GAUSS Career Blog

Career Information and Announcements

2025/01/20
by Stefanie Klug
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Short workshop “This is me: Authentic Self-Presentation for Scientists and Professionals”, 25 Sept 2026

We are happy to announce our next GAUSS Career Service workshop “This is me: Authentic Self-Presentation for Scientists and Professionals” by Christelle Linsenmann.

This workshop is intended for Postdocs and late-stage PhDs in the Natural and Life Sciences.

  • Date: Friday, 25 September 2026, 9:00-12:00h
  • Duration: 3 hours
  • Location: in-person on North campus
  • Trainer: Christelle Linsenmann

Registration: Please register here (in case you are not registered yet) and send an email to career@gauss.uni-goettingen.de including a short statement on your motivation to attend the workshop.

Workshop description

Making your expertise and personal profile visible – clearly, concisely, and authentically – is an essential skill for researchers engaging with academic and non-academic audiences. In this hands-on three-hour workshop, participants will learn how to present themselves and their work with confidence and clarity in a short, impactful format: the elevator speech – whether in conference conversations, networking situations or job interviews. Through a combination of trainer input, self-reflection, small group work, and practical feedback, participants will develop and refine their own elevator speech. The workshop introduces the elevator speech concept using real-world examples and invites participants to connect their academic identity with the expectations of different audiences. Participants will explore their strengths, interests, and personal style to craft a message that is both compelling and authentic. In addition, the workshop offers input on body language and presentation techniques to strengthen delivery. A final round of presentations with feedback provides concrete tips for structure, presence, and impact. The workshop provides a safe and supportive environment to experiment, receive feedback, and grow.

2025/01/19
by Stefanie Klug
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Workshop: “Project Management for Postdocs” (27-28 Oct 2026)

We are happy to announce our upcoming GAUSS Career Service workshop “Project Management for Postdocs” by Dr. Peter Schröder.

This workshop is intended for Postdocs and Junior PIs in the Natural and Life Sciences.

  • Dates: Tuesday and Wednesday, 27-28 Oct 2026
  • Duration: 1.5 days, Tuesday: 10-17h, Wednesday: 10-14h
  • Location: in-person on North campus
  • Trainer: Dr. Peter Schröder

Registration: Please register here (in case you are not registered yet) and send an email to career@gauss.uni-goettingen.de including a short statement on your motivation to attend the workshop.

Workshop contents:

This workshop intends to facilitate synergistic effects and implement basic project management culture to increase the efficient use of resources and improve teamwork. The trainer will pick up existing problems and work on solutions together with the participants in a mixture of „ex-cathedra“ teaching, jointed and group phases.

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2025/01/18
by Stefanie Klug
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Workshop: “What’s next? Career Development In- or Outside Academia”, 23-24 Nov 2026

We are happy to announce our next GAUSS Career Service workshop “What’s next? Career Development In- or Outside Academia” by Dr. Alexander Britz.

Are you currently working as Postdoc or finalizing your PhD? Do you plan to transition to your next position in or outside of academia, but feel unprepared for the job hunt? In this highly interactive workshop, you will get a comprehensive set of career development strategies which will help you master this process. You will learn to decide what your next career step should be and how to be effective in the application process including compiling a convincing application.

Dates: Monday and Tuesday, 23-24 November 2026
Duration: 1,5 days; Monday: 9-17h, Tuesday: 9-13h
Location: in-person on North campus
Trainer: Dr. Alexander Britz

Registration: Please register here and send an email to career@gauss.uni-goettingen.de including a short statement on your motivation to attend the workshop.

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2024/10/30
by Stefanie Klug
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Workshop “How to Apply for a Professorship in Germany”, 12-13 November 2025

We are happy to announce our new GAUSS Career Service workshop “How to apply for a professorship in Germany” by Franziska Jantzen.

  • Dates: Wednesday, 12 November 2025, 9:00-16:30h and Thursday, 13 November 2025, 9:00-12:30h
  • Location: in-person on North campus
  • Target Group: Postdocs aiming to pusue an academic career
  • Trainer: Franziska Jantzen
  • Registration: Please register here (in case you are not yet registered) and send an email to career@gauss.uni-goettingen.de including a short statement on your motivation to attend the workshop.

Workshop description

This workshop is designed to equip participants with the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in the appointment process for professorships in Germany. Participants will gain a thorough understanding of the entire process, from application to negotiation. Key topics include optimizing application documents,preparing effectively for interviews and academic presentations and understanding unwritten rules and micropolitical dynamics often at play in the process. Participants will focus intensively on preparing you for the appointment committee interview and will develop communication and argumentation strategies to handle challenging questions with confidence. These strategies will be practiced in small groups with the opportunity to receive constructive feedback from peers.

