This is a guest post by the organisers of the workshop, Dr. Steve Doo, currently a postdoc at MfN Berlin, and Dr. Henry Wu, postdoc at ZMT Bremen.

“What would you do if you left academia?”

This question, asked of me countless times over the last few years, was source of both anxiety and stress.

A recent Nature article featuring our Leibniz PostDoc network Co-Spokesperson Dr. Mine Altinli, as well as Leibniz PostDoc Network blogs regarding the WissZeitVG, all highlight the precarity of job security Postdocs face, as well as the sacrifices we make for career advancement. While there might be a desire to redirect career paths, many researchers, especially those from international backgrounds, can find it tough to obtain guidance on how to embark on a journey toward a career outside the traditional academic framework. As such, the Leibniz PostDoc Network has organized an exciting two-day event to meet this need, consisting of informational and practical training sessions for Leibniz Postdocs to jump start a transition into a diverse career.

We have organized a highly interactive 2-day workshop that centers on participant interaction. We plan to achieve this through informational lectures, reflective exercises that are constructed to help postdoc realize marketable skills with an advanced degree. We will also welcome two workshop trainers to guide participants in broadening the practical skills needed to obtain a career outside academia.

Event Details

Registration Link:

sign in for the diverse careers workshop

Details:

Start: 12:00 PM Thursday 7 December 2023

End: 13:00 PM Friday 8 December 2023

Location:  Leibniz Gemeinschaft, Chausseestraße 111, 10115 Berlin (short tram ride from Berlin Hbf)

Participants: Maximum of 40 Postdoctoral Researchers from Leibniz-Affiliated Institutes.

Costs: The event is free including lunch/coffee on both days. Hotels/travel are not covered, and interested postdocs are encouraged to speak with their institutes regarding supporting this event. 

*This event will be held in English. 

Event Highlights: 

• Keynote Lecture: Dr. Anne Schreiter (German Scholars Organization): The Landscape of Diverse Career Options
• Interactive Reflections: Dr. Lina Yassin (Numo): Self-Reflection Session to Reveal Marketable Skills with an Advanced Degree
• Workshop 1 (Choice of only a single workshop): Dr. Sabine Müller: Introduction to Business Model You
• Workshop 2 (Choice of only a single workshop): Constance Böhme: Developing Professional Networks

Organizer Contacts: 

Dr. Steve Doo ()   *Note Different Email from Before

Dr. Henry Wu ()

Our hope is that Leibniz Explorations: Diverse Careers will empower ECRs in strategizing potential future career options, by first discovering transferable skills through self-reflection and peer feedback, and develop concrete steps to pivot into exciting diverse career pathways!

We look forward to welcoming you in Berlin, and if there are any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch!