What Mannheim feels like
Anna Maier and Lina Kaluza on the Mannheim My Future relaunch
Reading time: 5 Minutes
Anna Maier and Lina Kaluza organized the relaunch of “Mannheim My Future.” What the two project managers developed over months of work is more than just a website for talent recruitment: it’s a communication platform that brings the spirit of Mannheim to life. How does it work? We met with Anna and Lina for an interview at the C-Hub startup center in Mannheim.
Ralf Laubscher
Anna and Lina, if Mannheim was a feeling—what would it be?
Lina Kaluza
(laughs) Hey, that’s not so easy to describe! Let me put it this way: Mannheim is somehow genuinely down-to-earth. Here, you always know what you’re getting—whether you like it or not. And I think you warm up to people very quickly here; there’s a special kind of magic to it. It’s a cosmopolitan way of life, completely different from, say, the small town in the Palatinate where I used to live.
Anna Maier
I think Mannheim feels completely different from other cities of similar size. I’m comparing it to Augsburg, where I grew up. Mannheim simply has so much more to offer—culturally, economically, and thanks to its central location in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region. I also love how close everything is. I live in the Schwetzinger Vorstadt neighborhood, and practically everything is right on my doorstep, including Luisenpark, which is one of the most beautiful parks in Germany.
Ralf Laubscher
Was it love at first sight with the city?
Anna Maier
My story in Mannheim actually began with a brief setback. I came here to study, but at first I couldn’t quite warm up to the city. So I took off again, until, years later, I came across a job posting for the Federal Horticultural Show in Mannheim. I told myself, “Okay, give it another try”—and luckily, I did. Today, I love this city so much that I work in city marketing and am now launching a platform called “Mannheim My Future” to show other people just how cool Mannheim is. So I highly recommend living and working here.
Lina Kaluza
What our stories have in common is the realization that it might take a little while to warm up to Mannheim. But once you understand what makes the city tick, you’ll want to stay. I’ve been living in Mannheim for 15 years now, and I haven’t been bored a single day. I’m constantly discovering exciting things and thinking: Hey, I don’t know that yet, I’ve never been there, I want to give that a try. Mannheim never ceases to impress me, partly because there are so many opportunities to help shape and contribute to the city. And now, with “Mannheim My Future,” it’s important to us to make the city more accessible to others as well.
Ralf Laubscher
Mannheim My Future started out as a platform for talent recruitment—now you’re launching into the future with a relaunch. What’s the goal?
Lina Kaluza
With Mannheim My Future, we want to bring the city to life—especially for people who are interested in a future here but don’t yet know the city. It’s an experience that goes far beyond what you’d find in a Google search for Mannheim. We want to give people a feel for Mannheim. We want to show why it’s worth living and working here.
Anna Maier
If you’re looking for a city to study, work, or start a business in—or if you’ve found a job offer in Mannheim—you’re probably asking yourself: What’s the city like? What can I achieve professionally here? Where can I live? How can I make friends? With Mannheim My Future, we answer these questions. We engage people directly on the topics of life and work. We showcase what the working world has to offer, highlight job opportunities, and provide insights into companies that are hiring. But we also introduce different neighborhoods, explore the cultural scene and nightlife, and report on exciting projects – And all of this from the unique perspective of people who are currently looking for a city to call home. I think that’s the biggest benefit people will get from our platform.
Ralf Laubscher
What is Mannheim’s key message to the people out there?
Mannheim is a place for people with all kinds of lifestyles! What makes it special, in our view, is that here you can shape your own personal story and feel truly welcome. The city is simply open to everyone who comes here and wants to write new, positive stories.
Anna Maier
That’s why, through Mannheim My Future, we’re also sharing the stories of people who work and live in Mannheim. It’s important to us to show that there are so many unique stories here. We want to reflect real life and the wide variety of people who call Mannheim home.
Ralf Laubscher
Can you also find a job on the website and its linked social media channels?
Anna Maier
We are not a job portal, but we do feature interesting, current job openings in collaboration with companies in Mannheim. In this respect, the platform also offers tangible benefits and added value for the companies. We help HR departments find candidates and, in a sense, take the work off their hands by explaining the city to applicants.
Lina Kaluza
Conversely, we also explain to job seekers what matters when looking for a job in Mannheim. We introduce companies in a very approachable way and sometimes share insights from the perspective of HR departments on what it takes to have a successful application.
Change of scene: Anna and Lina have a follow-up meeting and head back to the city marketing office at Quadrat N7. On the harbor promenade in front of the C-Hub, photographer Sebastian Weindel quickly snaps a few photos before Anna and Lina hop on their bikes. Time for one last question…
Ralf Laubscher
One last question for both of you: What is it that Mannheim has—and no other city does?
Diese große Offenheit! Ich finde, das ist ein ganz spezieller Vibe – man lernt hier einfach superschnell Leute kennen.
Lina Kaluza
Everything’s so close by! You live in a big city, but everything is right nearby. Whether you go on foot, by bike, by bus, or by train, you can be at your friends’ place in just five to 15 minutes. In Mannheim, that’s completely normal—and really nice. A city like Berlin just can’t offer that.