The Welcome Centre of the Göttingen Campus and the Südniedersachsen Region has opened its regional office for the City of Göttingen. The University of Göttingen, the SüdniedersachsenStiftung and the City of Göttingen presented the joint project to more than 100 guests from business, science and politics. In his welcoming address to the participants, Mayor Rolf-Georg Köhler emphasized the importance of the project for the further development of the region as an attractive location to employees and employers.

At the opening ceremony in the Council Hall of the City of Göttingen, Prof. Dr. Hiltraud Casper-Hehne, Project Manager and Vice President for International Affairs at the University of Göttingen, and Dr. Martin Rudolph, Head of the Göttingen Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Chairman of the Board of the SüdniedersachsenStiftung, gave insights into the current status of the project. Afterwards, professional advisors Jeanette Clément and Heike Borrmann presented Welcome Centre services, which ranged from support in the search for adequate living space, a kindergarten or school place to help with official steps such as the residents’ registration office, visa and residence issues as well as the German banking and insurance system. The concluding entrepreneurial discussion offered the opportunity to discuss the services. Dr. Robert Vollmers, Managing Director of Qioptiq Photonics, stated: “The Welcome Centre enables a triple win-win-win situation through the close networking and cooperation with the municipalities and the companies: for the companies, the region and finally the new employees who come to the region”.

More than 40 partners are currently supporting the project, including universities, business enterprises, associations and municipalities from the districts of Göttingen and Northeim, as well as the districts themselves. The project will be funded by the state of Lower Saxony until mid-2019 and will then go into regular operation.

Photo: Council hall. Christina Hinzmann 2018