Vitus Henning is our first Jungheinrich International Graduate. As one of the assignments of the programme, he has joined the Project Engineering team at arculus for the research and development of our autonomous mobile robot - the arculee. The initiative gives him a unique opportunity to experience the best of corporate and startup cultures. In this article, Vitus shares valuable insights about the program, his role, and his learnings thus far.

Hi Vitus. Thank you for joining this interview! Please tell us a little about yourself.

Vitus: “I am 25 years old and come from Darmstadt, a city near Frankfurt. After completing my Master's in Robotics, Mechatronics, and Automation at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, I joined Jungheinrich as a graduate. One of my assignments is planned with the Project Engineering team at arculus, so I am working at the Munich office for the next few months.”

What is the Jungheinrich International Graduate programme? How does it work?

Vitus: “It is a two-year program. Generally, graduates get an overview of Jungheinrich, learn the organisational structure, and understand the company procedures. It also prioritises specialisation. My focus is on how research and development (R&D) works in both Jungheinrich and arculus. For others, the focal point might lie in pricing, sales, or production, for example. Lastly, the initiative heavily emphasises building a network. And we're not just talking about connections within the organisation, but also with the current and former graduates.

The graduate programme comprises several cross-functional projects, including at least one with a team located in another country. In the programme's second half, graduates are supposed to initiate a project with their classmates, which we then present to a big audience at Jungheinrich. We also have individual and group coaching sessions to refine our hard and soft skills. Besides these, we can also pick assignments of our choice, giving us enough room to explore.

At the end of the programme, Jungheinrich allows us to opt for the department we liked the most in these 24 months and continue the journey in a full-time role from there.”

And how does your academic background relate to your current role?

Vitus: “My current posting at arculus focuses on the research and development of the arculee, which requires some degree of technical knowledge and skills in robotics. My educational background comes in handy here.”

What was your motivation for applying for the graduate programme?

Vitus: “For me, these initiatives are generally a fantastic way to start a career after university. Therefore, I was already searching for similar opportunities when I came across Jungheinrich International Graduate Programme. What I found particularly interesting about it was the chance I would have to work with robotics. That made it a perfect combination of advanced technologies and my love for robots.”

Now tell me about arculus. What does your typical day look like here?

Vitus: “First and foremost, I wake up and get ready for work, of course (laughs). I usually arrive at the office around nine o'clock. We have a daily team meeting where we all talk about our tasks for the day. We also share important updates from the day prior and discuss solutions for any potential issues we might face when working on our assignments.

Once the meeting is over, I move on to my responsibilities. Recently, I have been contacting other departments back and forth to get insights and discuss possibilities for a new project, which means plenty of meetings. I have also been working on reviewing past results. On top of that, I get small assignments from my supervisor, like restructuring our product page on Confluence. Or if any task piques my interest, I join in supporting my co-worker(s). For instance, last week, I helped my team member troubleshoot Raspberry Pi (a single-board computer) for product development verification, also known as a testbench.

The best part of my day is between these work responsibilities: the lunch break. I enjoy it because, most of the time, all my colleagues eat lunch together in the common area, and that’s always a lot of fun. As I tick off all my tasks, I pack up and head out to explore the beautiful city of Munich.”

That sounds interesting. What has been your favourite task so far, and why?

Vitus: “I recently attended a workshop at our Gaimersheim office. One of our Senior Software Engineers, Iuri Ferreira, shared some basic knowledge about the arculee, like where and how it is used and who our customers are. I also learned the techniques to troubleshoot the robot on Linux and how to extract useful data. At the end of the workshop, I had a much better understanding of our product.”

And how do you collaborate with other team members in the development of the arculee?

Vitus: “My team is involved with the arculee Backpack, stations, and everything around them, such as the charging station or calibration tools. From time to time, we have meetings and brainstorming sessions. Lately, one colleague had a problem, and we all met the next day to solve it together. I believe discussions like this generate better ideas and solutions.”

How has your experience been so far with cross-functional collaboration and working with team members from diverse backgrounds and skill sets?

Vitus: “I love working in an international environment. I am still getting to know colleagues from different countries, but whomever I have met has inspired me in some way. And here’s a fun fact: most conversations occur around the coffee machine.

Besides these small talks, the bi-weekly sprint reviews have given me some essential insights from all the robotics departments at arculus. I have a fair idea now about who’s working on what and what they plan to do next.”

Can you tell us how the graduate programme encourages personal and professional growth?

