Under the motto "STS and the Arts", the students of the STS and RESET Master's degree programs planned and held this year's Student Spring Gathering in Berchtesgaden (12.04.–14.04.2024). The annual Student Spring Gatherings are intended to bring together students of both subjects from all cohorts and offer space for self-organized exchange; the Student Spring Gathering is facilitated and funded by the STS- and RESET-study program office. Alongside the subject-specific program there was enough room for discussions about everyday university life, life in Munich, and career prospects of STS and RESET.
On the first morning of the Gathering canvases and paints were provided to creatively approach the question of what makes the perfect STS student. In the afternoon, the media artist Noam Youngrak Son presented us his recipe for “Cooking Quantitatively With Energy”. The live cooking- and meme-making-show made the students reflect on the scarcity of energy and attention. With all this new inspiration, the students started the next part of the program, which gave three STS and RESET alumni the opportunity to talk about their experiences of starting a career. Which skills from the STS and RESET degree program were they able to apply particularly well in the job market? What advice would they give students for their career choice? The three alumni, who now work in academic administration and communication, in the private sector and on a doctorate in health sociology, were able to give the students plenty of advice and confidence.
The rest of the Saturday evening was spent exchanging ideas and contacts for existing and future student initiatives in order to fully exploit the potential of an STS or RESET study program. The Student Spring Gathering ended on Sunday with a visit to Haus der Berge in Berchtesgaden. The Haus der Berge is dedicated to the Berchtesgaden National Park, its flora and fauna, the local agricultural economy and the life of the people in the mountains.
All in all, it was an interdisciplinary, creative, artistic and convival weekend that provided STS and RESET students with lots of new ideas and inspiration for the rest of the summer semester!