Internal resources
- A statement from the Leibniz PostDoc Network on the draft bill for the WissZeitVG are available in English and German.
- Welcome Package: Information for international PostDocs moving to Germany. The package covers a broad range of information, e.g. work visa, childcare, insurances, WissZeitVG.
- Report of the first Leibniz PostDoc Survey 2020: The report was published in 2022 on an open access basis via SSOAR, which is hosted by GESIS. You can get a copy of the full report here: https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-83394-4.
- The report of the second Leibniz PostDoc Survey 2022 was published in 2024. You can get a copy of the full report here: https://www.ssoar.info/ssoar/handle/document/97423. A summary can be found on our blog.
- A paper from our former sustainability working group about Transforming research practices towards environmental sustainability can be found here: https://zenodo.org/records/7714680.
External resources
- The Guide on Fixed-Term Contracts in Higher Education and Research provided by the Education and Science Workers’ Union (GEW) covers the WissZeitVG (“Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz”) in more detail. pdfs are available in English and German.
Useful links
This is a summary of all the links in the Welcome Package. Please read the Welcome Package for more information (see below).
- Leibniz Association
- Coming to Germany
- Life in Germany
- Health care
- Language Courses
- Family Life Benefits
- Public Transportation
- Navigating Academic Work Life in Germany
Leibniz Associations
Leibniz Association & German research landscape
- https://www.leibniz-gemeinschaft.de/en/
- https://leibniz-postdoc.de/
- https://www.listserv.dfn.de/sympa/info/leibnizpds
- https://www.research-in-germany.org/en/research-landscape.html
Conflict Resolution
- https://www.leibniz-gemeinschaft.de/en/about-us/leibniz-integrity/good-scientific-practice-and-ombuds-services
- https://www.leibniz-gemeinschaft.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Bilder_und_Downloads/%C3%9Cber_uns/Gute_wissenschaftliche_Praxis/Leibniz_Code_for_Good_Research_Practice.pdf
- https://www.leibniz-gemeinschaft.de//en/about-us/leibniz-integrity/guide-for-dealing-with-conflict/advice-centre-for-conflict-guidance-and-prevention/
Leibniz Mentoring for Female Researchers
Leibniz Association Funding Opportunities
Coming to Germany
Entry Visa
- https://digital.diplo.de/navigator/en/visa
- https://www.make-it-in-germany.com/en/visa-residence/procedure/entry-process
Residence Permit/Work Visa
City Registration
Life in Germany
Apartment rental
- https://www.iamexpat.de/expat-info/social-security/housing-benefit-germany-wohngeld#:~:text=Housing%20benefit%20(Wohngeld)%20is%20a,they%20can%20afford%20suitable%20housing
- https://www.schufa.de/schufa-en/
- https://www.meineschufa.de/de/datenkopie
Tax system
- https://www.hamburg.com/contentblob/15913954/3cbcff9f6cfa9de67ba66f6386bfc9d5/data/km1-infosheet-income-tax-lohnsteuer).pdf
- https://www.elster.de/eportal/start
- https://taxfix.de/en/
- https://www.iamexpat.de/expat-info/taxation-germany
Health care
Getting Medical Assistance
- https://www.doctolib.de/
- https://116117.de/de/englisch.php
- https://www.tk-aerztefuehrer.de/TK/englische-suche.htm
Mental Health
- https://www.telefonseelsorge.de/international-helplines/
- https://www.berliner-krisendienst.de/en/
- https://www.krisendienste.bayern/mental-health-support-in-over-120-languages/
- https://www.expatica.com/de/healthcare/healthcare-services/mental-health-in-germany-346138/
Therapy
- https://complicated.life/blog/how-to-get-therapy-that-is-covered-by-the-german-public-health-insurance-tk/
- https://www.116117.de/de/englisch.php
Insurances
- https://www.settle-in-berlin.com/insurance-in-germany/#h-krankenversicherung-health-insurance
- https://howtogermany.com/insurance/personal/insurance-what-do-you-really-need/
Language Courses
- https://www.goethe.de/en/index.html
- https://www2.daad.de/deutschland/studienangebote/sommerkurse/en/
- https://www.iamexpat.de/education/language-schools/german-courses-germany
- https://www.vhs-tandem.de/de/
- https://www.tandem.net/language-exchange/germany
- https://learngerman.dw.com/de/deutsch-lernen-neu/s-9095
- https://coffeebreaklanguages.com/coffeebreakgerman/
Family Life Benefits
- https://familienportal.de/familienportal/meta/languages/family-benefits
- https://www.bmfsfj.de/resource/blob/139908/72ce4ea769417a058aa68d9151dd6fd3/elterngeld-elterngeldplus-englisch-data.pdf
- https://familienportal.de/familienportal/familienleistungen
- https://familienportal.de/dynamic/action/familienportal/125008/suche
- https://familienportal.de/familienportal/familienleistungen/elternzeit/arbeit-versicherung/kann-ich-als-wissenschaftliche-mitarbeiterin-oder-wissenschaftlicher-mitarbeiter-elternzeit-nehmen–124808
- https://www.bmfsfj.de/bmfsfj/meta/en/financial-support-for-families-and-digitalisation-of-family-benefits-223830
Childcare
- https://www.make-it-in-germany.com/en/living-in-germany/family-life/school-system
- https://www.bmfsfj.de/bmfsfj/meta/en/families
Public Transportation
- https://www.kvb-rad.de/koeln/de/
- https://www.vrnnextbike.de/en/
- https://www.tier.app/en/
- https://www.iamexpat.de/expat-info/transportation/public-transportation-germany-sbahn-ubahn-tram-bus
- https://handbookgermany.de/en/mobility
Driving license
Navigating Academic Work Life in Germany
Employee representatives
- https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/englisch_betrvg/
- https://www.verdi.de/themen/mitbestimmung/personalrat/++co++bb31b71c-a3cf-11ed-b3b3-001a4a16012a