CONTACT2024 took place on 17 April 2024 with a wide range of exhibitors, including 30 global and regional companies as well as start-ups from the pharmaceutical, publishing and consulting sectors. Visitors to the fair were able to take part in presentations and workshops, have their application portfolios checked and have professional application photos taken. An ice cream van and a coffee bike provided refreshments, and thanks to generous food sponsorship from Böhringer, ZS and MCE, there was also a lunch offer. At the end of the trade fair day, company representatives shared their opinions in a panel discussion on the topic of ‘Hire for attitude, train for skills - What is more important: previous job experience or inherent attitude?’.

Overall, CONTACT2024 enabled an inspiring exchange between companies and scientists, which hopefully made it easier for visitors to start their careers. You can have a look in the job fair catalogue here.

Many thanks to all the committed company representatives, motivated visitors and the BioContact e.V. team!

This year's CONTACT2023 took place on 10 May 2023 and marked a significant milestone as it was the first CONTACT job fair to take place without any COVID-19 restrictions since 2019. The fair was a busy centre with a diverse range of exhibitors from different industries - biotech, pharma, healthcare, publishing and consulting. Among the standout offerings were the numerous talks, workshops, application portfolio checks and application photo shoots that took place throughout the day. During the panel discussion, company representatives shared their valuable experiences on the topic of ‘How to grab the attention of an employer?’ and imparted important knowledge and new perspectives to the participants. Among other things, questions about the required skills and soft skills, but also about social media presence and possible additional qualifications were discussed.

One of the highlights of the fair was the welcome presence of an ice cream van, which provided a refreshing break from the hustle and bustle of the fair. Participants could be seen enjoying their ice cream, chatting animatedly and making new contacts.

Another successful aspect of the event was the accompanying, extremely effective social media campaign. The organisers used digital platforms to keep participants and interested parties informed with live updates, behind-the-scenes insights and interactive visitor comments. The trade fair visitors also actively supported this campaign and posted diligently in front of the social media wall and the BioContact picture frame.

To summarise, the trade fair was a complete success. The lack of COVID-19 restrictions, the rich exchange of knowledge through lectures, workshops and discussions, the delightful ice cream van and the social media campaign helped to make this event a special experience. We hope that visitors to the fair were able to take a lot away from the day and come a step closer to finding their dream job.

All company profiles and the topics of the presentations and workshops can be found in our job fair catalogue.

On 4 May 2022, CONTACT2022, the largest life science trade fair in the Rhine-Neckar region, was successfully held at the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg. Thanks to a particularly effective hygiene concept, the trade fair was able to take place despite coronavirus restrictions and was a complete success for exhibitors and visitors alike.

The BioContact e.V. association, which has been organising and hosting the trade fair for over 20 years now, made it possible for visitors to attend a hybrid event in which lectures and workshops by exhibiting companies could be attended in the DKFZ's communication centre and simultaneously broadcast live online. Numerous visitors, including students, doctoral candidates, scientists and physicians, took the opportunity to make direct contact with the companies using a time slot system and gather information about career and entry opportunities. For many companies, it was the first face-to-face fair with direct contact to interested visitors after a long time and many virtual fairs.

In addition to the company stands and presentations, the special offerings at CONTACT2022 included several workshops such as the application portfolio check, a food truck, the coffee bike and a stimulating panel discussion. Company representatives discussed the topic of ‘Work trends - how will the workplace and work culture change in the future?’ together with visitors. Once again this year, the CONTACT job fair proved to be an important institution for dialogue between companies and talents in the life sciences sector. All information about this successful and informative CONTACT can be found in our job fair catalogue.

CONTACT2021, our 20th anniversary trade fair, took place on 28 April 2021. Our team had done an extraordinary job in the preceding months to design and organise the trade fair virtually for the first time with great success. Numerous visitors, including scientists from various fields and medical professionals, took the opportunity to make virtual contact with company representatives from the life science, pharmaceutical, biotech and consulting sectors at the trade fair stands. In our well-attended online company presentations, many questions were answered and prospects in the industry were highlighted. There were also numerous workshops this year on successful online and offline applications, soft skills training and professional appearance, which were very popular and almost fully booked. The panel discussion - a highlight of CONTACT - was also organised again this year. Representatives from six companies discussed the question ‘How do you start a successful career in the industry?’. The lively exchange between the audience and company representatives was remarkably well received on both sides and offered the participants an extraordinary insight for their career start in the industry. As a special promotion for the anniversary fair, exclusive prizes were raffled off among the participants who completed our feedback form for the fair. You can find more information in the job fair catalogue.

