From scholarship holder to project manager

Franziska Faßbender's father is a craftsman. Creating something on her own and holding a product in her hands at the end - that's what Franziska wanted too. Even if she can't hold her product in her hands, there is a result at the end; more specifically: a building. Because Franziska is an architecture graduate.

"I'm fascinated by the process of seeing a building through from design to construction and watching it grow," says Franziska, summarising what fascinates her about her profession. She completed her architecture degree at the Faculty of Architecture at FH Aachen from 2014 to 2020. In her master's thesis "Vertical Green", she planned a building whose green façade purifies the air and serves as wind and sun protection. The idea of incorporating nature and the environment into the planning of a building came to her during her semester abroad at the Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María in Valparaíso (Chile). Here she learnt how the different climatic conditions in Chile influence local construction methods.

Today, Franziska works as a project manager at the Brainergy Park in Jülich - a business park that serves as a real laboratory for research into sustainable energies and technologies. The aim is to create ideal conditions for innovative start-ups. The architectural centrepiece of the park will be built in the centre of the site within five years - the so-called Brainergy Hub is a building in which all stakeholders can exchange ideas and network. The building is intended to reflect the park's characteristics architecturally. Franziska is coordinating the search for a suitable architectural firm as part of a competition.

Franziska has also coordinated and organised at the FH. She worked as an assistant at the faculties. She is also no stranger to close contact with companies, as Franziska has been a scholarship holder at FH Aachen twice. The one-year scholarship consists of financial support totalling 300 euros per month and non-material support. Each scholarship holder is assigned to a sponsoring company, which finances half of the student's scholarship. The other half is provided by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research as part of the Deutschlandstipendium programme. In addition, the students not only maintain a close dialogue with "their" sponsor - in Franziska's case, the Aachen Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) and the construction company nesseler bau gmbh - but also visit other regional companies. "On the one hand, it is the financial support and the associated improvement in study conditions that is fundamental to the scholarship programme. On the other hand, the programme also focuses on networking with the regional economy. We now have over 50 companies and foundations that are close and reliable partners of the university and award a total of over 100 scholarships," says Carolina Getto, Head of the Alumni Management and Fundraising Department, which coordinates the programme and acquires the scholarships. Franziska says of the scholarship: "It not only gave me financial peace of mind, but also interesting insights into companies that I was able to get to know for the first time."

After studying architecture, two scholarships and a stay abroad in Chile, the FH graduate has now arrived in professional life. She remains true to her motto: "I think it's cool to do something where you have visible results. That fulfils me," says Franziska Faßbender.

Text: Julia Bäumler