The high-quality workshops offered by ARIADNEphil are specifically tailored to the requirements of the mentees. They provide opportunities to acquire generic key competencies and support the competitiveness of female academics.
Module: Competency Seminars
🎤Speaker: Jaqueline von Saldern
📅 Wednesday, 20th May, 10.00 a.m. – 06.00 p.m.
📍Halbmondstraße 6-8, Raum 2.048/49, Erlangen
🎯Target group: PostDocs and advanced Docs
📚About the speaker and the content
Jacqueline von Saldern:
She is German-American, bilingual and bicultural, raised in New York. As Career coach and trainer she is focused on international target groups. With 30 years of professional experience in an international context, mainly in the nonprofit sector, including 15 years in leadership roles (executive management, program leadership) she advises primarily professionals and executives at mid-career and senior levels.
Further information can be found at https://www.saldern-coaching.com/en/
Workshop Content:
- View inside
Leadership identity: reflection on leadership role, values, and mindset, as well as the development of a personal self-management approach
Dealing with common female pitfalls - View outside
Leadership culture environment: How is leadership practiced in academia? Ambiguities, lack of transparency, and dependencies in leadership
Lateral leadership: Leading without formal authority
Profiling and positioning in the workplace; managing relationships with peers and superiors - Strengthening the leadership role: competencies and strategies
Communication: conducting conversations, handling conflicts
Setting priorities
🎤Speaker: Dr. Silke Oehrlein-Karpi
📅 01st and 2nd Juli, each 09.00 a.m. – 01.30 p.m.
📍Zoom
🎯Target group: Docs
📚About the speaker, the content and goals
Dr. Silke Oehrlein-Karpi:
She works as a coach for academics and facilitates group coaching sessions. She worked for several years as a project manager at an institute at Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, where she led a subproject in an SFB at Unimedizin Mainz during a funding period. In addition to her many years of experience in individual coaching, she conducts topic-focused interactive workshops that take into account the specifics of the academic system and the various disciplines.
Further information can be found at https://www.kte-coaching.de/en
Coaching Content:
- Creation of an individual life profile I Preliminary work 14 days before by email
- Identification of key biographical points that are relevant to your professional career
- Reflection and development of your personal core competencies (technical, methodological, social, and personal) and your value profile
- Exchange of information about requirements during academic qualification: orientation, profiling, and appointment phases, also with regard to application processes and suitability in a scientific context (no application document check)
- Discussion of structural challenges and gender aspects – opportunities and risks
- Overview of career alternatives to professorship, such as science management and professional fields outside of academia
- Input and feedback on your own career planning and identification of key biographical points that are relevant to your professional career
- Input and feedback on your own career planning
Coaching Goals:
A key step in strategically planning your own academic career is to thoroughly analyze your personal skills, competencies, values, and goals. Being able to assess your personal potential helps you make the right decisions, make the most of your individual opportunities, and still have room for your personal life.
In order to develop your professional profile, it is crucial to include not only your technical expertise, but also your own experience and methodological knowledge, as well as your social and communication skills. These individual resources (unique selling points!) can then be compared with the requirements profile in the application process and used and communicated in a very conscious manner.
The professional profile that you develop in this group-coaching will also help you to ensure that your own qualities and success strategies are visible in your own network. This will enable you to proactively shape your personal career path.
🎤Speaker: Dr. Silke Oehrlein-Karpi
📅 27th October 2026, 09.00 a.m. – 03.00 p.m.
📍Erlangen, Halbmondstraße 6-8, Room 2.048/49
🎯Target group: PostDocs and advanced Docs
📚About the speaker and the content
Dr. Silke Oehrlein-Karpi:
She works as a coach for academics and facilitates group coaching sessions. She worked for several years as a project manager at an institute at Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, where she led a subproject in an SFB at Unimedizin Mainz during a funding period. In addition to her many years of experience in individual coaching, she conducts topic-focused interactive workshops that take into account the specifics of the academic system and the various disciplines.
Further information can be found at https://www.kte-coaching.de/en
Workshop goal:
Whether you are presenting at a conference, speaking on a panel or introducing your research to a wider audience i.e. on TV, moments of visibility are an important part of academic life. For many early-career female researchers in the humanities and social sciences, these moments can be exciting and empowering—but they can also feel challenging, exposing or simply unfamiliar.
The workshop empowers female academics in developing a confident, engaging and authentic presence in live science communication. With guidance from Dr. Silke Oehrlein-Karpi, you will analyze your own communication habits, explore how to handle visibility and pressure. You will practice concrete strategies for speaking in panel discussions.
Workshop content:
- How to communicate research live: purpose, attitude, message, context and audience.