Vitus: “With technical assignments, like the project I am working on nowadays, I am improving abilities that I can use in a full-time position in the future. I also have the opportunity to attend workshops and training classes with other graduates, where I can learn and develop leadership and management skills. This initiative will, therefore, also polish my soft skills, such as effective communication, teamwork, and decision-making.”

What are some of the new skills you have developed in a startup environment?

Vitus: “The team meetings have helped me develop critical thinking skills, and my planning has overall become more structured. I’d also add that I have become more adaptable. I think the use of SCRUM methodology at arculus plays a considerable role in fostering these competencies.”

How do you believe this graduate programme creates a synergise between Jungheinrich and arculus?

Vitus: “Post-acquisition, this is a great move to bring both companies together and learn from each other. As a graduate, this is an incredible opportunity to get familiar with both companies, their work cultures, the AMRs, and the team behind them, particularly because my specialization is in the same field.”

What kind of learnings do you expect to bring to your next posting?

Vitus: “From arculus, I will for sure take the workstyle, mindset, and perspective on the topic I am working on. My next assignment will be at Jungheinrich, so I am excited to discover how different their standpoints are.”

To conclude, do you have any advice for potential applicants?

Vitus: “If your focus is not centred around acquiring just technical expertise but also networking and gaining experience in different teams with diverse views, this programme is for you. It will allow you to explore, find the right department, and prove your abilities in various projects.”

Students often struggle with maintaining a balanced work-study life and finding support from their community. While arculus provides several platforms to connect and interact with colleagues, the Working Student Connect initiative offers more than that. Here's how a small yet significant step makes students' lives easier at arculus.

Connecting the dots

The Working Student Connect is a platform for and by students at arculus to connect, interact, and network with each other. The inspiration came from the arculus Buddy Program, an initiative designed for new hires in full-time positions to facilitate their onboarding process.

"We belong to different departments and, in some cases, different cities. And we, too, sometimes get nervous during our onboarding process and often seek support."

Kerstin Schwering (Working Student People)

With the help of the People's team, our pupils started working on building a community that could be more than just onboarding assistance. They wanted to bring all students at arculus together under one roof. Anika Lorenz (a former thesis student and now full-time employee) describes the idea as "allowing students to network, becoming the support system of each other through the exchange of work routine stories, student life hacks, and hobbies. But most importantly: having fun." In April 2022, the Working Student Connect was created.

Insight into details

Each meeting is half an hour long and happens virtually on a monthly basis. This way, the maximum number of students can participate, regardless of their working locations. There is also a slack channel for communication and coordination with all students, along with a Confluence page with tips & tricks for university life.

Every session has an agenda to ensure structure. It includes the rituals of introducing new students, suggestions for ice-breaking questions, discussions about work topics, and a Q&A session at the end. The work matters primarily refer to contract extension, taxes, payroll bureaucracy, open positions for working students, office policy updates, and other organisational subjects.

In case someone brings up a query or problem, students with a similar experience or knowledge are encouraged to help. Therefore, Anika invites all participants to confidently put forward their questions. "Never hesitate to ask because there is always someone who knows the answer. And if you know the right people, you get the answer faster.", she explains.

The fun element

For Kerstin, it’s essential that these meetings include more than just information and organization issues. "They should be fun; no one wants just formal information," she explains. "The purpose of adding icebreaker questions in the agenda, for example, was so everyone could feel comfortable participating. It allows participants to open up to their colleagues and get comfortable with each other," she adds.

For a connection beyond virtual limitations, students are invited to meet outside the office every few months, like at parks or cafes. "It's a good break from work and studies. You keep your worries aside, eat, drink, play games, and get to know your colleagues better.", says Sadaf Hayat (Working Student - Social Media Communications).

The challenge

As mentioned earlier, the working students have their university schedules and priorities, making it a challenge to have them all together in the meeting. "Initially, I spent much time choosing a day and time that could suit everyone's schedule. However, I soon realized it's hard to find a timeslot that fits. Now, the focus is on quality time rather than the number of attendees.", says Kerstin.

Why is the initiative a hit among our working students?

Hassan Saeed (Working Student - Cloud Engineer) finds this platform a great source of help to tackle problems commonly faced by working students. "The initiative is always an excellent way to communicate with all fellow pupils in the company, who tend to share similar issues in life. The meeting helps all of us find solutions in a friendly environment and also provides one more channel for monthly updates about arculus.", he explains.

Tena Valenta (Working Student - Content Creator) also appreciates how convenient these meetups are for discussing the daily challenges of a student. "In our meetings, we tend to talk about everything, from work to random facts and private matters. I admire that everyone is always warmly welcomed and allowed to share their thoughts and queries.", adds Tena

All in all

The aspiration of this initiative is not only to keep the working students informed about the company updates but also to give them a point of connection through students from other departments. It also provides them with a sense of belonging through a supportive environment and opportunities to connect and interact with colleagues from the same phase of life.

