Onboarding: First Meeting

Welcome to the ISE team at Frankfurt School! This checklist structures our first onboarding meeting. Weโ€™ll discuss how we work, set initial goals, and align on expectations.

1. Welcome & Introductions (5 min)

  • Du ok (Sie)?
  • Review the role using the authoritative Responsibilities page
  • What do you hope to learn or contribute during your time with us? When would it be a success?

We want your time with us to be a meaningful stepping stone in your journey โ€” a place to grow, contribute to real-world projects, build valuable skills, co-author research papers, and connect with a network of people who care about digital work.

2. Our Team & How We Work (10 min)

๐ŸŒ Vision & Mission

  • Digital technologies transform how work is organized and designed.
  • We strive for impact in research, teaching, and practice, based on openness, rigor, and support.

๐Ÿงญ Operating Principles

  • Focused work (deep work, blocking time, Pomodoro, etc.) - Discuss what focused work means for us (when/where/how)
  • Collaborative work (co-working, knowledge-sharing, review sessions)
  • GitHub as our single source of truth
  • Review the standard operating principles

3. Expectations & Role (10 min)

๐Ÿ™‹ What We Expect From You

  • Independent, structured work (including regular goal setting and feedback)
  • Self-organization through your agenda repository
  • Proactiveness: Asking for help early when needed, active participation and feedback

โ€œWe encourage you to take ownership, lead your own learning, and critique ideasโ€”including mine.โ€ (I am omniscient/do not dictate decisions)

๐Ÿ“ฃ Quick Overview

Area Expectation
Work Organization Use GitHub repos/issues; structure work in agenda
Communication Send meeting requests using the calendar; async-first mindset; share blockers early
Quality & Learning Aim for reproducibility, take time to learn
Feedback & Ideas Speak up, suggest improvements, disagree respectfully

4. Goal Setting with OKRs (25 min)

  • Open the personal agenda repository
  • Draft 1 semester-level Objective (qualitative goal)
  • Define 2โ€“3 Key Results (measurable outcomes)
  • Open the Assistant Development Pathway and choose realistic observe โ†’ contribute โ†’ initiate activities.
  • Agree on trackable deliverables, target dates, needed support, and the first review date. Adapt them to interests, contract duration, workload, and prior experience.

Example:

  • Objective: Contribute meaningfully to our open educational resources
    • KR1: Draft one learning module by May
    • KR2: Present feedback on team handbook
    • KR3: Automate one task using Python

Use log to break down KRs into weekly tasks. Open issues for specific tasks.

Keep personal employment and development details in the private agenda. Link to GitHub issues for concrete deliverables instead of copying operational task lists.

๐Ÿ”„ Align with Team Projects

  • Connect your work to ongoing team efforts
  • Discuss focus areas (projects in teaching, research, infrastructure, devโ€ฆ)

5. Next Steps & Support (10 min)

๐Ÿ›  Setup Check

  • GitHub account & access to:
    • Agenda repo
    • Handbook
    • research-hub
  • Email setup, calendar subscription, short bio + photo for the website + 02 Teams (Handbook)
  • Confirm that the agenda Gantt chart has the recommended Studies, Contract, Development, Responsibilities, Skills, and Milestones sections.

๐Ÿค Communication & Check-ins

  • Weekly/Biweekly 1:1s: schedule preferred slot
  • Co-working sessions for informal syncs
  • Issues over direct messages: async first

6. Wrap-Up (5 min)

  • Any open questions or first impressions?
  • Confirm next steps:
    • Finalize OKRs in the next meetings / within the first 2-4 weeks
    • Record the first shadowing or training activity and planned internal presentation
    • Start first weekly log and issue in your agenda repo
    • Schedule a co-working session this week

Notes



๐ŸŽ‰ Welcome again! Weโ€™re excited to work and grow together. Letโ€™s build great things ๐Ÿš€