Making contacts, getting to know cultures and arriving in the region - the Welcome Center at TRK offers international professionals numerous events to help them make connections - both professionally and privately. Find out more about the networking opportunities and our events.
On July 29, 2025, we welcomed more than 130 representatives from business, administration and education to the Center for Art and Media (ZKM) together with the Karlsruhe Economic Development Agency - on behalf of the India Board Karlsruhe. The focus was on the topic of "Skilled workers & trainees from India" - an evening full of impulses, exchange and inspiration.
Speakers from politics, business and practice gave exciting insights into successful collaborations with Indian talent and showed how this cooperation is already working successfully today - and what potential still lies ahead. Experts contributed their specialist knowledge to the focus groups on care, hotel & catering, skilled trades, IHK professions and IT & students and opened up new perspectives for companies and institutions in the region.
A particular highlight was the interview with Jörg Ritter and Mr. Nayan Patel from SVKM's Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), which impressively demonstrated the opportunities for successful university cooperation. Joachim Lederer, President of the State Association of Butchers BW, also generated enthusiasm: He passionately reported on how Indian trainees are helping to safeguard the butcher's trade and create new opportunities for the future.
A big thank you to all the contributors and guests who made a significant contribution to the success of this event through their commitment and presence. Special thanks go to Sabine Dietlmeier for her charming co-moderation and the always professional and inspiring cooperation.
This event was much more than an exchange - it became a catalyst for new cooperation between the Karlsruhe TechnologyRegion, Baden-Württemberg and Indian partners in the field of skilled labor recruitment. A strong signal for sustainable cooperation and shared future prospects!
Together with almost 40 international specialists and managers and network partners from the Karlsruhe TechnologyRegion, we were able to be part of a very special experience on July 5, 2025: the Peter and Paul Festival in Bretten.
A big thank you to Lord Mayor Nico Morast, who personally took time for our group, welcomed us and happily introduced us to the symbolic handover ceremony - it was a great honor!
Bailiff Thomas Lindemann also welcomed our guests with open arms.
The enthusiasm was great: for many of the international specialists, it was the first time they had been able to experience such a large, traditional festival - with historical costumes, impressive craft demonstrations and a lively presentation of history.
The Peter and Paul Festival is part of UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage and the largest medieval festival in the southwest.
City guide Susanne Otte vividly told the story of the siege of Bretten in 1504. During a tour, we immersed ourselves in the medieval hustle and bustle and were given a great introduction to the history of the city, insights into the life of the lansquenets and sutlers, a demonstration of basket weaving and were welcomed at the Pfeffersäcke stand
A day that shows how history can unite - and how welcome diversity is in our region.
Many thanks to all the guests who came to Bretten on Saturday despite the heat!
A big thank you to Bretten Town Council & the team at Bretten Tourist Information for making the International Come Together within "Peter-und-Pauls" possible!
Cross-border employment between Germany and France. Social and tax regulations 10.10.2024
Thursday, 10.10.2024, 4 - 6 p.m.
Eurodistrict PAMINA, 2 Rue du Général Mittelhauser, 67630 Lauterbourg
Bilingual event in French and German!
Target group:
Managing directors, HR managers, executives, interested parties from companies in the Karlsruhe TechnologyRegion and its neighboring regions.
Agenda
16.00 Welcome
16:05 Collectivité européenne d'Alsace
16:10 Welcoming skilled workers to the region
Petra Bender, Welcome Center TechnologieRegion Karlsruhe
16:20 Definition of "cross-border worker" - regulations in social and tax law
Sylvia Müller-Wolff, EURES-T
17:10 Practical help - forms & applications
Claudia Hitier, Philipp Geisberger, BARMER
17:25 INFOBEST PAMINA: Information
Stéphanie Roser & Denise Loewenkamp
17:40 Best Practice
Jonathan Scherrer, Sofitex GmbH
18.00 Networking & Snacks
Please register by e-mail to [email protected].
New Welcome Guides for the Karlsruhe TechnologyRegion!
Our Welcome Guide Training 2025 took place in mid-July and we are thrilled to welcome 8 new Welcome Guides for international professionals in the region.
Together with Meike von Platen-Holzapfel, intercultural trainer, we were able to successfully conduct the training for the fifth time.
THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone involved!!! We would like to thank our new guides for their commitment and openness. You not only bring intercultural knowledge, but also the heart and attitude to welcome international professionals to the Karlsruhe TechnologyRegion and make their start easier. We are delighted to have you in the network and to be able to further strengthen the welcoming culture in the region together!
What are Welcome Guides? Welcome Guides are committed citizens who make it easier for international professionals to get started and settle into their often unfamiliar surroundings. They share their own experiences, provide impetus for new contacts, give the gift of time together and thus help new arrivals from abroad to quickly feel at home.
International professionals and students like to come to our region. They usually integrate quickly at work or at university. But what about life outside the workplace? One participant described her experience as follows: "Meeting my Welcome Guide made a big difference to my life here in Germany. Having someone as "my friend" here in Karlsruhe finally gave me a sense of "belonging"."
An offer especially for partners of your international employees
Language: English
If you not only want to attract international specialists, but also retain them in the long term, it is a good idea to consider the career prospects for the accompanying partner.
Our workshop offer is aimed at partners of international skilled workers who would like to develop and realize their own career prospects in the region. We provide information about the regional job market and explain the special features that need to be considered when applying for a job in Germany. The development of application strategies, exchange of experience, networking and advice make the offer an ideal starting point for a successful start in the TKR.
For this workshop we were able to win Meike von Platen-Holzapfel, an experienced dual career specialist. Meike von Platen-Holzapfel is HR Manager at BASF SE, Career Coach (ICF certified) and intercultural trainer. Responsible for the welcoming culture at BASF's headquarters for many years, she has played a key role in enabling numerous partners of international specialists and managers to successfully continue their own professional careers in Germany.
www.linkedin.com/in/meike-von-platen-holzapfel
Interested?
Please contact: [email protected]
"Finally a professional appointment just for me again, outside my husband's circle of acquaintances, was so good! I have new motivation to apply for jobs in the region!"
Networking, meeting new people and making connections - the International Come Together is a place for encounters. Especially in the early days, it is important to make contacts - both professionally and privately. The Welcome Center TechnologieRegion Karlsruhe invites international professionals and students as well as interested parties from the Karlsruhe TechnologyRegion (TRK) to the meetings.
In addition to the International Come Together, we and our partner network in the Karlsruhe TechnologyRegion (TRK) offer you further events.
The Internationale Begegnungszentrum Karlsruhe e.V. (ibz) offers a wide-ranging cultural program and is characterized by a variety of integration-promoting offers and projects. The ibz was founded in 1995 following a decision by the Karlsruhe City Council to actively combat xenophobia and right-wing extremism.
Through information events and cross-cultural encounters, the ibz actively contributes to the reduction of prejudices and a better understanding between Karlsruhe residents from all over the world.
We want to help people who are new to Karlsruhe to find their way around more quickly and soon find a home here.
The alliance AniKA - Arriving in Karlsruhe offers initial information and initial orientation from a single source on this exchange platform. It aims to help you feel welcome in Karlsruhe through advice, networking and support. The calendar of events shows offers for internationals in the region, here is a selection:
SprechPunkt is a free service for practicing the German language. Groups are formed according to language level and accompanied by volunteer facilitators. The evenings take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 18:30 to 20:00. Registration is not required.
The "Freunde für Fremde" association at the ibz offers language courses for refugees and asylum seekers. They learn German in small groups under the guidance of volunteers.
