Transatlantic Program Newsletter

December 2009

German American Chamber of Commerce of the Midwest, Inc - GACCoM

Content:

• Annual TAP Alumni Reunion Coming Up
• TAP 2009 Highlights -  Participants Share Their Experience
• Update from TAP 2007 Co-President Laura Harvey
• GACCoM Holiday Greetings

Annual Transatlantic Program Alumni Reunion Coming Up From February 6-7, 2010, we will host our Annual TAP Alumni Reunion in Chicago. The upcoming Reunion will incorporate time for socializing, (re-)connecting and will be an opportunity for Alumni to network with GACCoM members. It will also feature a presentation about career development.   The Reunion officially starts on Saturday, February 6, 2010 in the early afternoon and ends on Sunday, February 7, 2010 after brunch at GACCoM’s downtown office around 12 pm. As an add-on, networking time with our YEC (Young Executives’ Committee) is planned for the evening of Feb. 5 at Riverwalk Café (401 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL).   We are looking forward to seeing everybody again!   To RSVP and for more information, please contact Daniela Daus (daus(at)gaccom.org).

Message from TAP 2006 Co-President, Eric Bartling:

"Hope you all can make it to this year's TAP reunion!  We've always had a great time together, and this year's schedule is sure to be a good time as well.  Friday night's networking event with the YEC will be a fun way to meet young professionals working with German companies, and Saturday's panel event on career development can offer helpful advice to us in developing or building upon our careers.  And of course the fun events afterward... See you guys there!"

TAP 2009 Highlights - Participants Share Their Experience

Bruce Clark

Through my association with the Transantlantic Program this past summer, I had an architectural internship designing a sustainable solar-powered laboratory that tested solar panels. This fall, participating in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon gave me the opportunity to blend my experiences aquired in Germany with ideas of sustainable architecture. 

The Solar Decathlon contest was held among 20 universities from across the U.S. and Canada, including even Madrid, Spain and Darmstadt, Germany (the 2007 contest winners).  I represented the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  We assembled a multi-disciplinary team largely constituting students from Engineering (Electrical and Mechanical) and Architecture.  The theme for our house was the Gable Home, reinterpreting the vernacular barn architecture of the Midwest.  Our goals were a simple, yet elegant home that put high value on performance and energy-efficiency.

Due to our association with Katrin Klingenberg, Co-Founder and Director of Ecological Construction Laboratory and the Passive House Institute US, who lived in Urbana, we decided to design the house according to Passiv Haus standards.  The certification process for such a building involves a very rigorous test for proving thermal insulation value and air-tightness. The Passiv Haus standard was developed in Germany under Dr. Wolfgang Feist in Darmstadt.  We can assuredly say that we were the first and only house to be submitted for the Solar Decathlon that passed the rigorous Passiv Haus standards, something we are extremely proud of.  Team Germany tried as well, but unfortunately was unable to pass the air-tightness test.  Our home was completely reliant upon the sun for our energy.  We utilized a system that could produce 9kW of electrical energy, but it only took 3kW to do all the things one would normally do in a house: wash dishes, entertain guests, watch television, and run a load of laundry. 

We believe it was this energy-efficient qualification that enabled our team to do so well in the Solar Decathlon.  In fact, our school took second place overall in the contest, with Darmstadt being repeat winners this year, narrowly beating our school in the final standings (fewer than 11 points separated us out of 1,000).  Our team took first place in three of the ten contests (Hot Water, Appliances, and Home Entertainment).  We’re very excited about the results, and to know that our home performed so well thanks, in large part, to utilizing German design ingenuity.

Working on this project using German design ideas and techniques, my desire to begin developing my professional skills as an architect in Germany were increased.  I really hope to start my career over there so that I can further enhance my practical understanding of how to design and build as my German colleagues.

Eleanor Vaughan

I’m lucky enough to be here in Germany for over a year, first as a TAP intern in Berlin and now as a student in Heidelberg.

This November marks the end of my first half year in Germany – a very interesting and eventful six months. I spent the summer working for a Berlin media consulting company called Goldmedia. Although I came to the internship without any background in media, I left with a good overview of media market research and the industry itself.

During the first few weeks of the internship, I had to adjust to being a minority (I was the only foreigner in the office) and to German spoken 100 miles an hour without the American accent I was used to.

But overcoming these initial challenges was well worth the chance to speak German on a daily basis and work for a German company.

After completing my internship, I began a year long course of study at Heidelberg in economics and German philosophy, while continuing my employment with Goldmedia remotely. I was happy to extend my internship, which will help finance my studies and travel in Europe.

Overall, participating in TAP has been an excellent way to improve my German and knowledge of German business and economy. It has enriched my time in Germany and given me more than surface-level exposure to the people, language, and culture.

Ben David Warner

My internship in Germany was with the DESERTEC Foundation, an institution defining standards for environmental protection and social responsibility in the execution of the DESERTEC Industrial Initiative.

The DESERTEC Concept describes the perspective of a sustainable supply of electricity for Europe (EU), the Middle East (ME) and North Africa (NA) up to the year 2050. It shows that a transition to competitive, secure and compatible energy supply is possible using renewable energy sources, gains in efficiency and fossil fuels as backup for balancing power.  The DESERTEC Foundation (DF) is a source of knowledge and expertise about all matters relating to the DESERTEC Concept including political, social, industrial, legal, and regulatory aspects. They also encourage any research and development in any of these fields to better the DESERTEC concept. The DF serves as an intermediary and advisor for parties involved in DESERTEC projects. The DF brings together and provides advice for commercial organizations and national governments that wish to establish DESERTEC projects.

During my internship, the DESERTEC Foundation was focused on promoting their concept and launching the DESERTEC Industrial Initiative, which is the overall project planned by founders of DESERTEC. I was involved in website building, press conferences, and connection making for the summer of 2009.  The success of our team can be seen through key events such as gaining support of Greenpeace, the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (press conference held at Munich Re Building), and the Parliamentarian Evening in Berlin.

Update from our 2007 TAP Co-President, Laura Harvey

I found a wonderful project working as a business optimization consultant for a German organic aromatherapy and skincare company called Primavera Life www.primaveralife.com .

They also have a new American brand called amala www.amalabeauty.com which means there is an entire American team that I also have contact to from here. I am optimizing their business processes and supply chain at the moment.

I am really enjoying my work and living in the Allgaeu. We live near Kempten about 30 minutes from Neuschwanstein. I have an Aufenthaltstitel until Fall 2010. I am having such a great time working and living in Germany again!

The GACCoM Team Wishes You a Wonderful Holiday Season!

For those of you who stay in Chicago this year, come and experience German holiday spirit at the Christkindlmarket Chicago on Daley Plaza.