A mentor with a background in research or industry supports one young female researcher individually for the duration of one year: This is the idea of “Kite-Mentoring,” the new program for female postgraduate students of the cluster of excellence BrainLinks-BrainTools, in the faculty of biology, and in the postgraduate programs “Physics at Hadron Coliders,” “From Cells to Organs: Molecular Mechanisms of Organogenesis,” and “Micro Energy Harvesting” at Freiburg University. The mentor should have a background that is a future career option for the mentee. In pairing mentor and mentee an important factor is therefore whether the mentee considers an a university career or one in the industrial sector. In the long term, the mentoring program aims at supporting more women on a faster journey to higher leadership positions. At the same time, it aims at equal salaries as well as at maintaining a good work-life-balance in which personal life and career can be in harmony.
The program is run in English and incorporates the following pillars: mentoring, training, and networking. The mentee will profit from work experience, personal advice, as well as contacts of her mentor. This will, according to Dr. Marianne Langstrof (née Schörder), who chairs the project, help to avoid obstacles on the way to a leading position in research or economy. Like a kite the mentee shall defy adversary winds in a high work position and remain sovereign. The mentor can support the mentee in developing strategies for overcoming possible obstacles, and the mentee can further point out interesting areas for exploration for the mentee. The mentor gets insights into the newest research in a specific area, gains consultancy competences, and gets to know young academics with high potential.
The regular network meetings with all participating mentors and mentees from the university and working environment, which complement the individual support, are profitable for both sides. Additionally there is a free program that consists of workshops regarding topics such as project management, career planning, and salary negotiations. The first stage of the program will last until may 2014. So far, eleven doctoral canditates from the University of Freiburg are taking part in it.
Contact:
Dr. Marianne Langstrof (née. Schröder)
Coordinator Career Development Programme
BrainLinks-BrainTools
Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg
Phone.: 0761/203-677 21
E-Mail: kite-mentoring(at)uni-freiburg.de