GAUSS Career Blog

Career Information and Announcements

2015/07/07
by Katrin Wodzicki
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Workshop “My Project Management Skills”, 7 September 2015

We are happy to announce the workshop “My Project Management Skills” with Dr. Silke Oehrlein-Karpi.

Date: Monday, 7 September, 9-17:30 o’clock

Place: GZMB building, seminar room 0.233
Trainer: Dr. Silke Oehrlein-Karpi
Duration: 1 day

Registration: http://www.uni-goettingen.de/de/192407.html

Content:

Organization, coordination and effective leadership have become a must for growing in one´s career, in Academia as well as in other sectors. Not only scientist’s day-to-day work, but also acquiring external funding requires accurate timing, financial structuring and planning of scientific work. When scientists have little awareness of these skills, this can hinder their attitude and confidence in achieving their goals. In this workshop we will raise your self-awareness, show you how to hone these project-management related skills and enable your potential for a successful career.

In this workshop, you will

  • recognize how much experience you have already gained in your life regarding project management.
  • reflect upon your typical approaches, preferences, and strategies that you have applied during your previous projects.
  • figure out your typical role/s in a project (i.e. expert, leader, organizer, coordinator, conflict manager, facilitator, generalist, specialist, team player etc.).
  • realize your particular strengths in project work and project teams.
  • learn how you can integrate your new findings into your day-to-day work and your long-term projects.
  • improve your self-efficacy regarding upcoming projects.
  • communicate your project management experience in application processes.

You will achieve this by

  • One-to-one skill-oriented coaching supported by the trainer
  • Transferring theory into practice by reflection on one’s own behavior
  • Design of an individual project management skill profile
  • Peer-coaching with constructive feedback supported by the trainer

Pre-Work (which is sent about 2 weeks before the workshop and will enhance your benefits resulting from taking part in the workshop a lot):

  • Reading short introduction on project management topic
  • Reflecting on own project experience guided by questions and combined with collecting feedback from others (i.e., colleagues, mentor, supervisor, friends)

 

2015/07/06
by Katrin Wodzicki
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Workshop “Grant Writing for Natural and Life Scientists”, 2-3 September 2015

We are happy to invite to the next workshop on “Grant Writing“ with Dr. Christina Schütte.

Workshop dates: Wednesday, 2 September 2015, 14:00-18:00, and Thursday, 3 September 2015, 10:00-18:00 o’clock, respectively
Place: GZMB building, seminar room 0.232
Trainer: Dr. Christina Schütte
Duration: 1.5 days

Registration: via email to Kirsten Pöhlker (ggnb@gwdg.de)

The aim of this course is to familiarize participants with the strategies for writing successful grant applications to various funding bodies (BMBF, DFG). The corresponding funding principles will be exemplified in exercises for preparing work plans and writing abstracts for grant applications.

Contents:

  • General points to consider when writing a grant application
  • Structuring a story
  • General points on good scientific writing
  • The different parts of a grant application and their contents
  • Strategies for successful grant applications: What information is necessary, how and where should it be presented?
  • Differences between different funding bodies and funding principles (stress on DFG-, BMBF- and EU-funding)
  • Common mistakes in grant applications and how to avoid them
  • Analysis of grant abstracts provided by the participants (optional)
  • Exercises for writing a grant abstract and for structuring a work plan

Requirements for participation:

The course is aimed at postdocs and late-stage PhD students in the natural and life sciences who are currently preparing or will recently prepare a grant application.

Participants will be asked to prepare a short “mini-grant application” (4 pages + scientific CV) as pre-work for the course until about one week before the workshop – please take this into consideration when planning participation in this course.

These mini-grant applications will be evaluated by other participants individually before the course and in an evaluation session within the course. Each participant will also evaluate 3-4 proposals by others in the 4-5 days before course start. This will provide extensive feedback for all participants on their applications, but most importantly, will provide a clear impression of the situation and the view of potential evaluators.

About 4 weeks before the workshop, you will get more detailed information about the “mini-grant application”.

2015/07/03
by Katrin Wodzicki
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Workshop “Strengths-Based Leadership”, 1-2 September 2015

We are happy to announce the workshop “Strengths-Based Leadership” with Dr. Gudrun Henne.

Date: Tuesday, 1 September 2015, 9:00-16:00 o’clock, and Wednesday, 2 September 2015, 9:00-16:00 o’clock

Duration: 2 day
Place: Von-Siebold-Straße 4, seminar room on the first floor
Trainer: Dr. Gudrun Henne
Registration: https://www.uni-goettingen.de/de/192407.html

Deadline for registration is 23 August 2015.

