Wir stiften innovative Forschung
indem wir Wissenschaft weiblicher machen

How can you plan and pursue your career in academia or beyond? What are opportunities and challenges for female researchers? Which resources do you already have, and which would you like to build? How can you do things your way so you strengthen your resilience and can be authentic?

This workshop is for doctoral candidates from all disciplines who want to actively shape their professional future and prepare strategically for their next career steps in academia and beyond. This workshop is designed for participants to explore a range of career perspectives, and to strengthen their decision-making capacity. In guided reflections, interactive exercises, and peer exchange, participants have the opportunity to get deeper insights into their personal strengths, and values. Building on that, participants gain clarity and confidence in defining career goals and can start design concrete strategies for achieving them.

Your trainer: Dr. Sabine Müller, Scienza Coaching & Consulting GmbH

Dr. Sabine Müller has been working as a trainer and coach in science, culture, and education since 2022. Her focus is on career development, diversity, and new work.

After studying literature, philosophy, and art history at the University of Tübingen, she earned her doctorate at the University of Oxford, where she worked as a lecturer and department head for German literature and philosophy. Her work as a science manager in non-university research in Germany, with a focus on career development and equal opportunities, complements her workshops.

This workshop offers an in-depth introduction to the German research and innovation landscape. Participants will gain insights into the structures and specific characteristics of conducting research at universities and the non-university institutions. In addition, the workshop addresses key professional competencies required for developing as an independent researcher and discusses strategic aspects of career planning within the German research system. The program is designed to support informed career decisions and to foster participants’ long-term professional growth.

Your trainer: Dr. Anke Soemer, Transfer Lab – Consulting. Training. Coaching

Anke Soemer has been working at the Fraunhofer Society since 2015, most recently in the Department of Transfer and Innovation. From 2000 to 2015, she worked at the Max Planck Society, where she served as Head of the Department for Young Scientists, the Max Planck Research Schools, and the Coordination of Presidential Commissions. She studied public administration and law at the Universities of Konstanz and Ottawa and received her doctorate from the Technical University of Munich.

Academic careers are not only shaped by talent and ambition but also by social background. Family education, income, and status, as well es gender and migration continue to influence educational mobility and access to academic communities. These factors affect not only career opportunities but also self-perception and the sense of belonging in academia.

This workshop invites participants to explore the day’s guiding question “Does background matter?” through a biographical lens. Using case studies of first-generation students, we will reflect on experiences of inequality, exclusion, and inclusion within higher education. Participants will engage in group discussions, guided reflection, and the analysis of biographical material, connecting these insights to their own professional journeys.

Together, we will identify barriers and opportunities in academic pathways, share strategies for negotiating belonging, and discuss ways to create more inclusive academic environments. The workshop provides both space for personal reflection and concrete approaches that strengthen empowerment and solidarity among early-career researchers.

Your trainer: Flora Petrik, University of Tübingen

Flora Petrik works as a research assistant at the Institute of Education at the University of Tübingen. She studied educational science, German language and literature, and comparative literature in Vienna and Jyväskylä. Her dissertation project focused on the experiences of first-generation students at university. Her other areas of research and teaching include social inequality in schools and universities, with a particular focus on social background and Pierre Bourdieu's theory of practice.