- The comfort-zone model as a tool for growth, self-awareness and manageable next steps.
- Self-leadership, resource management and constructive ways of dealing with pressure.
- Exercises to identify personal resources and translate them into concrete communication strategies.
- Practical Exercise: You will participate in a moderated panel discussion as an expert in your research field. You will receive a mandatory pre-work assignment 14 days before the workshop (your topics for the panel discussion, preparing three questions for the moderator and your responses to them).
Additional information
Please note: Preparing the pre-work assignment for the panel discussion is a mandatory prerequisite for meaningful participation in the workshop.
🎤Speaker: Dr. Veronika Fuest
📅 Tuesday 17th and 24th November, each 09.00 a.m. – 12.30 p.m.
📍Online
🎯Target group: PostDocs and Docs
📚About the speaker and the content
Dr. Veronika Fuest:
Veronika Fuest is a certified consultant (systemic transactional analysis) and trainer with multidisciplinary academic qualifications, experience in collaborative research projects at various scientific institutions, academic teaching of political anthropology, various assignments in science management (project coordination, consultancy, management of ombudsman affairs, internal process moderation) and actor and institu-tional analyses in science organizations.
Further information can be found at https://www.in-cooperation.com/en/person.php
Workshop Content:
In Germany and elsewhere researchers are embedded in specific hierarchical constellations. Regardless of their position at the top, middle or lower levels of their organization, sometimes they meet irritating and even incomprehensible behavior and outcomes: formal regulations may be bypassed, expertise and institutionally defined responsibility may turn out to be unimportant when decisions are taken, rival camps may impede reasonable cooperation, etc.
Some processes involving power games are perceived as unproductive, frustrating or even annoying. However, experience also tells us that difficult situations can be mastered by analyzing the dynamics of key situations and of the players‘ interests involved, by skillful communication and, generally, by a power-conscious approach.
In this workshop, you will learn to:
- become familiar with the concept of micropolitics and related tools for actively influencing processes within organizations.
- identify typical arenas of micropolitics
- analyze and reflect on your own environment, your roles in micropolitical dynamics, and the phenomenon of abuse of power
Workshop goal:
Participants become familiar with useful concepts from micropolitical theory and are better able to recognize and contextualize micropolitical games and the abuse of power within organizational systems. They receive impulses for reflecting on their own roles, scope for action, and development opportunities with regard to their personal micropolitical competence.
🎤Speaker: Dr. Dieta Kuchenbrandt
📅 01st and 2nd June 2027, each 09.00 a.m. – 05.00 p.m. (2 groups)
📍Erlangen
🎯Target group: PostDocs
📚About the speaker and the content
Dr. Dieta Kuchenbrandt:
She is an academically trained psychologist with additional coaching and consulting training (German Psychologists Academy). After several years as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Bielefeld and as an interims professor at the University of Osnabrück, she is a freelance trainer, consultant and coach, specialized in the demands of scientists. Her work focuses on academic career planning and applications for professorships and postdoc positions.
Further information can be found at https://www.schainundkuchenbrandt.com/en
Workshop content:
- Self-study video
Duration: 3.75 hours, available for 3 weeks before the group session
The aim of the video is to inform you in detail about all phases of the appointment procedure for professorships in Germany and to provide you with specific assistance and tips for your application.
Part 1: Procedure and formal aspects of professorial appointment processes,
Part 2: Detailed discussion of all required application documents (especially CV, cover letter, concepts), including partial illustrations with sample materials,
Part 3: Discussion of expectations and requirements during the hearing before the appointment committee, as well as important preparation steps. Tips and short demonstrations on structuring a research presentation and teaching demonstration. Presentation of the most frequently asked questions and topics during committee interviews. - Mandatory accompanying task
Workload: 1–2 hours
Preparation of a 3-minute presentation to introduce your own profile (introductory part of the research presentation; instructions in the video) - In-person group coaching
1 or 2 June 2027 (German and English sessions), 09:00–17:00
In the group session, there is first of all the opportunity to clarify any remaining questions about applying for professorships. Afterwards, all participants give their prepared 3-minute presentation to introduce their own profile (introductory part of the scientific presentation) and receive feedback from the participants and the lecturer. Finally, the interview with the committee is discussed separately. Here you will answer some typical questions from committee interviews and also receive feedback on these.
Additional information
Please note: Watching the video and preparing a 3-minute presentation is a mandatory prerequisite for meaningful participation in the group session.
🎤Speaker: Dr. Viktoria Irlbauer-Müller
📅 N.N.
📍N.N.
