Stefanie Mattes und ihre "Aufsteiger"

Stefanie Mattes
© Fotografie vogelwild und andres

I connect people in order to leverage their passion and their potential in both professional and voluntary settings.

"As a Saarland University law alumna, I vividly recall the lively and sometimes heated discussions we had about the concepts of 'equity' and 'justice'. Working to improve fairness and equity is what drove me to found Aufsteiger, a non-profit company that I manage part-time on a voluntary basis.

My day job is actually in a large company where I work in the field of mergers, acquisitions and divestments. The focus of that work is on facilitating post-merger integration after a successful acquisition.

At Aufsteiger and in my work in the mergers and acquisitions sector, the objective is the same: trying to connect people in a positive way that generates added value. In the field of post-merger integration, added value arises when we're able to leverage inter-business synergies – something that can only happen when employees from both companies come together to steer a clear path forward. At Aufsteiger, the added value comes from the mentor-mentee pairings that aim to unlock a mentee's true potential in their future career."

Logo von Aufsteiger.org

The Aufsteiger mentoring initiative is designed for people who were the first in their family to go to university and who will soon be graduating or who have already graduated and are now looking to launch their careers.

The aim is to bring together people with a shared vision and shared values and to empower young people at the start of their careers by giving them access to the experience, knowledge and networks of experienced mentors. Young people who are just starting out in their careers don't have established professional networks that they can tap into.

The Aufsteiger mentoring programme offers participants the chance to learn from one another and so gain new insights and new perspectives. By levelling the playing field, we want to create opportunities for those who would otherwise not have them and thus help to shape a more open and supportive society.

Since its inception in 2020, more than 1,000 people have registered with the Aufsteiger community and we've managed to set up almost 200 mentor-mentee pairings. Companies can also become members of the Aufsteiger network. We are always pleased to welcome mentors and further companies to the Aufsteiger network as well as to receive financial support.

Like to learn more? Then visit aufsteiger.org or write directly to stefanie.mattes(at)aufsteiger.org.