Beyond Work
Stuff I get up to during my “down time”
Family
I am happily married to my wife Tanja together with our two kids Julian and Vivian. They provide me with the support and backing that allows me to give my best in the work I do.
They are also my safe haven, so I respect their right to privacy on the Internet, as they respect mine.
Volunteering
Making a difference and giving back to the community (and having fun in the process) is something that is very important to me.
Below you will find some examples of initiatives to which I donate my time.
ERRV Team MoBo
About the team
The Essener Ruder-Regattaverein (ERRV) is the competitive racing association of the rowing clubs in Essen, Germany. It is the organiser of one of the oldest rowing regattas in the world, the International Huegel Regatta. This regatta was first held in 1901 and every two years attracts the best rowers in the world to compete on Lake Baldeney in Essen, Germany. Such an event takes a lot of work and Essen is in the lucky position to be able to motivate over a hundred volunteers each time to make both the Huegel Regatta Series, and other national regattas held in the years in between, a continuing success. For the past thirty years, I have had the honour of supporting these events as part of the motorboat team. ERRV Team MoBo, as it is known, is responsible for logistics, transport, on-water marshalling, and umpire driving before during and after these events. Over the years Team MoBo has developed a persistent core team of 5-8 members with further members bolstering the team as required, especially for the regattas. Recently, Team MoBo has been invited to assist in numerous international rowing regattas. These include:
- International Wedau Regatta 2014 in Duisburg, Germany
- European Rowing Championships 2016 in Brandenburg / Havel, Germany
- European Rowing Junior Championships 2017 in Krefeld, Germany
- European Rowing Junior Championships 2019 in Essen, Germany
- International Wedau Regatta 2019 in Duisburg, Germany
- European Rowing Under-23 Championships 2020 in Duisburg, Germany
Given this experience, ERRV Team MoBo is arguably one of the most experienced motorboating teams in international competitive rowing.
The video above contains some impressions from the 100th International Huegel Regatta in 2018 of the work done by ERRV Team MoBo. Video © 2018 by Sebastian Ständer
Want to get involved?
We are always looking for motivated volunteers to join the team. Whether you want to give back to the sport you love, or you simply like to be out and about “messing about in boats”, we’d love to hear from you.
A motorboat license is required on most waters we operate on, but we regularly train team members to help them pass the test and get their license.
Center for Cyber Safety and Education
The Center for Cyber Safety and Education is a charitable foundation whose mission is “To empower students, teachers and whole communities to secure their online life through cybersecurity education and awareness with the Safe and Secure Online educational program; information security scholarships; and industry and consumer research.”
The Center is the only organisation licensed to use Jim Davis’ Garfield as part of their campaigns, using the characters of Garfield and his friends to transport the cyber safety message to students.
I help by reaching out to schools in my area to teach cyber safety best practices to school children and their parents, as well as contributing to the translation of the training material from English into German.
AIESEC Alumni
AIESEC is the world’s largest student-run organisation, fostering inter-cultural understanding and leadership talent across the globe.
AIESEC Alumni International aims to keep the network of AIESEC leaders together across generations and affect global change for peace and fulfilment of humankind’s potential.
I assist the AIESEC Alumni in Germany, Europe and internationally in many small ways by advising on topics of cyber security and team leadership.
I also served as the Director of Information Technology for AIESEC Alumni International in 2014 – 2015, supporting the international Executive Board and Management Team in the implementation and usage of cloud-based productivity solutions, as well as consulting on topics of IT security and data protection.