"Professor, another beer stein!" - Alexander Gelner works as a waiter at the Gäubodenfest festival

Normally, Alexander Gelner teaches students specialised knowledge and scientific methods, but at the moment he is serving chicken and beer. Because: "My wife is on parental leave this year, so I'm standing in for her - family duty, quite officially," says Gelner. Instead of being in the lecture theatre, he is now standing between beer tables, brass band music, and the festival tent crowd, and experiencing first-hand how the hustle and bustle of shift work works at the largest folk festival in Eastern Bavaria.

It's not entirely unrelated to his day-to-day work. "Memorising orders, remaining friendly, doing a lot of mental arithmetic and balancing 14 measures at the same time - everyday life at the university is almost relaxing," he says with a smile. The experience also shows him how important clear communication and well-organised processes are - principles that he otherwise lives by in the laboratory or seminar room. "In the tent, it's one for all, all for the guests. If it works, it only works together."

Another learning effect for the professor: being down to earth. The direct contact with a wide variety of people, the spontaneous conversations in between, and the physical work are a welcome change from everyday academic life. "It's good to slip into a completely different role and clear your head."

Alexander Gelner is still on duty until the end of the Gäubodenvolksfest - probably the only waiter with a professorship.