Networking
Personal networks are an indispensable resource. The exchange and networking within the peer group is extremely valuable for the successful design of your career phase. Professional networks make it possible to share experiences and system knowledge, discuss common issues, and receive new impulses for personal and professional development.
Professional networks are also an important door opener for careers within and outside of academia. A well-maintained network is therefore a worthwhile investment in your own professional future.
Postdoc Impuls
Postdoc Impuls is a regular networking format consisting of a professional impulse and informal exchange. The format is aimed at researchers in the first postdoc phase (about 1-3 years after the doctorate). Participants exchange experiences and thereby gain important system knowledge for professional success. Through the exchange with their own peer group, the professional network is also expanded and strengthened in a targeted manner.
The topics of the individual events are determined by you and include the following areas:
- Personal position determination
- Strategic planning of the postdoc phase
- Role identification
- ...
The networking format Postdoc Impuls will take place approximately every 2-3 months in an 1.5-hour moderated exchange. You will receive the current dates via the Research Support Services and Graduate Center mailing list and you can find them in our event program.
Sommerabend
Within the Research Academy Ruhr (RAR), postdocs and junior faculty meet with peers from the three UA Ruhr universities and international postdocs at the Sommerabend (“Summer evening”). An expert lecture or a panel discussion will give you new impulses on career-relevant topics. You will have the opportunity to make new contacts during a social gathering in the Botanical Garden of the Ruhr University Bochum.
You will find further information on the RAR website.
mentoring³
The program mentoring³ of the Research Academy Ruhr addresses female early career researchers of the University Alliance Ruhr and serves the professional competence development and career support. During the two-year program, you will strengthen your competencies, actively plan your career, and prepare specifically for management tasks.
In addition to insights into important experience and action knowledge for your further career planning by a mentor, and transferable skills workshops, network meetings offer you the opportunity to exchange experiences with peers from different universities and to expand your academic network.
The next program line for female postdocs will begin in fall 2023 (application period: June 1 – July 15, 2023).
You will find further information on the RAR website.
Further networking opportunities
The TU Dortmund University and the Research Academy Ruhr offer the following additional networking opportunities for international researchers and early career researchers interested in interdisciplinary research:
Ambassador Program for International Researchers
In order to quickly feel comfortable in a new place, a social network is needed. The Ambassador Program offers international researchers a direct contact point for orientation in Germany and at the TU Dortmund University.
If you have any questions about working at the departments, life in Dortmund, relocation experiences, or (post)doctoral life in general, the ambassadors are there to help you with personal experience. If you have questions about practical matters such as visa regulations, required documents or accommodation, please contact the Welcome Services.
Here you will find more information on the Ambassador Program.
Excursions and Events for international researchers
The International Office offers numerous excursions and events for international researchers to get to know both the TU Dortmund University and the region, and to establish contacts. The excursions and events offer opportunities for informal exchange and networking, and supplement the professional networks with experience (and assistance) in intercultural contact.
In the Global Young Faculty, outstanding young researchers from the Ruhr area meet to work on topics of common interest in interdisciplinary working groups. The Mercator Research Center Ruhr (MERCUR) in Essen coordinates the network.
The members of the Global Young Faculty form working groups that work together on interdisciplinary topics over a period of three semesters. They are free to choose the topics and formats. The young researchers decide independently on the use of the budget of up to 50,000 euros per research group. In addition, all scientific members of the Global Young Faculty receive an individual travel budget of 5,000 euros.
You can find information on the program and the nomination process on the Global Young Faculty website. If you would like to be nominated for the program, please contact Dr. Verena Risse, Assistant to the Vice President Research.