2024/10/29
by Stefanie Klug
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GAUSS Career Impulse Session (7 Nov 2025, 11:30-13:00, in-person) with Dr. Christina Kerntke (Compliance Manager at BioNTech): “From B Cells to BioNTech: My Journey into the GxP-Regulated World”

We’re happy to announce our next GAUSS Career Impulse Session, this time with Dr. Christina Kerntke, Quality Compliance Manager at BioNTech SE. Join us for an insightful session with Christina, where she will share her career journey from academia to a leadership role in industry.

  • Date: Friday, 7 Nov 2025
  • Time: 11:30-13:00 (appr.)
  • Location: in-person on North campus
  • Registration: Please write a short e-mail to career@gauss.uni-goettingen.de if you would like to attend.

About the speaker:

From 2017 to 2021, I pursued my PhD within the PhD Study program “Molecular Medicine” at the Institute for Cellular and Molecular Immunology in the group of Prof. Wienands, focusing on B-cell interactions and their receptor landscape. During this periode I experienced the typical highs and lows of doctoral life, along with the more unusual challenges of a global pandemic. After completing my PhD, I decided to take the leap into the pharmaceutical industry. With only little prior GxP knowledge, I started as a scientist in Quality Control (QC) at BioNTech IMFS GmbH in Idar-Oberstein, a BioNTech subsidiary and manufacturing site, where I encountered many formative “firsts” in my professional career.

After more than 3.5 years, my path led me to BioNTech’s headquarters in Mainz, where I now work as a Compliance Manager. In my talk, I will share insights into my journey through the GxP-regulated universe, what my daily work and responsibilities look like, and the many challenges, compromises, and successes I have experienced so far. I will also reflect on my transition from academia to industry and the lessons I learned along the way.

About the sessions:

Our Career Impulse Sessions offer a platform for interactive and informal exchange about career-related topics for PhD students and postdocs in the Life and Natural Sciences. By inviting PhD holders with different career paths, we would like to illustrate the broad range of potential careers for PhD students and postdocs and give inspiration for career choices.

2024/10/28
by Stefanie Klug
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Workshop “Conflict Management”, 4 Nov 2025

We are happy to announce our upcoming workshop “Conflict Management” by Dr. Neela Enke.

Dates: Tuesday, 4 November 2025
Duration: 1 day (9:00-17:00h)
Location: in-person in North campus
Trainer: Dr. Neela Enke

Registration: Please register here and send an email to career@gauss.uni-goettingen.de including a short statement on your motivation to attend the workshop.

Workshop Description:

The ability to deal with conflicts is a key component of professional conduct and an important factor for personal and professional success. The workshop enables the participants to experience conflict as agent of innovation, professional and personal development. Conflicts are often perceived as painful, disruptive and stressful. Only rarely the potential for innovation and change is realized and appreciated. This seminar examines conflicts in regard to their chances and challenges to introduce a constructive concept of conflict as social normality. The participant’s conflict solution competences are strengthened and activated to deal with difficult situations. Professional communication as tool for conflict solution is explained and practiced.

Testimonials by former participants:

“Reflecting common mechanisms of conflicts greatly improves understanding of underlying psychology. Neela did a great job in this vivid workshop highlighting these mechanisms both theoretically and interactively!”

“The workshop teaches conflict management skills from a theoretical and practical perspective. The group exercises contribute to making the workshop interactive and entertaining. The trainer is competent, approachable and responsive to the participant’s question. I recommend this workshop to anyone who is interested in conflict management.”

2024/09/27
by Stefanie Klug
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GAUSS Career Impulse Session (22 Oct 2025, 11:30-13:00, in-person) with Dr Madhubabu Gajula Balija (Assistant Professor at University of Hyderabad): “Balancing conviction and commitment: Building an academic career in your home country amid uncertainty”

We’re happy to announce our next GAUSS Career Impulse Session, this time with Dr Madhubabu Gajula Balija, Assistant Professor at Hyderabad Central University and currently also guest researcher at the DZNE in Göttingen. Join us for an insightful session with Madhubabu, where he will share his career journey and experiences of building an academic career back in his home country India.

  • Date: Wednesday, 22 Oct 2025
  • Time: 11:30-13:00 (appr.)
  • Location: in-person on North campus
  • Registration: Please write a short e-mail to career@gauss.uni-goettingen.de if you would like to attend.

About the speaker:

Madhubabu is an alumnus of IMPRS Molecular Biology and did his PhD in the ‘Department of ‘Molecular Developmental Biology’ and ‘NMR-based Structural Biology’ at the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences (MPI-NAT). He worked with Profs Herbert Jaeckle, Christian Griesinger and Markus Zweckstetter in his PhD. After finishing his PhD in 2011, he moved to India (home country) to start his career in academia. He has been working as an assistant professor in the Department of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, University of Hyderabad in India. Currently, he is a visiting scientist at the DZNE (German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases) and MPINAT Goettingen for a couple of years. 

About the sessions:

Our Career Impulse Sessions offer a platform for interactive and informal exchange about career-related topics for PhD students and postdocs in the Life and Natural Sciences. By inviting PhD holders with different career paths, we would like to illustrate the broad range of potential careers for PhD students and postdocs and give inspiration for career choices.