The “Newcomers Club” isn’t actually new to MLU; it was founded ten years ago by Professor Stephan Feller, a tumour biologist, together anatomy professor Bernd Fischer and other volunteers. How did you get involved and why does the programme need to be revived at all?
Michael Böttcher: I arrived at MLU in April 2019 as a newly appointed Assistant Professor. At the time, I was faced with the problem of how to build connections in Halle after having just arrived - and the Newcomers Club was a big help. Stephan Feller had drawn my attention to the programme. In addition to regular get-togethers, there were also joint museum visits and even bus tours to destinations outside the city. Unfortunately, the club had to be suspended for a long time due to the coronavirus pandemic, after which most of the organisers had either retired or moved away, which was a real shame.

What will the relaunch look like?
We will start by holding a monthly get-together that will take place every third Tuesday of the month. The first meeting is planned for 15 October at 7 pm at the Anny Kilkenny restaurant. It is my hope that many people will take an interest and stop by. Hopefully word will get around and that it will be worth organising excursions again next spring. If all goes well, I could imagine organising monthly excursions or even hosting a barbecue. The Rector’s Office is offering the “Newcomers Club” financial support and Stephan Feller and the International Office are helping me by providing contacts.

Who is the programme aimed at?
At all national and international employees who are new to MLU and Halle - i.e. to all new academic staff and faculty members, including their partners and children. To get the word out about the programme, we are printing flyers that make reference to the “Newcomers Club” and its website. The idea is to lay them out in canteens, for example, or to distribute them in the welcome packs that new hires receive. Hopefully word of mouth will do the rest. We have also set up the e-mail address newcomersclub@uni-halle.de to answer any questions.