of the Master's thesis. I presented the topic to him, put forward theses, we discussed and fine-tuned them," says Karolina Düthorn.
Close to teaching
When asked whether Knopp's participation as a mentor was not primarily about recruiting new talent, he replies: "We certainly need new talent. At times, we have even focused our website more on employees than on our customers. But when it comes to mentoring, that plays a subordinate role for me." He appreciates the exchange, the proximity to teaching and to young people. And he benefits from being able to change his perspective once again and feel the idealism of this special phase of life.
Successful career guidance
Meanwhile, Karolina Düthorn got to know the work at Wheregroup in depth during a six-week internship. In the middle of the first lockdown. "The office was pretty empty, but I was happy to be around people at all. Getting a taste of software development then went exactly as she had expected: "I now know what is out of the question for me at the moment," laughs the student. And the company owner laughs too: "I meet so many people who are unhappy in their jobs. And I always try to encourage them to dedicate themselves to what they enjoy." Karolina Düthorn is one step ahead of many other career starters: the internship showed her what she doesn't need if she wants to be happy in a job. And by talking to Knopp, she learned how important it is to dedicate herself to what she really wants and can do.
A special instrument
Mentor and mentee see the geobusiness region bonn program as a special tool for knowledge transfer. When something comes up, she simply calls Olaf and he can often help her, says Karolina Düthorn. And Knopp adds that it is simply fun to exchange ideas with young people. "You shouldn't miss out on this instrument," he says. As he compares it to the previous program in 2016, he points out how important the personal exchange is, which has now become less frequent due to coronavirus.
"Olaf," says Karolina Düthorn at the end of the interview, "if I ever need GIS software in my job, I'll give you a call." Olaf Knopp laughs: "You know that's not what I'm about."
The two say goodbye from the virtual room: "Get in touch if you need help," Knopp sends her as a parting shot. "You too," replies Karolina Düthorn. The two will be in the saddle together for some time to come. The Geomentoring program has been extended until the end of 2021 due to coronavirus.
The WhereGroup company
WhereGroup is a dynamic medium-sized software company for geo-information systems. We develop open source solutions with a spatial focus and are deeply rooted in the open source community. Our customers are primarily larger public authorities and companies from various sectors such as energy, transportation, telecommunications, agriculture and security. The projects are correspondingly diverse and exciting. In this highly specialized industry, the search for new employees is always a challenge. Many degree courses such as geography, geodesy or computer science and vocational training courses such as IT specialist or geomatics technician provide the necessary basic knowledge. However, experience shows that graduates have to undergo several months of internal training in order to be able to work in this rapidly developing market. This makes it all the more important for the company to recruit young talent in order to retain specialist staff as early as possible and to be able to train them in a targeted manner. WhereGroup provides internships (which have been continuously filled even during the Covid-19 pandemic), employs working students, trains apprentices itself, supervises final theses and has been active in the GeoMentoring program for years.