🎯Target group: PostDocs and Docs
📚About the speaker and the content
Dr. Viktoria Irlbauer-Müller:
She is a child and adolescent psychotherapist specialzed in cognitive behavioral therapy in private practice. She also teaches aspiring psychotherapists and works as a supervisor. As part of the FAUmentoring ARIADNE program, she has been leading the popular workshop Rush Hour of Life for many years, which specifically addresses reconciling work and family life.
Further information can be found at https://irlbauer-mueller.de
Workshop content:
Detailed information follow soon.
Module: Publication and Grant Funding
🎤Speakers: Dr. Cordula Glass und Dr. Dennis Kirchberg
📅 Tuesday 1st December, 10.00 a.m. – 12.00 p.m.
📍Online
🎯Target group: PostDocs and advanced Docs
📚About the speakers and the content
Dr. Cordula Glass:
Together with her colleague, she heads the Office for Research and Early-Career Researchers of the Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Theology at FAU. As an academic career development specialist and systemic coach, she supports researchers at various career stages on their path to a professorship. Cordula Glass has many years of experience with a wide range of research funding programes, funding advice, and grant proposal coaching.
Dr. Dennis Kirchberg:
He heads the Research Management and Doctoral Affairs Office at the Faculty of Business, Economics, and Law at FAU. He holds a PhD in Business Administration and has worked in various research management roles since 2012. He is also a certified EU Funding Advisor (BMBF). He believes that while grant writing requires hard work, it should also be an enjoyable and rewarding process.
Detailed information follow soon.
🎤Speaker: Dr. Dzifa Vode
🚀Coaches: Dr. Dzifa Vode, Susanne Jäckle, Deidre Rieker
Morning program: Anna Isenmann
📅 06th-08th April 2027, each 09.00 a.m. – 07.00 p.m., optional morning program 07.45 – 08.45 a.m.
📍Freyeslebenstraße 1, Erlangen
🎯Target group: PostDocs and Docs
Please note: If you register, you are required to attend all sessions, as they are interdependent.
📚About the speaker, the coaches and the content
Dr. Dzifa Vode:
She holds a PhD in Writing Pedagogy and founded and directed the Writing Center at TH Nürnberg. In addition to her independent work as a writing coach, writing trainer, and higher education teaching consultant, she continues to work as a lecturer at the Writing Center of TH Nürnberg. Alongside individual writing coaching and writing workshops, she regularly offers writing retreats for academics and researchers working on demanding writing projects. Find more at https://www.schreib-fertig.de.
Susanne Jäckle:
She heads the Language Service and coordinates the Writing Center at FAU. As a certified writing consultant (PH Freiburg), she has supported researchers at various career stages in their individual writing processes, including at the Schreib(r)auszeit writing retreat organized by the TU Berlin.
Deidre Rieker:
She works as a translator in the Language Service and is a staff member of the Writing Center at FAU. As a trained writing tutor at TU Nürnberg she is passionate about supporting female academics in (re)discovering the enjoyment and motivation that can come from their own writing.
Writing Retreat goals:
After the writing retreat, participants…
- have defined clear writing goals.
- have made focused progress on an individual writing project.
- are able to consciously identify writing phases and modes within the writing process and are familiar with techniques for self-regulation during the writing process.
- are able to select from a range of reflective and creative writing techniques as needed in order to advance their writing project.
- have worked on an individual topic related to their writing project or the development of their writing skills in a growth-oriented coaching session.
- have set clearly defined goals to integrate the learning outcomes of the Writing Retreat into their everyday work.
Writing Retreat content:
The three-day, highly structured and tailored program for female academics at all career stages, designed to enhance writing productivity, includes…
- guided writing sessions,
- complemented by productivity-enhancing exercises in reflective and creative academic writing
- individual writing coaching
- a welcome workshop and a closing workshop
- an optional morning framework program / movement activities
Additional information
Participants will receive detailed information six weeks before the start of the retreat.
🎤Speaker: Dr. Cordula Glass
📅 09th February 2027, 10.00 a.m. – 01.00 p.m.: Introduction and preparation for the workshop
📅 29th and 30th April 2027, 10.00 a.m. – 05.00 p.m. and 10.00 a.m. – 02:00 p.m.: Grant application workshop
📍Erlangen
🎯Target group: PostDocs and advanced Docs
Please note: If you register, you are required to attend all sessions, as they are interdependent.
📚About the speaker and the content
Dr. Cordula Glass:
Together with her colleague, she heads the Office for Research and Early-Career Researchers of the Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Theology at FAU. As an academic career development specialist and systemic coach, she supports researchers at various career stages on their path to a professorship. Cordula Glass has many years of experience with a wide range of research funding programes, funding advice, and grant proposal coaching.
Detailed information follow soon.