Melinda Utke: Brilliant conclusion and honor for media talent!

Melinda Utke: Brilliant conclusion and honor for media talent!

On October 2, 2025, Melinda Utke, a trainee at the Film University, was awarded a certificate of honor from the Brandenburg State Office for Archives and Public Libraries. She was honored as second best in her year and was able to pass her final examination to become a specialist in media and information services with a grade of “very good”. This award underlines the high quality of the professional training that Utke received at the film university.

The instructor Ulrike Rollnik emphasized the special features of training at the film university. This not only ends with theoretical education, but also offers practical experience through an internship in the film museum's collections and a comprehensive insight into various specialist departments such as the film archive and press documentation. The state department, represented by Susanne Taege, particularly praised Utke's skills and motivation.

Tasks and training to become a specialist employee

The training to become a specialist in media and information services (FaMI) covers various disciplines, including the library, which is one of the central training areas. According to the German National Library, FaMI in the library department must research, acquire and catalog media types. In total, the collection includes over 53 million works that must be made accessible to users.

Specialists not only advise users who borrow items, but are also active in public relations and organizing events. For the training year 2026, six training positions are being offered at the Leipzig location, while there are currently no open training opportunities at the Frankfurt am Main location.

Training structure and perspectives

The dual training usually lasts three years, starting on September 1st of each year. The theoretical training took place in block lessons at the Gutenberg School in Leipzig. The remuneration during the training is based on the collective agreement for trainees in the public service. The training allowance is 1,218 euros in the first year, 1,268 euros in the second year and 1,314 euros in the third year.

The entry requirements usually include a good intermediate level of education and an interest in digital technologies and media. Applications must be submitted in full to the training company and the deadline is November 15th of the previous year. After successful completion of the training, the average gross salary is around 3,553 euros per month, while the starting salary is around 3,000 euros gross.

The in-depth training not only includes specialist knowledge in media studies and information science, but also practical activities such as customer advice and public relations. Media and information services specialists are different from librarians, who have a university degree and have overall responsibility.