Whether Indian, Turkish, Peruvian, Malaysian, or Syrian, Fraunhofer IEM is home to around 250 people from 24 different nationalities across 4 continents. “Our diversity makes us unique,” emphasized Prof. Roman Dumitrescu, Director of Fraunhofer IEM. “We are diverse, at least from a technical point of view, our interdisciplinary, multiperspective way of engineering. It is fantastic to see that since our establishment in 2011, we have also become culturally diverse – and thus incredibly creative and strong.”

Rahman Jamal: "Diversity is an attitude towards life."

Rahman Jamal delivered an inspiring keynote on the topic of diversity. What he particularly emphasized was: "Diversity is not only a word – it is an attitude towards life." The Paderborn engineer, with 30 years of experience in global leadership roles in the high-tech industry, understands the perspective shift between different cultures like few others. Born in Burma, raised in Bangladesh and Pakistan, he moved to Germany at the age of ten without speaking a word of German.

Through his life story and professional achievements, Rahman Jamal illustrated how diversity can become a success factor – both personally and professionally. “Start with your commonalities, then go after the differences. If you start working in a diverse team, make sure there is vision and goal alignment first. Then let the team look for ways to bring the cause to life with their diverse perspectives; they will together create the ideal solution.” Rahman Jamal‘s recently published book „Der Mann ohne Muttersprache“ is a living example of diversity with many anecdotes from his personal as well as professional life and all the lessons learned.

Food Bazaar

Whether it was Samoas made with an Indian recipe, Quinoa salad with a Peruvian twist, or sausage prepared Hessian style: The long table at our Food Bazaar was almost overflowing with the culinary delights prepared by the Fraunhofer IEM team at home. The bazaar was a culinary journey through the various cultures that enrich the institute, providing an excellent opportunity to exchange ideas and discover new flavors.

About the Nationwide Diversity Day

The Diversity Day at Fraunhofer IEM is part of the nationwide German Diversity Day, initiated by the Charta der Vielfalt e.V. This annual action day promotes diversity and inclusion in organizations, offering a platform to actively engage with these topics. The goal of the day is to raise awareness of diversity in the workplace, reduce prejudices, and foster inclusive work environments.