The mood over coffee at the OHB Spacelounge canteen is very good: Viktoria Schöneich, Nikolas Ehrenberg and Sven Zabel are in high spirits – all three are members of the OHB NextGen Core Team and happy to talk about their involvement in the volunteer OHB community. NextGen is the name of a group within the OHB space technology group whose mission it is to create a community for young employees. In addition to casual get-togethers at the pub or at folk festivals, sharing knowledge is also high up on the NextGen agenda. Speaker’s Night regularly features talks on a wide variety of topics related to space travel. In this interview, Viktoria, Nikolas and Sven explain what else is behind the NextGen motto “Educate, Entertain & Inspire” and why the community at OHB is so special.
Hi NextGens, what were the first things you did when you came to work this morning?
Nikolas: I started off with a coffee.
Viktoria: I filled my carafe at the water dispenser.
Sven: I first opened the windows to get some fresh air into the room.
That sounds like the ideal preparation for this interview. Super! Then let’s get started. Tell us, what is NextGen at OHB?
Nikolas: We are a community that seeks to create connections, which is why all OHB employees are always welcome at our events. We have set an internal age limit of 35 years for our NextGen core team (currently 8 active members). In this way, we offer younger employees who want to try things out and get involved at OHB in line with our “Educate, Entertain & Inspire” values the opportunity to participate and make an extraordinary contribution. It was important for us to create a network that goes beyond departmental and project boundaries. There are so many wonderful people here, and we think it is important to establish contacts beyond the small circle of close colleagues.
Viktoria: Here at OHB, we work on so many different projects. It’s nice to think outside the box and know who I can call when I’m faced with a particular challenge. And it helps if I’ve had a beer with the person beforehand. (laughs)
Sven: At OHB, we would like to create an additional and voluntary platform so that we can learn from and support each other. There is a great willingness to help in the community.
What is the aim of the community?
Nikolas: We are trying to build bridges: among each other as well as between us and the Management Board. If there are any topics that are particularly relevant for the community, we here at OHB have an opportunity to meet with management at short notice and to share our ideas with them. I think the fact that this is so uncomplicated at OHB is something quite special.
Building bridges ... that sounds great. What activities are you pursuing to support this project?
Sven: We meet regularly. Sometimes we go bouldering or to the open-air market – and sometimes we have spontaneous meetings. This is all voluntary and done in our private time. And these private connections are then helpful in the work environment. So, our community is also of benefit to the company.
Viktoria: At Speaker’s Night, to which we invite people from all across the Group, we bring the “Educate” aspect to life in a special way. Up to 100 people attend on line. It’s great to see colleagues from the Czech Republic, Sweden and other European subsidiaries. Speaker’s Night is an excellent opportunity to present your own project. Sometimes we’ll talk about the colonization of Mars, then about quantum technology and the next time about another exciting topic from the OHB cosmos. It is always fascinating to see how many projects OHB is working on.
Sven: Any project team can apply to participate in Speaker’s Night. So, we call on all our colleagues who would like to talk about their projects to join us at Speaker’s Night. We welcome your contribution.
Are you also a point of contact for employees who are new to Bremen?
Niko: Definitely. We support HR with the onboarding process. One of us is present at every Newbie talk and we offer our support. Especially at the beginning, it’s important to know, “Hey, I’m not alone”.
Viktoria: It’s also really fun to be part of NextGen. Everyone is happy about our commitment and likes what we are doing.
Sven: New employees can contact us with all their concerns and challenges and immediately have a social group to join – fully in line with our intention of creating connections.