"We have a page on Confluence and a group on Slack dedicated to the students only, and everyone shares information, tips and hacks that can make our student live less stressful. In a true sense, I see this as a small but meaningful community where we have each other’s backs. Along with other initiatives at arculus, work-study life truly becomes less stressful."

Sadaf Hayat

If you are not from Bavaria, the word "Ramadama" probably doesn't mean much to you. The term, which roughly translates to "we are cleaning", is used in Bavarian to describe voluntary clean-up campaigns. The goal is to collect trash from public spaces to ensure proper disposal. At arculus, we've decided to come together on the beautiful banks of the Isar river to make Munich a little cleaner and strengthen our team's social bonds.

A Brief History of Ramadama

In 1949 Munich was not as beautiful as it is today. Although the 2nd World War had already ended four years before, the city still had devastating marks of bombing raids. Streets were full of stones and rubble, and many houses were yet uninhabitable. At that time, Thomas Wimmer was the mayor of Munich. He wanted his people to leave the dark years of the war behind and bring them a more optimistic view of the future. But the first step was cleaning up.

So, on the 29th of October 1949, Wimmer called on the people of Munich to clean up together. "Rama Dama!" (We are cleaning) he called, and over 7500 volunteers answered. Men, women, children, and even the mayor himself picked up shovels to free the city from the dirty scraps of the war. Together, the population removed more than 15,000 cubic metres of rubble that day, and Munich soon looked more beautiful again.

Since then, "Ramadama" has stood for joint clean-up activities. With the support of local Waste Management Companies, voluntary citizens from all kinds of different groups come together all across Bavaria to make their cities cleaner.

The arculus Team Clean-Up

So, to honour our Bavarian roots and commitment to social responsibility, some members of the arculus team decided to get together for our very own Ramadama gathering. The chosen location was the beautiful banks of the Isar river, not far from our headquarters office.

Just like every arculus gathering, the event also offered a fun possibility to tighten the team's bonds in a different setting. "It was much more than just picking up trash. We even created a collaborative playlist to make sure that we could make it a fun social happening.", says Maria Souza (Social Media Coordinator).

For some new joiners, like Johannes Maier (Robotics Engineer), it was also a possibility to get to know some colleagues for the first time. "It was fun to walk along the Isar with the new colleagues and to do something good for the environment at the same time", he explains.

Like any Ramadama action in Munich, the arculus clean-up had support from AWM (Munich Waste Management Company), who provided the cleaning materials and assisted with the general organization. Kristina Frank, Municipal Officer and First Works Manager of AWM, explains, "A Ramadama like this is a great community experience. All these people are thus voluntarily taking responsibility for cleanliness in their home city. AWM is therefore very happy to support this sustainable civic engagement to preserve Munich's recreational areas."

Want to join our next event? Then apply to one of our open positions here!

Acceptance, strategy, and trust: learn how these three keywords come together to define Maria's experience as a Social Media Coordinator at arculus.

Hey Maria, welcome to our interview! First things first: can you explain what are your main tasks as a Social Media Coordinator at arculus?

I'm actually responsible for taking care of arculus presence online. That includes our social media channels, of course, like LinkedIn and Instagram. But also our online presence in general, our website and our blog as well.

My goal is to make sure that as many people as possible get to know who arculus is, what we stand for, what we do, and who we are. That includes potential customers but also potential joiners for our team.

When people think of a social media coordinator or manager, they usually think of someone who spends all day on Instagram or TikTok. But the job is actually much more than that, I get to think strategically, and I need a lot of organizational skills, but in the end, I really like what I do.

And what do you appreciate most about working at arculus?

First of all, being an immigrant in Germany, for me, it's really important to actually get to know more people, and everyone at arculus has been so nice to me so far. And all of the social events are also a great plus.

But also, as a member of the LGBTQ community, it feels amazing to be able to bring my full self to work, not having to hide a part of me. That makes waking up and going to work much easier every day. And, of course, the work-life balance is also a great plus for me. Being able to take care of myself outside 
of work as well, and this whole combination of things makes it easier and makes me feel good working here.

What arculus value do you most identify with?

Definitely trust. It's really good to know that I'm trusted to do the job I was hired for. So no one is really questioning my decisions towards what I think is better to fulfil our strategy and my tasks. And also, relating to time management, there's no one really checking how many hours you're working. No one really cares as long as you deliver what you're supposed to. And that's really different from 
what I have experienced so far in other companies.