Content:

This leadership training focuses on your personal strengths. It uses the Gallup StrengthsFinder as the analytical tool. The Gallup strengths approach is widely known and used by several million of leaders around the world. Participants learn about their five main strengths based on an internet-based assessment. During the training, participants get to know more about these strengths and what they mean for daily work practices in communicating with others, leading teams and projects. Participants learn moreover how they can become aware of the strengths of others and how they can support others in using their strengths. They develop a personal work and action plan to use their strengths, especially in leadership situations, and to further develop their strengths.

In preparation of the workshop, participants will be asked to complete the assessment of the Gallup StrengthsFinder. Access information will be sent about one week before the workshop to registered participants.

Participants’ statements from the last year’s workshop:

“Really useful workshop. Made me think more positively about myself and my strengths and gave me a good way to develop my strengths further.”

“Being aware of your strength is a great tool that I will use much more often!”

2015/07/03
by Katrin Wodzicki
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Workshop “Leading without Leadership Position”, 31 August 2015

We are happy to announce the workshop “Leading without Leadership Position” with Dr. Gudrun Henne.

Workshop date: Monday, 31 August 2015, 10:00-17:00 o’clock
Duration:
1 day
Place: GZMB building, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 11, seminar room 0.232
Trainer: Dr. Gudrun Henne
Registration: https://www.uni-goettingen.de/de/192407.html

Content:

Postdocs often work with other scientists and scientific staff without a formal leadership position. The challenge is to lead people despite the absence of managerial authority. How to deal with experienced and much older scientific and technical staff? How to lead young scientists (Master students, doctoral students) who pursue own scientific interests? How to cooperate with scientists from other institutions for applications, project management and similar?
The workshop trains how to lead people without “right of command” and how to motivate and engage scientists and staff who are not direct reports. Leading without leadership position is a frequently occurring situation and dealing with it skillful can be learned.

Participants’ statements from the last year’s workshop:

“It’s a great course if you want to systematize and broaden your knowledge about communication and leadership.”

“Very fruitful and insightful, practical and applied.”

2015/06/30
by Katrin Wodzicki
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Invitation to 12th Horizons in Molecular Biology conference, Göttingen, 14-17 September 2015

Here is the invitation to the next Horizons in Molecular Biology conference:

Dear fellow students, dear alumni, dear faculty, dear colleagues,

We would like to cordially invite you to the 12th “Horizons in Molecular Biology” conference, organized by the PhD students of the Molecular Biology program and International Max Planck Research School at the University of Göttingen!

The conference will take place on the 14-17th of September 2015 at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry here in Göttingen and feature, among others, the following speakers (topic in brackets):

– Martin Chalfie, Nobel Laureate of 2008 (mechanosensation)

– Adam Frost (ribosomal quality control)

– Maya Schuldiner (functional genomics)

– Alice Ting (live cell proteomics)

– Scott Emr (ESCRT pathway)

The opening talk will be given by Tom Rapoport (protein trafficking).

Please visit our website for other speakers and events during the conference:

http://www.horizons.uni-goettingen.de

As always, the first day of the conference will feature the Horizons Career Fair, where young researchers can explore their career possibilities and get into contact with companies. Further details about the Horizons Career Fair will be posted on the Horizons website in a few weeks.

The conference will provide ample opportunity for interaction with speakers, poster sessions and student talks to spread your own research, travel grants for selected participants, elevator pitch sessions to advertise your poster before the poster sessions, and a panel discussion.

We are happy to announce that the online registration is now OPEN. Don’t miss the opportunity and sign up now!

http://www.horizons.uni-goettingen.de/index.php?id=182

The deadline for early registration at a reduced fee is August 1st, 2015. The deadline for the submission of abstracts is August 20th, 2015. Participants who register late or on-site please keep in mind that your name may not be included on the list of participants in the program book then (see http://www.horizons.uni-goettingen.de/horizont3/index.php?id=1036 for further details regarding fees and deadlines).

To stay tuned on speaker profiles and other goodies, follow us on facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/horizons.molecular.biology

Looking forward to seeing you at Horizons!

– the Horizons Organization Committee –

2015/06/26
by Katrin Wodzicki
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MicroScale Thermophoresis Symposium in Göttingen 8th-9th July 2015

Below you find the invitation to a symposium organized by the GGNB alumna Dr. Astrid Sitte and her colleagues Dr. Fabian Zehender from NanoTemper Technologies. Both will also talk about their positions in customer relations and sales in a Career Impulse Session on 7th July.

