On 3 April 2025, the nationwide Girls' and Boys' Day, 21 girls and boys visited the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut, Federal Institute for Vaccines and Biomedicines. They learned about a wide range of professional fields in the laboratory, technical workshops, animal facilities and in information technology (IT). For the first time, the visitors were also able to playfully experience working with a disability in an activity offered by the Representative for Persons with Disabilities. The internship day is intended to support children and adolescents in orienting themselves freely and openly in all directions when choosing a career, regardless of common gender stereotypes. The Paul-Ehrlich-Institut has been participating in this nationwide action day for career guidance for more than two decades.
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Source: Paul-Ehrlich-Institut
A group of 21 students went to the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut on Girls' and Boys' Day instead of attending classes at school. The young people got to know more about Paul Ehrlich and the history of the Federal Institute for Vaccines and Biomedicines in the museum. Afterwards, the group went to the allergology laboratory and the haematology, cell and gene therapy laboratory. In the labs they learned why accuracy is so important in laboratory work and that a colour can consist of many components that can be separated from each other using chromatography – a basic principle of the method.
This year, the Representative for Persons with Disabilities offered a station for the first time, in which the girls and boys could experience everyday life with a disability in a playful way. How does communication work if you are hearing impaired? How do you orient yourself when you are visually impaired? And can you then rely on your other senses?
In the precision engineering and electronics workshops, the girls and boys bent sheet metal, built multi-outlet power strips, and much more. The young people were also able to experience how a computer works in a very practical way: they took individual components apart step by step and learned about their respective functions. A visit to the animal facilities rounded off the eventful day.
Institute employees provided detailed information about the diverse lines of work and job descriptions at the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut. This allowed the girls and boys to learn about and experience many professions independently of common gender stereotypes.
"We are pleased about the high level of interest from young people and are happy to take the time to introduce them to the diverse professional fields at the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut,"
said Professor Stefan Vieths, President of the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut. "This allows us to pique the interest of future specialists in our work at an early stage."
The Paul-Ehrlich-Institut offers exciting career prospects in the fields of medicine, science and administration. Keeping the Institute running also requires specialists in the facility management, technical maintenance, and IT fields, which are included in the Institute's vocational traineeship program.
Updated: 03.04.2025
