careerMe - Mentoring Programme

The mentoring programme is designed to support doctoral candidates in their career orientation and planning by providing them with insights into the professional practice of scientists. Through the programme, doctoral candidates can develop personally and professionally and are supported in building networks. Mentors (postdocs & professors) can act as role models and provide insights into the unwritten rules of the scientific system.
It is therefore not about professional support.

Mentors also benefit from participating in the program. Among other things, interdisciplinary networks can be expanded through exchange with other mentors and new impulses for their own work can be gained.

The focus of one-to-one mentoring is on personal exchange between mentor and mentee. Thus, regular meetings of the tandems are to take place, in person or online. The mentee takes the active role.
The basis for the mentoring relationship is a mentoring agreement, which is concluded at the kick-off event. Depending on the number of applicants and the capacities of the mentors, group mentoring (one mentor, several mentees) may also be offered in individual cases.

The programme runs for one year. The next round will start in October/November 2024.
The framework programme will be in German.

The programme includes at least one kick-off event and one closing event. Specific dates and further requirements, e.g. on workshop topics, are queried after the matching process.
A preparatory workshop is offered for mentees before the kick-off event. Mentors are also given the opportunity to prepare for their respective roles.
Participation in the framework programme is obligatory for mentees.

Framework programme:

Programme 2024/25 (in German)

Advanced doctoral candidates can participate as mentees. This means that at the time of application, the doctoral candidate should have been accepted as doctoral candidat at least two years ago. Furthermore, the doctoral candidates must remain at the University of Erfurt for the duration of the programme (October 2024 to October 2025) and attend the events (presence) as a prerequisite for participation.
English speakers can also register, although the framework programme will be held in German.
For the application, an online application form must be completed (see under Application). However, this does not automatically lead to programme participation. On the one hand, sufficient mentors must have declared their willingness to participate in the programme, and on the other hand, the thematic and content-related ideas must match. For this reason, after all applications and all mentor profile sheets have been received, a detailed matching process takes place in which the potential mentees' topic preferences and the topics in which the mentors can provide support are compared.

Postdoctoral researchers, junior professors and professors who are interested in supporting doctoral candidates in their careers can participate as mentors. Ideally, postdoctoral researchers should already have participated in the careerMe programme as mentees.
Before the start of the programme, a profile sheet must be submitted to enable the matching process (see under application).

Be sure to read the data privacy statementon the mentoring programme before submitting your application or sending the profile form.

Please read the guidelines before applying as a mentee.
An application as a mentee is possible until 31. August 2024.
 

Application as a mentee (online form)

If you are interested in becoming a mentor, please submit the profile form to the programme coordinator:

profile form mentor (professor)

profile form mentor (postdoctoral researcher and tenure track professor)

The first mentoring round started in 2022 for postdoctoral researchers and Career Track professors. The target group has now been expanded, so that from 2023 there will is also offered a programme line for doctoral students.

The new mentoring round started at the end of May 2023 with a preparatory workshop for mentors and mentees for both programme lines.
In these workshops, the mentors and mentees were prepared for their respective roles and participation in the programme.

The joint kick-off event took place on 06.06.2023. After a welcome by Prof. Dr. Benedikt Kranemann, Vice President for Research and Graduate Services, and Dr. Katharina Held, Head of the President's Office and Staff Unit University Development, the programme participants got to know each other better. Afterwards, the tandems filled out a mentoring agreement to record organisational and content-related aspects of the future mentoring relationship.

In July, a network meeting was held at which mentors and mentees had the opportunity to exchange ideas with each other.

In October, the mentors were given the opportunity to reflect on their previous mentoring activities and exchange ideas in an externally moderated workshop.

Another network meeting was held in November, at which the programme coordinator was given feedback on the progress to date.

At the closing event on 23 April 2024, the participants were presented with a certificate of participation in the programme by the Vice President for Research and Academic Careers, Prof. Dr André Brodocz. The mentors also received a small thank-you gift.
The 2023/24 mentoring round is now over. We are already looking forward to the next round!