"The need for highly qualified junior staff is growing due to the record growth in the field of digitalisation," says Anna Klaft, Chairwoman of the GDA Board. At the same time, there is a major shortage of IT specialists on the German labour market: according to a bitkom study, there are currently 96,000 vacancies in the IT sector, 12 % more than in the previous year. 65 % of the companies surveyed stated that there was a shortage of IT specialists - just as many expect the shortage of specialists to worsen in the future.
The data centre industry requires a wide range of different qualifications. The GDA Talents competence group of the German Datacenter Association’s think tank would like to show interested trainees and students the diverse opportunities in this dynamic industry and get them excited about a professional future in the German data centre industry.
GDA Young Talent Award honours outstanding theses & clever ideas
With the GDA Young Talent Award, the German Datacenter Association is explicitly looking for talented people who want to make a contribution to Germany’s digitalisation of tomorrow: Graduates of Universities and Universities of Applied Sciences can apply for the award with their theses in the field of data centres and digital infrastructures. Due to the special importance of the topic for the industry, GDA is also offering the special prize "Sustainable Data Centres", for which young professionals and start-up companies can also apply.
Hessian Minister for Digital Strategy and Development assumes patronage
GDA was able to win Prof. Dr Kristina Sinemus, the Hessian Minister for Digital Strategy and Development, as patron. "Smart ideas secure our digital future,“ says Prof. Dr. Sinemus, "That's why I support the sponsorship award."
The sponsors Global Switch and NDC-GARBE Data Centers Europe enable GDA to offer attractive prizes: The best Bachelor's thesis and the best Master's thesis will each be rewarded with €1,500, the author of the best dissertation and the winner of the special prize "Sustainable Data Centres" will each receive €2,500.
Winners present themselves to the decision-makers of the data centre industry at the awards ceremony
"With our sponsorship award, we put the spotlight on young talent and support the winners on their way to a successful professional life," says Anna Klaft. This is because the winners not only receive one of the prize funds, but also the opportunity to personally present themselves and their work to the C-level of the data centre industry at the award ceremony.
Top-class jury assesses the submitted work
Under the chairmanship of GDA board member Prof. Dr. Peter Radgen, a high-calibre jury - independent experts from various sectors - will evaluate the submitted work. "Particularly relevant to the jury's judgement is the progress that can be achieved through the findings of the final theses," says Prof. Dr. Radgen. "Papers can be submitted on the topics of energy and sustainability, hardware and software, innovation and cross-cutting issues - so the range of topics is as diverse as the industry itself!"
All details and the application documents
