Mentoring programmes

ProScience is aimed at female postdocs and junior professors pursuing a university career and striving for a professorship. Therefore, the programme’s main focus is on professorial appointment and eligibility for professorship. It consists of three central components: two group-coaching phases, one-to-one mentoring, and individual coaching.

 1. Group-Coaching Phases

In the first phase of the group-coaching process, regular binding workshops are offered, serving the purpose of clarifying individual professional goals and providing a space to reflect and approach them strategically. The coaching sessions are usually offered by external speakers. Topics include, for example, appointment procedures or leadership in a scientific environment. The second group-coaching phase covers a divers range of topics for strategic career planning and development such as rhetorical training and workshops on the acquisition of funding.

2. One-to-one Mentoring

An important main component of this programme is the relationship between the mentee and the self-chosen mentor. In the one-to-one mentoring process, an experienced mentor accompanies the mentee on their career path at eye-level. A group coaching for the mentoring tandem offers support before searching for and deciding on a suitable mentor.

3. Individual Coaching

Individual coaching is oriented towards the demands and needs of each individual programme participant. Together with the mentee, the programme coordinator determines a possible need for consultation and finds suitable coaches. Postdocs and junior professors can make use of this offer to get specific support and consultation concerning strategic career steps and decision-making. Individual coaching sessions can address individual questions on career development or deal with the preparation for appointment procedures. In addition, they offer an application check for a professorship, and support in academic English or in publishing and working with the KODE® concept (competence-diagnostics and development). 

The schedule for the binding group-coaching sessions can be found under events and dates. A contribution towards expenses of 20 Euros is required for participation in the entire programme.

The mentoring programme ProViae is aimed at female doctoral candidates, who wish to orientate themselves regarding possible career paths and positions based on their academic qualifications and experience, and who aim for careers inside or outside of academia. The goal of this programme is to support participating female early career researchers in their career planning process and to prepare them for leading positions. The programme consists of four central components: two group-coaching phases, success teams, one-to-one mentoring, and individual coaching.

1. Group-Coaching Phases

There are two group-coaching phases. The first one is mandatory and aims at promoting individual career orientation and at encouraging self-reflection. Therefore, the coachings and workshops focus on strategic career planning and development. The second phase of the group-coaching offers more options like advanced training on various topics focusing on networking, dealing with challenges in the doctoral period or work-life-balance. Further information is available at events and dates.

2. Success Teams

The success team component of the programme is designed to enable the mentees to network with and, with the help of peer mentorings, support and accompany each other during their professional development by applying a solution- and goal-oriented approach.

3. One-to-one Mentoring

Within one-to-one mentoring, the mentoring team will help participants to find a suitable mentor working inside or outside of academia, depending on their career plans and aspirations. The mentoring tandem offers participants the opportunity to exchange ideas at eye-level with experts and receive suggestions and advice on career planning and development. An intensive group-coaching will prepare the group for the mentoring tandem. It supports the mentees in their decision-making process to find a suitable mentor and provides impulses for the upcoming mentoring process.

4. Individual Coaching

Individual coaching is oriented towards the demands and needs of each individual programme participant. Together with the mentee, the programme coordinator determines a possible need for consultation and finds suitable coaches. Doctoral candidates can make use of this offer to get specific support and consultation concerning strategic career steps and decision-making. Individual coaching sessions can address individual questions on career development or deal with the preparation for appointment procedures. In addition, they offer an application check for applications inside and outside of academia, and support in academic English or in publishing, rhetoric, voice and presentation training as well as KODE® coaching for competence development.

The schedule for the binding group-coaching sessions can be found under events and dates. A contribution towards expenses of 20 Euros is required for participation in the entire programme.