From biomedicine to chemistry and physics to engineering: During the FWJ, you will spend a year working full-time on a research project of your choice. Together with your supervisors and teammates, you will research stem cells, gene therapies and vaccines or gain new insights into quantum physics, laser research or materials science. An FWJ is also possible outside the MHH in many other interesting areas, such as Leibniz Universität Hannover, the Laser Zentrum Hannover e. V., Fraunhofer ITEM, the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien, the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research in Braunschweig and the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt in Braunschweig.

The Voluntary Year in Science is generally aimed at school leavers of full age who are interested in studying or training in the natural sciences. You can spend a year trying things out, making contacts and learning scientific working methods before starting your studies or training.

The FWJ is completed as part of the Federal Voluntary Service or Voluntary Social Year and is therefore a regular voluntary service. The special feature is the focus on science and the implementation of your own scientific projects.

The FWJ is usually carried out for twelve consecutive months, with a minimum of six and a maximum of eighteen months. The FWJ is scheduled to begin on 01.08, 15.08 or 01.09. The exact start date is agreed with the project.

The FWJ is aimed at school-leavers of full age who are interested in studying or training in the natural sciences and are no older than 27.
If you are not a German or EU citizen, you must present your current residence permit to us.
Depending on the area of work, there are various vaccinations that are mandatory. Here is an overview:

• double vaccination against measles or proven immunity (mandatory in all areas within the MHH)
• double vaccination against mumps and rubella or proven immunity (in the pediatric clinic)
• Triple vaccination protection + possible booster vaccination against hepatitis B (in areas with an increased risk of infection)

Please submit your application via our online application portal . If there are any problems with the online application, you can also submit your application documents to us by e-mail or post.

The application deadline is January 31. Applications will also be accepted before this date; you are welcome to submit your mid-year report at a later date.

After the application deadline, you will receive the current project list from us. You can nominate 3 projects as favorites, to which we will forward your application documents. The projects will then invite a selection of applicants for interviews and possibly job shadowing. If you are not accepted in the first round of applications, you have the opportunity to be favored again in the move-up procedure for projects that have not yet been filled.

The FWJ can be completed either at the MHH or at one of our numerous partner institutes. Take a look at our current project list!

Voluntary service with us is generally full-time with 38.5 hours, 5 days a week. If you are over 27 years old or can provide evidence of special reasons, it is also possible to volunteer part-time for at least 21 hours a week. Special reasons for part-time voluntary service include health restrictions, looking after your own children or Nursing.
The specific working hours are determined by each area of assignment. You can therefore have regular working hours from Monday to Friday or work in shifts. You will not be deployed on night duty. As part of the voluntary service, it is also possible to work up to two weekends per month and on public holidays.

You will receive an induction in your area of work. The duration of the induction varies depending on the field of work.

On the one hand, you will have a supervisor at your place of work who you can contact if you have any questions about day-to-day work processes. On the other hand, the team at the Volunteer Services Office is available to answer any questions you may have about the volunteer service.

If you work for twelve months, you are entitled to 30 days' vacation.

As the FWJ is a voluntary commitment, there is no salary in the usual sense. In recognition of your commitment, you will receive pocket money of €450.00.

The general legal entitlement (age limit) to child benefit also exists during voluntary service.

Secondary employment is possible, but you must apply for and obtain approval from us. The scope of a part-time job may not exceed 8 hours per week and the daily working time including the FWJ of 10 hours.

In principle, it is possible for you to apply for housing benefit. The payment of housing benefit depends, among other things, on the amount of rent and disposable income. You should clarify whether you qualify for housing benefit with the housing benefit authority in good time before starting the FWJ.

Unfortunately, accommodation cannot be provided by the MHH. In exceptional cases, it is possible to apply for a place in student accommodation. Unfortunately, due to the small number of rooms and the high demand, only a fraction of our applicants can be allocated a room. Rooms are allocated according to the distance from the current place of residence.

If you are accepted for a room, you will have to pay a monthly fee of approx. 125 € and a deposit of 2 months' rent.

You have the opportunity to travel by bus and train in the greater Hanover area at a reduced rate, either with the MHH company subscription or with the Üstra youth network card.

As the FWJ is an activity subject to social insurance contributions, you are a member of the statutory pension, accident, health, Nursing and unemployment insurance schemes during your voluntary service. All contributions, i.e. both the employer's and the employee's share, are paid by the MHH.

There are compulsory seminars in every voluntary service. The main focus here is on personal development. The seminars are conducted by educational specialists. You must complete 25 seminar days of 5 weeks each over a 12-month period of service.

Participation in the accompanying seminars is compulsory. A total of 25 seminar days are mandatory during a twelve-month assignment. In the case of a longer or shorter contract period, the seminar days are adjusted accordingly (e.g. 6 months = 15 seminar days).

Yes, every semester in which you are not enrolled at a German university counts as a waiting period for studying. So the time in the FWJ also counts as a waiting period. Depending on which degree program you are applying for, you can improve your chances of admission by completing a period of service. Universities and colleges can recognize the FWJ period as a pre-study internship when admitting applicants to corresponding study programmes. Whether and to what extent recognition is possible depends on the individual regulations of the training or study programs and can be obtained from the respective university.

If you have already started the FWJ and then receive an acceptance letter for a place at a university or apprenticeship, you have the option of terminating or canceling your voluntary service. However, you can also postpone your place of study by one year, in which case you will still be accepted.

The FWJ can have a positive effect on your application. Feel free to contact us if you need an interim certificate during your service. However, there is no guarantee of a training or study place.

At the end of the FWJ, you can apply for a certificate from the MHH, which includes a qualitative evaluation of your work. We can also issue a certificate about your volunteer work for authorities or similar at any time.