Event details

Academic Skills	Digital Literacy	Personal Development	Responsibility	Sustainability	Work Environment

Overview/objectives:
In this seminar, you will learn how to behave with style in professional (and private) situations. You will then know the most important rules of etiquette and be able to apply them.

Contents:

• Basics and history of “good manners” (e.g. Baron von Knigge)
• Greeting (role, gender, handshake, rituals…)
• Salutation (first name, first name, title…)
• Business lunch and dinner
• Avoiding “blunders”
• Small talk
• Professionalism at work
• Attention, respect, appreciation, politeness
• Business attire
• Behavior as a guest or host
• Flirting, dating, asking to dance
• Dealing with modern means of communication (cell phone, email…)

Methods:

• Role plays
• discussion
• Individual and group work
• Theoretical input

Prerequisite for participation:

This course is funded by the DAAD project “FIT – Förderung internationaler Talente zur Integration in Studium und Arbeitsmarkt”. International students are given priority for a place. Available places can also be filled by non-international students.

By registering, you agree that selected registration data (e.g. degree program, desired degree) will be transmitted to the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). The data will only be processed for statistical purposes. Your consent is voluntary and can be revoked at any time with effect for the future. Further information can be found in our privacy policy.

https://www.careerserviceportal.kit.edu/media/?file=614_2025-03-24_data_protection_information_daad_fit_2025_en.pdf

Workload for ECTS:

1 ECTS: active participation + reflection report

Lecturer:

Birgit Opielka holds a degree in social sciences (Humboldt University Berlin), is a personnel and organizational developer, ProfilPASS consultant, mediator and systemic/NLP coach. Since 2005, she has worked as a freelance trainer, lecturer and coach for various educational institutions, companies, organizations and institutions. She has been working as an e-learning tutor for the Landeszentrale für Politische Bildung since 2012. Her focus areas are: Intercultural competence, gender mainstreaming, communication and conflict management, leadership and team development. The topic of (digital) ethics and sustainability has occupied her since her work as a research assistant at the Institute for Social Ecology in Bonn in 1997 (now Siegburg).