Würzburg Postdoc Days 2026: Boost Your Career Plan
Dear Postdoctoral Researchers,
as part of the University of Würzburg's initiative to establish a Postdoctoral Network, we warmly invite you to the Würzburg Postdoc Days 2026: Boost Your Career Plan, from 19 to 23 October 2026.
The Postdoc Days offer opportunities to:
- connect with fellow postdocs across the university,
- get to know our career counselling services for postdocs,
- gain valuable insights and inspiration for your career planning.
At the same time, we would like to discuss with you:
- How are you experiencing your postdoctoral phase?
- What challenges are you facing?
- What kind of support would be helpful?
Your feedback helps us to further develop our services and strengthen the University of Würzburg as a supportive environment for postdoctoral researchers.
We are looking forward to sharing experiences, learning from one another, and creating an inspiring week together!
Kind regards,
Caroline Kisker
Vice President for Research and Academic Career Development
Postdoc Days 2026: Programme
The participation in the Postdoc Days is flexible: Each event can be booked individually, allowing you to tailor your own programme.
Monday, 19 October 2026
Date: Monday, October 20, 8.30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Location: Beatrice-Edgell-Weg 21, Gebäude 21
Programme
8.30-9.00 | Arrival & Registration |
9.00-9.30 | Welcome & Connect
|
9.30-10.00 | Keynote: The Next Chapter: Designing Your Career After the Postdoc |
10.00-11.30 | Panel: Career Paths in and beyond Academia Discussion with PhD Holders from diverse career paths, sharing their experiences and career insights.
|
11.30-12.00 | Coffee Break & Poster Presentation of University’s Services |
12.00-13.00 | Let’s Talk: What matters to postdocs? World Café Session |
13.00-14.00 | Lunch & Networking Get Together with Food and Drinks |
Date: Monday, October 19, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Location: GSLS, Beatrice-Edgell-Weg 21, seminar room 1st floor
Trainer: Dr. Philippa Cook is a specialist careers coach and workshop designer who is an expert on supporting international PhD-holders in crafting their career path in Germany. She has an international background herself – born and raised in England – and worked in research and teaching in German academia for several years before she became a careers advisor and coach. All workshops are conducted with sensitivity to issues of inclusion and diversity.
About this Workshop:
The postdoc career phase is a time of uncertainty and challenges - both in terms of how your academic work is progressing, what your next career steps could be, but often also concerning how your own priorities, responsibilities and needs in life may be shifting. In most cases, these topics are not separable! That is why we will start with a “status-quo” self-assessment in which you will be supported in checking in with yourself and reassessing your motivations, your goals, your values and also what constrains you. While keeping open whether your career will be in academia or in the non-academic job market, we will then work on honing your profile and presenting this briefly and on point in a way that is suitable for networking events of all kinds. There will also be plenty of chances to ask questions and to interact and share experiences with people in a similar position to yourself. We round off by individually planning out your next, concrete steps and creating an individual action plan to stay proactive.
Methods:
- Self-reflective tasks
- Short Inputs from trainer
- Partner and group work
- Feedback from trainer and participants
Tuesday, 20 October 2026
Date: Tuesday, October 20, 11.30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Location: GSLS, Beatrice-Edgell-Weg 21, seminar room 1st floor
Research Funding Specialist: Dr. Irina Pleines-Meinhold (Research Advancement Centre)
About this Expert Talk:
Securing your own funding is more than just bringing in third-party funding – it is often a key step towards building an independent research profile and shaping your future academic career.
In this talk, we will explore funding opportunities for early postdocs in the Natural and Life Sciences and introduce the support services offered by JMU's Research Advancement Centre (RAC).
The session will focus on funding schemes provided by the German Research Foundation (DFG, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) and JMU's internal funding programmes. We will discuss questions such as:
- Which funding opportunities are available at different career stages?
- How can I fund my own position and develop an independent research programme?
- Can third-party funded projects help me qualify for a professorship?
- Which costs can typically be covered by research grants?
- What should I keep in mind when preparing an application?
- How are proposals evaluated?
Whether you are just starting to think about your next career step or already planning your first grant application, this session will provide practical guidance and help you navigate the funding landscape for early career researchers.
Date: Tuesday, October 20, 11.30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Location: GSLS, Beatrice-Edgell-Weg 21, seminar room 2nd floor
Research Funding Specialist: Dr. Barbara Heiss (Research Advancement Centre)
About this Expert Talk:
Securing your own funding is more than just bringing in third-party funding – it is often a key step towards building an independent research profile and shaping your future academic career.
In this talk, we will explore funding opportunities for early postdocs in the Humanities and Social Sciences and introduce the support services offered by JMU's Research Advancement Centre (RAC).
The session will focus on funding schemes provided by the German Research Foundation (DFG, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) and JMU's internal funding programmes. We will discuss questions such as:
- Which funding opportunities are available at different career stages?
- How can I fund my own position and develop an independent research programme?
- Can third-party funded projects help me qualify for a professorship?
- Which costs can typically be covered by research grants?
- What should I keep in mind when preparing an application?
- How are proposals evaluated?
Whether you are just starting to think about your next career step or already planning your first grant application, this session will provide practical guidance and help you navigate the funding landscape for early career researchers.
Wednesday, 21 October 2026
Date: Wednesday, October 21, 09.00 a.m. to 13:00 p.m.
Location: GSLS, Beatrice-Edgell-Weg 21, seminar room 1st floor
Trainer: Dr. Daniela Seybold
About this Workshop:
You can use career development conversations as a powerful tool for actively shaping your career: They can provide valuable feedback on your strengths and development areas, help uncover blind spots, and offer guidance for important career decisions and steps. Above all, they create an opportunity to benefit from the perspectives and insights of experienced professionals (as formal or informal mentors, supervisors, PIs, persons in formal leadership role) who can support your career development.
To make the most out of these conversations, this workshop helps you in preparing for and conducting career development conversations that align with your career goals.
After this workshop, you
- have gained a greater clarity about your current career stage, your achievements, and your future career aspirations.
- have formulated goals for a career development conversation and identified the outcomes you would like to achieve.
- know how to identify suitable conversation partners and prepare effectively for an initial meeting.
- are familiar with key factors for conducting productive career development conversations.
- feel confident taking the first steps to initiate a career development conversation.
Friday, 23 October 2026
Date: Friday, October 23, tbd.
Location: GSLS, Beatrice-Edgell-Weg 21, seminar room 1st floor
Trainer: Katharina Nicola Schmidt (MSc. Psych.)
About this Workshop:
Further information will follow.
Thank you to everyone who supports this event:
Professional Development, Graduate Academy, Graduate School of Life Sciences, Research Advancement Centre, University Women’s Representative, Healthy University, Data Management, Centre for Teaching and Learning, Start-up Assistance Team, Alumni Office
