How many times will Jean-Claude H. be called out today? Once, three times, maybe even five? It’s all happened before, says the 40-year-old. On average, the KIT plant fire department at the North Campus responds to around 400 calls a year. Whether it’s a transformer fire, a gas leak, or a person in distress, the firefighters must be prepared for anything.

“We’re the special forces of our plant,” explains the deputy head of security. “We know every building, what hazardous materials are stored there, and where all the entrances are. That gives us a crucial advantage.”

In 2022, Jean-Claude H. left his job as a site manager in civil and cable engineering to turn his passion into a career. “It was the best decision of my life,” he says. His years in the volunteer fire brigade—where he still serves as a youth leader—helped prepare him for the unpredictable calls, even the ones at 3 a.m. But shifts at KIT have their own rhythm: “We’re on duty for 24 hours, from 8 a.m. to 8 a.m. the next day. We train together, eat together, and respond to emergencies together. The team is like a second family.”

And when he finally gets home to his own family, the tension eases—at least for the next 24 hours, he won’t have to be ready to sprint to the fire engine in 90 seconds.

"She’s like MacGyver, Sherlock Holmes, and Donna Paulsen from Suits all rolled into one!” Katharina D. smiles when she hears what her colleagues say about her. “Well, I just remember what I hear, so I usually have an answer when people ask,” the 40-year-old says matter-of-factly.

But answering questions is just a small part of what she does. Since joining KIT in 2019 after a parental leave, Katharina has become a backbone of her 24-person department. She writes reports, manages payments, juggles appointments, and lends a listening ear to both colleagues and students. And: Without her, things wouldn’t just be less efficient—they’d also be a lot less fun. Her cakes, for example, are legendary.

Not long ago, she baked an alpaca-shaped cake—complete with ears and sunglasses. “Baking is my hobby,” she says. “But my husband isn’t big on sweets, and I don’t want my two kids eating too much sugar. So I bake a small cake for home and a big one for work.”

But that isn’t the only reason why apprentices in the department never want to leave. “We get a lot done and contribute real value to the students and KIT. Plus, we have a great sense of humor, lots of understanding, and everyone is accepted just as they are. It’s simply a great place to be.”

Armen B. was supposed to retire two years ago: "But I can't live without my work." 100 billion neutrinos fly through this fingertip. You can't see them, but they change our understanding of the world. That's real adrenaline - and a divine feeling!"

The “fingertip” that thrills the 68-year-old scientist so much is KATRIN: the most precise scales in the world at the KIT's North Campus, where researchers from seven countries have been trying to weigh the lightest particles in the universe since 2006. Day in, day out, the trained electrical engineer checks that the conditions of the huge facility remain stable.

For example, the electrical voltage: "It's 18,600 volts. It must be maintained to within a millivolt, otherwise we cannot use the measurements. The same goes for the vacuum in the container, the temperature and the atmospheric pressure in the hall. "All this data forms a network, and I am the spider in the middle that transmits it to a central database.

It was not foreseeable that the native Armenian would find his professional fortune in Karlsruhe. Before that, he worked at the Physics Institute in Yerevan, at the German Electron Synchrotron in Hamburg and was involved in the construction of a telescope on La Palma.

"I am surrounded by fantastic people at KIT who form a real team. The fact that Armen B. often treats his colleagues to an ice cream after lunch certainly contributes to this - and since 2001 he has ensured that one of the world's most important physics experiments runs smoothly.

Conny did it again. Cornelia S., known to everyone at her institute as "Conny", has once again succeeded in realizing an impossible research idea. The 45-year-old is a precision mechanic. She works in quality assurance, building and testing reactors for chemical processes such as synthetic fuels. From thumb-sized to car-sized, from feather-light to lead-heavy, always highly complex: “The young researchers often have great ideas, but they lack the technical background to build the appropriate facility. That's where I come in. I order the parts, assemble them, and work out the details with them. That's why the researchers sometimes refer to Cornelia as the "mother of all PhD students. The problem solver appreciates this gratitude – and returns it. "I learn something new every day and have been able to develop over the years. The topics in her field are constantly changing, depending on which approaches prove to be promising for the future. As a result, only a fraction of what she does today is related to her current position. Cornelia is not thinking of changing jobs, even though she has been working at the same institute since completing her training as an industrial mechanic at KIT in 1999. "Why should I? It's just never boring! The great thing about science is that you are a small part of how a big - sometimes crazy - idea becomes something big. That makes me a bit proud.

