GAUSS Career Blog

Career Information and Announcements

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.

2024/09/26
by Stefanie Klug
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Workshop: “Project Management for Postdocs” (30 Sept – 1 Oct 2025)

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, 30 Sept – 1 Oct 2025
  • 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.

Topics:

  • Planning scientific projects
  • Monitoring and controlling scientific projects
  • Managing scientific objectives
  • Managing my team
  • Planning daily work
  • Strategic planning
  • Structuring work and workplace
  • Risk & output management
  • Communication in scientific projects
  • Time & Ressourcemanagement tools

Testimonials by former participants:

“Peter is a great teacher! His workshop covered the basics of how to plan any project effectively. I’ve learned important lessons on how to respond to unforeseen challenges and how to produce a concrete, adaptable plan. Highly recommend this course to anyone”

“It is a great workshop to join if you want to learn about project management and apply it to everyday research life in just two days. The lecturer gives wonderful explanation what every step of the project management is used for and uses vivid examples to show how to do them. I am surprised how much I learnt within this short time to make a positive change in my plans.”

2024/09/25
by Stefanie Klug
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Workshop “Job Hunting and Application Skills”, 25-26 August 2025

We are happy to announce our next GAUSS Career Service workshop “Job Hunting and Application Skills” by Gaby Schilling.

Target group: Postdoctoral scientists and late-stage PhD students who are currently applying or planning to apply for a position in industry or other areas outside academia.

Goal: Becoming familiar with all steps involved in the application process.

Dates: Monday and Tuesday, 25-26 August 2025
Duration: 1.5 days: Monday, 13-18h; Tuesday, 9-17h
Location: in-person on North campus
Trainer: Dr. Gaby Schilling

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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2024/09/24
by Stefanie Klug
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GAUSS Career Impulse Session (11 July 2025, 11:30-13:00, in-person) with Dr. Merit Wildung (Group leader at altona Diagnostics GmbH): “From Basic Research to Product Development: Thriving in a Role with Diverse Tasks in Regulated Industry”

We’re happy to announce our next GAUSS Career Impulse Session, this time with Dr. Merit Wildung, Group leader at altona Diagnostics GmbH. Join us for an insightful session with Merit, where she will share her career journey from academia to a leadership role in industry.

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

About the speaker:

Merit studied Molecular Medicine (M.Sc) at the University of Göttingen. In 2014, she started her doctoral thesis within the „Molecular Medicine“ study program at the University of Göttingen focusing on multiciliogenesis. After completing her Ph.D, she joined the R&D department at altona Diagnostics GmbH in Hamburg as a scientist. Five year later, including a maternity leave, Merit was promoted to Group Leader R&D Assays at altona Diagnostics last year.

In her presentation, Merit will provide insights into her current role as a group leader, where she oversees a small team of scientists and technicians. Her responsibilities also include close collaboration with various departments – such as Marketing and Regulatory Affairs – as well as preparation of regulatory-compliant documentation required for registering PCR-based in vitro diagnostics tests.

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.

2024/09/23
by Stefanie Klug
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GAUSS Career Impulse Session (6 June 2025, 11:30-13:00, online) with Dr. Florian Habenstein (Lead Data Scientist, Merck): “From Molecules to Machine Learning: My Journey Through Science and Data”

We’re happy to announce our next virtual GAUSS Career Impulse Session, this time with Dr. Florian Habenstein, Lead Data Scientist at Merck Life Science. Join us for an insightful session with Florian, where he will explore his journey from a PhD student to becoming a digital transformation expert and data scientist.

  • Date: Friday, 6 June 2025
  • Time: 11:30-13:00 (appr.)
  • Location: online via zoom
  • Registration: Please write a short e-mail to career@gauss.uni-goettingen.de if you would like to attend.

About the speaker: Florian is a Data Scientist who earned his PhD in 2020 at the University of Göttingen. Based at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry (now MPI for Multidisciplinary Sciences), he conducted research in protein engineering and live-cell super-resolution microscopy as part of the GGNB Biomolecules program. Following his PhD, he joined Merck Life Science as a Digital Transformation Expert and Data Scientist. Since 2023, Florian has held the position of Lead Data Scientist, driving data science and digital transformation initiatives while advising organizations and management on strategic digital topics.

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.

2024/09/21
by Stefanie Klug
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GAUSS Career Impulse Session (16 May 2025, 11:30-13:00, in-person) with Dr. Franziska Rathjens (Director of Pharmacovigilance & Patient Safety at B.Braun, Melsungen): “Building a Leadership Career in Pharmacovigilance: Experiences and Lessons Learned”

We’re happy to announce our next GAUSS Career Impulse Session, this time with Dr. Franziska Rathjens, Director of Pharmacovigilance & Patient Safety at B.Braun Melsungen AG. Join us for an insightful session with Franziska, where she will explore diverse career paths in the pharmaceutical industry, focusing on Pharmacovigilance and touching on Quality Management and Regulatory Affairs. Franziska will also share her personal journey of completing a doctoral thesis while becoming a parent and advancing her leadership career with two children.

  • Date: Friday, 16 May 2025
  • Time: 11:30-13:00 (appr.)
  • Location: in-person
  • Registration: Please write a short e-mail to career@gauss.uni-goettingen.de if you would like to attend.

About the speaker: Franziska is a pharmacist, who completed her doctoral thesis in Pharmacology as part of the “Molecular Medicine” program, earning a stipend from the “Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes.” In 2019, she joined B. Braun’s Global Pharmacovigilance & Patient Safety department, initially serving as Deputy Qualified Person for Pharmacovigilance and Deputy Graduate Plan Officer. By 2022, she had become the Graduate Plan Officer for B. Braun Melsungen AG and Head of Business Process Management & Pharmacovigilance Tools. As of 2024, Franziska holds the position of Director of Global Pharmacovigilance & Patient Safety.

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.

2024/09/20
by Stefanie Klug
0 comments

GAUSS Career Impulse Session (11 April 2025, 11:30-13:00, in-person) with Dr. Carla Schmidt (Junior Professor at University of Mainz): “The story behind my CV”

We’re happy to announce our next GAUSS Career Impulse Session, this time with Dr. Carla Schmidt, Junior Professor at Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz.

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

About the speaker:

Carla is an Alumna of the GGNB programme “Biomolecules: Structure – Function – Dynamics”. She graduated in 2010 in the lab of Henning Urlaub at the MPI for Biophysical Chemistry. In her PhD project she studied large protein-RNA complexes. As a postdoctoral researcher, Carla moved to University of Oxford to work with Carol V. Robinson, a pioneer of native mass spectrometry. In Oxford, Carla got acquainted with the analysis of membrane proteins and their interactions with lipids. In 2016, she started her own lab as a junior professor in biochemistry at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg. In 2022, Carla moved to Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz to become associate professor in biochemistry.

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.