And one last question: what excites you the most about the Jungheinrich acquisition?

I actually come from quite a strong corporate background. So, for me, it feels a bit like "going back home". I really appreciate how these big companies have people all over the world who are working 
towards the same goal, so you actually get to meet people from different cultures and understand how they work. And, of course, the safety that comes with a big corporate job is also a nice bonus.

Watch Maria's full video interview below:

New hires are sometimes nervous or hesitant to address concerns and ask for assistance. There is some amount of stress which is natural yet overwhelming. That is where our six-month Buddy Program comes in - to facilitate integration through a social approach. This article will cast light on the process, its benefits to the team, and its guidelines, all from the perspective of arculus employees.

The buddy program is an onboarding initiative to familiarize new joiners with the company's culture, processes, standard protocols, and policies with the help of experienced colleagues. The program has been in place since 2020, thanks to the efforts of the arculus People's team.

“The aim is cross-functional development, enrichment of the employee experience, and good integration of recruits within different teams.”

Afiffa Batool (Talent Acquisition Recruiter & Partner)

How does the initiative work?

It is a six-month voluntary program, which requires a minimum of three meetings with half an hour each. Participants are free to hold sessions anywhere; it can be on the office premises, outside, or even online (depending on the location of both participants). "Most of the time, I am in the Gaimersheim office and only a few times in Munich. That's why I have had almost all of my buddy meetings online. But once, when we were both in the same city, we finally got to meet and talk over lunch.", explains Jonas Jaeger (Production Engineer).

The people's team takes three factors into account when selecting buddies. The first is if, after the end of their probation period, the employee wants to volunteer for the program. The second is to ensure that the participants are not in the same team so that the new joiner gets as comfortable with other groups as they would be with their usual peers. It also opens avenues to learn and understand what other departments are working on. The third is if the new employee works totally remotely, then they must get a buddy who works from the office. That allows them to see how everything is done at the workplace without feeling left out.

The program has no formal template to follow, and the meetings generally occur in an informal setting. "For me, it's always a casual meeting where we introduce ourselves. I explain a bit about the company, who is who, and my own experiences. It is also an opportunity to get more familiar with the other person.", describes Lisa Bell (Content Creator).

The idea is to lend ears and shoulders to the new colleagues; therefore, there are no final goodbyes. "In theory, your job is done after six months, at the end of your peer's probation period. But, for me, it is not a job; I see it more like being there and supporting that person," says Maria Souza (Social Media Coordinator). "You can for sure meet and talk as often after it ends.", adds Lisa.

Nonetheless, participants need to keep certain principles in mind. As someone's buddy, one is not supposed to review the job performance, be a subject matter expert, or be expected to know everything. Buddies should offer encouragement and support, give honest feedback, provide suggestions for more efficiency and productivity, and keep the shared information confidential.

What makes the buddy program a symbiotic relationship?

Maria recalls how the buddy program facilitated her transition when she joined the team in January 2022. "It was nice to have someone to explain how arculus works and give me a positive outlook regarding what awaited me at this job."

Fabian Na (Mechanical Engineer) reminisces how this program gave him his point of contact in the company. "My buddy made me feel comfortable and introduced me to everyone. She also gave me a little background on what had happened in the company so far and explained a bit about the arculus culture."

Nevertheless, Fabian also believes it is an equal opportunity for the buddy to learn something new. "Now, being a buddy myself, I understand the company's culture better. Also, I get to give them information on how the company is and get to know that person better, especially if they're in a different department."

Like Fabian, Lisa finds the program a medium for connecting with other teams. "I'm always curious about what's happening in the other departments. What are they working on now, and what are their challenges? It also allows me to understand our products better as they continuously develop."

Reasons why our employees approve of it

Based on an internal company survey, arculus has received a positive response from the employees. They agree that this program helped them achieve a smoother onboarding process, better understand how other departments in the company function, and develop soft skills like networking.

"You develop many more connections in cross-functional teams. Without the program, many colleagues wouldn't have a clear vision of how processes work in other departments, or even what they're working on. Now, thanks to this creative initiative, we all have a much better understanding of the roles and responsibilities of the other colleagues."

Lisa Bell, Content Creator

TL;DR

The buddy program, in a nutshell, is a low-maintenance solution that has helped new joiners at arculus with integration. It provides them with a safe space and time to learn about the company culture, values, and operations through an experienced fellow worker. By combining it with other social and technical integration and onboarding initiatives, we provide possibilities for engaging with colleagues and improving knowledge about the company as a whole. As a result, we have well-informed and motivated employees with higher productivity rates right at the end of their onboarding process.