Future Career Program: Innovation
Table of contents
The entire workshop is in English.
Program description and target audience
From thinking innovatively to being innovative. Innovative thinking is the ability to come up with new ideas and novel approaches to problems. Innovation is about being creative and adapting to change. It is a crucial future skill along with innovation management. You can learn both of these skills and implement them in your everyday life as a scientist or in your future role as an employee, leader in industry, or as an entrepreneur. You might even learn these skills now with the help of AI!
In cooperation with the HZDR Innovators School and dresden | exists, the Future Career Program: Innovation offers you the opportunity to internalize innovation as personal development in a small, interdisciplinary group.
The program is aimed at postdocs and PhD students who want to be innovative, be it in research, in business, or even as a founder.
The prerequisite for participation is that you are pursuing your doctorate at TUD and have been officially accepted as a doctoral candidate. For Postdocs, a confirmed membership at the Postdoc Center is required.
The latest innovation is you!
April 23. + 24., 2026 | 9 am - 4 pm | online
You Trainer: Sarah Remmel
Inhalte des Moduls
- How to get to Out-of-the-Box-ideas
- Disruptive Thinking
- Structuring Creativity
- The 5 most important methods
Bring your ideas to life! ...with the help of AI
May 4, 2026 | 9 am - 4 pm | Graduate Academy, room 4
May 5, 2026 | 9 am - 4 pm | Graduate Academy, room 4
Trainer: Semih Aridogan
Content:
- Generation and Evaluation of Ideas
- Design Thinking Mini Sprint
- Prototyping
- User Feedback
- User Perspective
- AI Tools
Manage your ideas!
May 28, 2026 | 9 am - 4 pm | HZDR 114/203 Your trainer: Dorit Teichmann
Content:
- Profitability of innovation projects
- Information on funding programs
- Addressing potential companies/customers
- Unique Selling Proposition
- Business Model Canvas
- Funding of ideas and projects
- Intellectual Property
- Freedom to Operate
Become a Futuremaker!
June 10, 2026 | 9 am - 4 pm | HZDR 613/157 June 11, 2026 | 9 am - 4 pm | HZDR 613/157
Trainer: Katja Radlgruber
Content:
- Self Assessment
- Future Identity
- Career Composing Framework
- 12-Week-Year Concept
- Work Smart, Not Hard
- Tracking & Accountability
Networking your way to innovation!
June 17, 2026 | 12 pm - 4.30 pm | Sächsische Innovationskonferenz
Trainer: Dr. Veronika Körösi
Content:
We are invited to the Saxony Innovation Conference, where Saxony's doers come together with their forward-looking ideas, projects and innovations. Here we will play an active part and receive our certificates.
Goals:
- See Saxony's innovative power
- Experience innovation culture
- Celebrating #InnovationmadeinSaxony together
- Networking
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Important Notes
- Being a certificate program, attendance to all modules is expected! Participation in individual workshops is not possible.
- After the successful completion of the progra, participants will receive a certificate containing detailed course descriptions.
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Application requirements
All information on the application process as well as all forms can be found at the website of the Career Center of the HZDR.
Application deadline: March 27th, 2026