Due to the coronavirus situation this year, CONTACT2020 was unfortunately unable to take place as planned on 29 April 2020. However, this season we were able to gain detailed insights into the respective company structure and application processes as part of ‘In CONTACT with’ events organised by Miltenyi, P&G and PromoCell. Numerous natural scientists from various fields took this opportunity to get in touch with the respective speakers from the companies and obtain information about career opportunities. But postponed is not cancelled: Our anniversary fair - the 20th CONTACT Life Science Job Fair - has been postponed to 28 April 2021. CONTACT2021 offers you a wide range of exhibitors from the biotech and pharmaceutical industry, a diverse programme of lectures, workshops and application portfolio checks. We look forward to welcoming you to CONTACT2021! You can find all information in detail in the exhibition catalogue.

On 15 May 2019, the 19th CONTACT2019 life science job fair took place in the communication centre of the German Cancer Research Centre in Heidelberg. Numerous visitors, including scientists from various fields as well as medical professionals, took the opportunity to make direct contact with company representatives from the life science, pharmaceutical, biotech and consulting sectors at the trade fair stands. Our company presentations and workshops on successful job applications, soft skills training and professional appearance were also very successful and almost fully booked. For the first time, a panel discussion was organised at CONTACT, in which representatives from five companies had to respond spontaneously to questions from the audience on the topic of ‘Starting a career - directly, via detours, just luck? The lively exchange between the audience and company representatives was remarkably well received on both sides and offered the participants an extraordinary insight into their career start in the industry. You can find more information in the trade fair catalogue. We also gave a timeless radio interview this season, which tells you more about CONTACT and the BioContact association. You can find all the details in the job fair catalogue.

Following the trade fair, an after-fair workshop entitled ‘The perfect follow-up to the trade fair: Natural Scientists - Special’ and the speaker Dominik Saulér, Dipl-Kfm, MBA from the Managing Board Akademie für Schlüsselkompetenz e.V. took place.

On 25 April 2018, the 18th CONTACT2018 life science job fair took place in the communication centre of the German Cancer Research Centre in Heidelberg. Organised by BioContact e.V., this job fair is now one of the most successful in the Rhine-Neckar region. Numerous visitors, scientists from various fields as well as medical professionals, took the opportunity to make direct contact with the companies and gather information about career and entry-level opportunities. In order to reach an international audience, workshops in English were offered again this year in addition to presentations in English. The free application portfolio checks and the opportunity to have application photos taken directly at the fair were also particularly popular. This year, the Internship 4 YOU programme was offered for the first time, which is primarily aimed at students and offers the opportunity to obtain an internship with internationally renowned companies. You can find all the details in the job fair catalogue.

CONTACT2017 took place on 26 April 2017 at the Communication Centre of the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg. In order to offer young international scientists a platform where they can get in touch with small start-ups and large companies, CONTACT2017 was largely translated and realised in English. Both workshops and presentations were offered in English and the job fair catalogue was translated into English. As in previous years, scientists from the fields of biology, biotechnology, chemistry, physics, computer science, mathematics, medicine, etc. had the opportunity to talk to representatives from a wide range of companies and find out about starting a career. New this year was our start-up area, where new small companies were able to present themselves.

The last CONTACT2016 took place on 19 April 2016 in the communication centre of the German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ) in Heidelberg. With CONTACT2016, the BioContact e.V. association organised the most successful life science job fair in the Rhine-Neckar region for the 16th time in a row. At CONTACT2016, natural scientists and medical professionals as well as laboratory technicians had the opportunity to exchange ideas with many companies from the fields of natural sciences, biotechnology and pharmacy. In addition to a wide-ranging programme of presentations, there were once again free application portfolio checks and numerous workshops on the topic of starting a career. A new feature in 2016 was the simultaneous translation of the presentations into English. You can find all information in detail in the job fair catalogue.

Many thanks to all the companies, trade fair visitors and helpers who contributed to the success of the 15th CONTACT in a row. CONTACT2015 took place on 22 April 2015 from 10:00 to 17:30 in the Communication Centre of the German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ) in Heidelberg. All information can also be found in the job fair catalogue. At CONTACT2015, many companies from the biotech and pharmaceutical sectors, as well as selected consulting firms and scientific publishers, presented a wide range of information on career entry and job vacancies. The event was accompanied by a varied programme of presentations, free application portfolio checks and numerous workshops, demonstrating the diverse range of career opportunities within the life sciences sector. The job wall also displayed suitable vacancies.

The CONTACT2014 life science job fair took place on 28 April 2014 from 10:00 to 17:30 in the DKFZ Communication Centre. We would like to thank all exhibitors and visitors for their participation! Detailed information can be found in the exhibition catalogue. Successful networking: The aim of the annual CONTACT trade fair is to bring together science graduates, medical professionals and technical staff with company representatives from the biotech and pharmaceutical sectors. In a relaxed atmosphere, you can clarify questions, exchange information and make initial personal contacts in direct dialogue. In addition, presentations and workshops offered a wealth of information on the subject of starting a career. With application portfolio checks and the job wall, visitors also had the opportunity to start their career directly at the fair.