It's a match! Web application makes mentoring events more efficient

owl maschinenbau e. V. regularly organizes mentoring events where students and companies can connect directly. To get to know each other, there's a "marketplace" where companies and students can meet up for chats based on what they've said they're interested in beforehand. An algorithm takes these preferences into account to form the best possible groups.

Communication between students, companies, and owl maschinenbau e. V. took place mainly via email and Google Forms. Although the algorithm helped to organize the discussion groups, there were still empty rounds and waiting times between discussions during the events. The organizational effort was high, because for each marketplace held, the matching algorithm had to be manually adjusted in terms of changes, number of participants, duration, and number of discussion rounds. These adjustments could take up to three days for a member of the organization team. This greatly increased the time required to organize the event.

After the mentoring event has ended, the participants' data is deleted to ensure data protection compliance.

The web application is perfectly tailored to the needs of owl maschinenbau e. V. Thanks to its user-friendliness, the team can manage and use the solution independently and on a long-term basis – even without an IT department.

The project was implemented by young talents from the codecentric talent factory. The talent factory is a structured training program for young IT consultants. Here, committed talents are specifically promoted and optimally prepared for their future tasks in IT consulting. Through the collaboration, both owl maschinenbau e. V. and the talents from codecentric were able to gain valuable experience and successfully complete the project together.

Together with owl maschinenbau e. V., codecentric has developed a smart digital solution that takes matching between companies and students to a new level – and at the same time positions owl maschinenbau e. V. as a pioneer in the digitalization of processes.

Thanks to the new web application, tedious manual work is now a thing of the past. owl maschinenbau e. V. can now organize the marketplace more efficiently and adapt it flexibly. The algorithm can be configured with just a few clicks. This not only saves time and money, but also speeds up processes. As a result, marketplace events can be planned more easily, held more frequently, and implemented more cost-effectively.

The application not only makes the matching process faster, but also more objective and more self-determined for the participants. Another plus: communication with participants becomes much more professional thanks to the digital solution. The optimized algorithm ensures precise schedules that minimize idle time and increase productivity and participant satisfaction.

However, the solution not only benefits owl maschinenbau e. V. itself—it also creates a stronger connection to the companies and students who use the marketplace. A real win-win for everyone involved!