Mentoring-program for female scientists in DFG-funded projects

© Sarah Fritzsch

On March 28, 2025, the kick-off event for the mentoring program for young female scientists of the Center for Continuing Education took place in the Fritz-Foerster Building of TU Dresden. The program is explicitly aimed at women and provides targeted support for their personal development, academic career planning and networking. The projects is funded by equal opportunities funds from the DFG-funded projects GRK 2250, CPEC, and CRC 1415 at TU Dresden.

The event was opened by the program coordinator, Sarah Fritzsch, who provided an overview of the structure and offerings of the mentoring program. Katrin Saure, deputy head of the Diversity Management and coordinator of women’s advancement programs at TU Dresden, then gave a keynote on “Women in Science,” which encouraged an engaging exchange among participants. Together, they discussed topics such as the relatively low proportion of women in higher academic positions in the natural sciences, as well as the typical challenges women face in a scientific career. Katrin Saure also shared valuable advice and guidance for building a successful academic career.

Throughout the year, further networking and exchange formats will be offered for the young female scientists. We look forward to supporting the participants in their ongoing career development this year.

In September, as part of the mentoring program, the two-day workshop “That’s me – The Art of Self-Presentation in the Scientific Context” took place under the guidance of Sven Hönig. The initiative for the workshop arose from the expressed interest of several mentees who wished to explore the topic of self-presentation in more depth.

The workshop provided a safe and supportive environment for women in science to further develop their self-presentation skills. The aim was to foster an authentic and convincing presence, to gain confidence in small talk with colleagues and potential collaborators, and to strengthen fundamental presentation and communication skills. The content was delivered through theoretical input from communication psychology and storytelling, combined with practical exercises drawn from presence, voice, and acting training.

In addition to the participating mentees, the workshop was also open to other female researchers, which not only enriched the discussions but also facilitated valuable networking opportunities across disciplinary and institutional boundaries.

As part of the mentoring program, an online short lecture followed by an open exchange took place in November under the title “Science under Pressure – Between Attack and Action.” The speaker, Matthias Fejes, Press Officer of TUD and advisor at Scicomm-Support, the national contact point for attacks and inappropriate conflicts in science communication, outlined current developments related to hostility toward science and presented research findings, statistics, and case studies.
He also discussed how scientific institutions and democratic societies can respond to the growing number of attacks on science, and concluded by introducing the support services that Scicomm offers to researchers.

The event brought together female researchers from several German universities (TUD, University of Konstanz, LMU Munich, among others), who used the opportunity to exchange personal experiences with attacks on their research, share approaches to building support networks, and discuss strategies for personal protection. This open dialogue not only facilitated knowledge exchange across institutional boundaries but also strengthened the network among the participating researchers.

Accompanied by the program coordinator, the program starts with contacting a potential mentor. The female scientist (mentee) suggests potential mentors. These can be employed at TU Dresden or another university or non-university research institution. The mentor must be at least a post-doctoral student or professor. If the desired mentor agrees, the mentee and mentor form what is known as a tandem. The program coordinator is available to answer questions throughout the entire period. However, the mentee and mentor are responsible for jointly defining the number, form, location and content of the regular meetings to ensure that the relationship is tailored to the individual needs and goals of the female scientist.

Active networking among the female scientists and beyond is another important part of the program. In addition to an official kick-off and closing event, additional network meetings and lunch talks are planned, which offer the opportunity to exchange experiences and make new contacts. Through the tandem relationship with a mentor, the mentoring program enables integration into the science community as well as stronger networking both within and outside of one's own university. In addition, further training courses organized by the ZfW offer the opportunity to exchange experiences with scientists from other departments at TU Dresden.

The female scientists can take advantage of coaching for their personal career and career development. This is done in cooperation with and as a supplement to the services offered by the ZfW. One coaching session per female scientist is planned with approx. 2-3 sessions of 90 minutes each.

Possible topics:

• Self-marketing
• Decision-making
• Developing your own leadership skills
• Time management