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.
- The National Report on Early Career Researchers 2025 supported by BMBF (federal ministry of research and education) has been published recently. There’s an English webpage where you can find a summary and other related resources.
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