Comfort zone? Not with her. Linguist Andressa C. is always looking for a challenge: "I like to experiment, to learn new things, whether they are easy or difficult. I like to surpass myself." That's how she ended up teaching herself to code, even though it didn't fit her original profile.

In her native Brazil, Andressa was both a postdoc and a German teacher for renowned institutions. At KIT, she has found like-minded people who appreciate complexity. The 46-year-old researches polarized debates in science communication, using both her linguistic and IT expertise. "We have a very nice exchange in our team: open, cooperative, constructive. That is enriching."

She could use her skills in the private sector, but her love is the academic world. There, she has the space and resources to fulfill her ambitions. In return, her versatile skills are appreciated. "I am now also the IT officer at my institute. I'm not restricted here. That spurs me on every day!"

Nadine knows KIT inside and out. Whether it’s working at an institute, the dean's office, or handling digital course administration — since joining KIT in 2007, the economics graduate, who currently holds two positions, has seen, organized, and shaped a lot. "Back then, I helped a newly appointed professor build up the department from scratch, out of empty rooms," she recalls, fondly referring to it as "her" chair.

For Nadine, KIT is literally family history: her husband works at KIT, and one of her two daughters studied here. So it's no surprise that the 57-year-old strongly identifies with the institution. Even if, as in every family, there are occasional issues and moments of frustration.

Nadine does not want to return to the private sector, where she worked for many years. KIT has always given her room to grow. "There are plenty of opportunities here, and doors are open," she says. What she loves most about her job is the variety of tasks and the connection with students and colleagues. "When you're part of a great team, it motivates you to go the extra mile. I've experienced the opposite too, and no amount of money can make up for that."

Nadine and KIT: it looks like this family story is far from over.

"There’s always a way," says Marco K., who manages the entire IT operations of a large KIT institute. He procures, sets up, maintains, and repairs computer systems and servers, while providing expert advice. Marco is also responsible for restructuring and modernizing the institute's networks, IP and email structures.

But his role doesn't stop there. Marco steps in when measuring instruments malfunction, when critical data is at risk of being lost, or when older computer systems need to be integrated into virtual computing environments. Especially when it comes to very tricky problems that require both a screwdriver and IT knowledge, the fact that Marco trained as a precision engineer 37 years ago - at the age of 15, he was the youngest apprentice in his year – is invaluable. "There is always a way to repair, salvage or improve something," says Marco. After earning his master craftsman's diploma, Marco transitioned into materials testing. As digitalization expanded, so did his passion for IT.

Today, Marco not only oversees IT infrastructure but also plays an active role on the institute's steering committee. "I am grateful to KIT for giving me the opportunity to get involved as a father for my three children, alongside my work," he says. He was able to take parental leave at a time when this was not common practice in other companies. "I’d do anything for my kids," Marco says. "They’re all grown up now — two are in college, and the youngest is finishing high school." He adds: "For the sake of my children and future generations, I would like to work more sustainably — even here at KIT," he explains. “It would be great, if we could recycle unwanted electronics and furniture via an electronic bulletin board at KIT. Everything that is decommissioned in one of our institutes may still be used in another area.”

Janine S. has been working as a security specialist at KIT since December 2023. Rain, snow or sunshine - the colleagues in Campus Security are on duty day and night, seven days a week.

Janine, a mother of two children aged 10 and 13, appreciates the regular shifts at KIT and has some very funny stories to tell about her work, such as the time a blue smurf suddenly rode across campus on a bicycle. In her free time, she is either out and about with her children or tending to her vegetable garden.

But most of all, her heart beats for soccer: "Soccer is my balance to work, which is why I work part-time at KSC as an area manager. In this role, she is responsible for assigning stewards to the North Stand at home games, overseeing admission control, and acting as a liaison for fans. "When I'm not working at KIT on the weekends, I really enjoy going to KSC's away games and cheering on the team," she says.

She has one request for all KIT employees and students: "Please lock everything and turn off the lights when you leave the office or institute in the evening!" 

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