Dear Researcher from Göttingen,

We would like to cordially invite you to join our upcoming methods symposium in Göttingen (8th – 9th July 2015).

  • Learn about the basics of MicroScale Thermophoresis (MST) and nanoDSF, the advanced Differential Scanning Fluorimetry (DSF) technology
  • Attend expert talks from invited, experienced scientists in the MST field
  • Use our advanced instruments Monolith and Prometheus NT.48 to measure biomolecular interactions and/or protein stability with your own samples
  • Discuss your experiments and data with experienced Application Specialists
  • Interact and network with scientists from your area (Göttingen, Braunschweig and Hannover)
  • Workshop attendance as well as consumables are free of charge

To register for the workshop, please visit our homepage, download and complete the registration form, and send it to astrid.sitte@nanotemper.de or fabian.zehender@nanotemper.de.

For any questions, or if you require any further information, please feel free to contact us directly.

Kind regards,
Dr. Astrid Sitte and Dr. Fabian Zehender

NanoTemper Technologies GmbH

2015/06/24
by Katrin Wodzicki
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Career Orientation – How to Find and Get a Job Fitting to You

When people talk about finding and getting a job, they often think about preparing the perfect application and mastering the interview(s) and or assessment centers to finally being the selected candidate. That’s of course part for finding and getting a job. However, successfully mastering the application process starts before writing the first application.

The process starts with getting to know yourself: What are you good at doing? What do love to do? What differentiates you from others, what’s your unique selling point? And, not to forget, what work conditions are important for you to be successful in your work? Without being aware of your skills, interests and values, it’s tough to search for jobs fitting to you. Moreover, it’s then tough to convince potential employers about your competence and motivation.

Hand in hand with self-assessment goes the process of getting to know the job market: Which career options does someone with your background have? Which companies or institutions offer jobs which fit to your profile and interests? What are the long-term perspectives in a specific career path?

Both goes hand in hand not only because you need to find a job fitting to your profile, but also because it helps you to become clear about your individual profile. It might be even possible to “create” a job fitting to your profile, when you are able to convince potential employers that they need someone like you or by founding your own business covering needs not already covered.

Furthermore, knowing yourself and knowing the job market might help you to identify which further skills you need to develop or which experiences you need to gain to finally get your dream job. You might find out about additional trainings needed. You might consider doing an internship. Or you might look for opportunities to undertake further tasks in your current work environment helping you to gain additionally needed experiences. Thereby, you improve your personal effectiveness and add skills to your profile.

If you know which job you want and feel (fairly) confident to carry out, then it’s time to prepare your application papers. This involves marketing yourself! Now, you need to convince potential employers that you are the right person for the respective job. Therefore, writing a easy-to-read, well-structured application with relevant information about your background, experience and motivation is the first step. When being invited, a convincing self-presentation, verbal and non-verbal, ensures your success. If you change between sectors, you might need to “translate” your experiences.

In all these stage, some of our services might be helpful: We offer workshops targeting these steps of knowing yourself, knowing the job market, marketing yourself, and improving your personal effectiveness. In Career Impulse Sessions, guests and alumni tell about their careers and career opportunities in different sectors. If you would like to discuss and share experience with your peers in similar situations, a peer-coaching group could be the right solution. If you need more individualized support, you can make an appointment with me.

And there is much more you can do: Online self-assessments – such as MyIDP – could support you in getting to know your skills, interests and values. Career and trade fairs are a great place to network and get to know potential employers. Search announced jobs on online job boards and learn about job profiles potential employers are looking for, read tasks related to a job and descriptions of requirements for applicants. Online networks like LinkedIn, XING or ResearchGate allow to establish and maintain professional connections. Lot’s of providers of additional training exist; however, this market is large and confusing, if you do not know exactly what you need. Additionally, lot’s of associations exists and may provide networking opportunities.

However, pick wisely what you really need and what really benefits you in your job hunting process. Investing in your career development does not necessarily means to spend your whole day with those activities mentioned. The most crucial part is to gain work experience fitting to your intended future career. Nevertheless, therefore it is needed to be clear about your career goals and related relevant experience.

If you do not find a career event fitting to your needs, consider organizing it yourself! It would, for example, be possible, to organize a topic-specific career day with interesting guest speakers to network with. That’s not just a good chance to get career input, but also to build valuable skills. If you miss something or have an idea, contact me and I will be happy to support your initiative.