The well-established network of international contacts and collaborations makes the IPB an internationally recognized research institute, where people from all over the world are working together.

Our goal is to facilitate the smooth integration of all foreign colleagues into the working life at the institute and to help them enjoy their personal life in Halle. We appreciate their courage and adventurous spirit to work and live abroad. We are deeply convinced that people from different national and ethical backgrounds will not only enrich our Institute with their knowledge, but also help broaden our cultural competence. We therefore established a sustainable welcoming culture, which has been successfully implemented over the years and anchored structurally in many parts of the Institute.

How we support you as a foreign student or co-worker to make you feel at home:
If you fly into the Leipzig/Halle airport or if you arrive by train at the Halle main station (15 min from the airport), we can pick you up there. At the IPB the departmental secretaries (see Contact info below) will assist you with all questions that may arise upon your arrival and in the course of your stay, such as:

• arranging short term accommodation for you (the IPB has two guesthouses).
  If you would like to stay in one of our guesthouses, please contact us well in advance of your arrival so that we can arrange everything.
• accompanying you with all issues regarding the Resident’s Registration Office (German: Einwohnermeldeamt) and the local Foreigner’s Registration Office (German: Ausländerbehörde).
  In Germany, the Registration Law requires everybody (including all Germans) to register at the Resident’s Registration Office and to report where she or he is living.
• helping you to open a Current Bank Account (German: Girokonto),
  because this is the most convenient way of dealing with money transactions.
• helping you to obtain appropriate Health Insurance, (German: Krankenversicherung),
  because this is mandatory if you come to Germany on the basis of a work contract or a scholarship.
• arranging an appointment with an English speaking medical doctor, if required
• helping you to find a place to live in Halle and to get a rental contract
• helping you to organize day care or to find a suitable school for your children
• supporting your partner to find a job
• etc.

Your new colleagues and the administrative staff of the IPB will be happy to lend a hand if you need advice on any other more day-to-day issue and on all the little challenges you might come across as a newcomer to Germany.

The following links provide you with additional information on living and working in Germany:

• EURAXESS - Deutschland
• DAAD
• RefugeeGuide - A Guide for Orientation and Communication in Germany