During the final seminar at HAUP – University College of Agricultural and Environmental Education – I was presented with a certificate for successfully completing the Voluntary Environmental Year (FUJ) at aspern.mobil LAB.

The FUJ is an educational and orientation year for young adults that offers practical experience in the fields of environment, nature or sustainability and can be completed as an alternative to civil or military service. In addition to their daily work at a placement, volunteers also take part in a media literacy course that provides opportunities for exchange, further training and personal development.

Over the past ten months, I have had the opportunity to take on exciting and varied tasks. I was responsible for supervising the opening hours of the aspern.mobil LAB on site in Seestadt, trained participants for the mobility survey and accompanied the MultiMoFusion research project. I was also able to contribute to public relations work, design my own content and implement and publish my own media project. I was involved in developing the questionnaire for the youth mobility study. In addition, I was involved in public outreach to motivate people to participate in mobility projects.

Looking back, the FUJ was a very enriching experience for me, in which I not only learned a lot professionally, but also developed personally. I am grateful for the many encounters, the diverse and exciting tasks, the challenges and learning moments that have helped me grow as a person.