Career Steps for Postdocs in Academia & Industry
20 - 21 September 2021
Summaries Workshops and Career Talks (PDF)
Program - Day 1 September 20, 2021
9:00-9:15 – Welcome
Prof. Dr. Enrico Schleiff, President, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main
Prof. Dr. Martin Stratmann, President, Max Planck Society
9:15-10:00 – Keynote: Careers Inside and Outside of Academia
Dr. Kerstin Meyer-Lipp, CSO at Merz Consumer Care GmbH
15 min Break
10:15-12:15 – Parallel Workshops: Session 1
Faculty Recruitment in Germany – Central Elements for Your Application
Dr. Matthias Schwarzkopf, Coaching Schwarzkopf
From Scientific Discovery to the Creation of Value for the Customer – Insights from two MPG Spin-Offs
Dr. Gerald Donnert, Abberior GmbH & Abberior Instruments GmbH
Dr. Martin Meschkat, Abberior Instruments GmbH
Dr. Florian Grimm, Abberior GmbH
Preparing for Unsolicited Applications – Tailoring Your Approach
Barbara Hoffbauer, KEPOS
Leadership for Young Scientists
Rob Thompson, RTTA – Soft skills for real results
12:15-13:15 – Lunch Break
13:15-15:15 – Parallel Workshops: Session 2
How to Do a Career in Academia – Career Paths in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland
Dr. Matthias Schwarzkopf, Coaching Schwarzkopf
Get That Job After Your Postdoc! Applying and Interviewing in English
Andrew Cerniski, English, Inc.
Entrepreneurship: An Introduction to the World of Innovative Products, Startups and Technology Commercialization
Dr. Thorsten Lambertus, NeuroTech Labs Biogen & Hightech Ventures
Non-Academic Careers for Postdocs from the Humanities and Social Sciences
Dr. Ulrike Schneeberg, Trainerin/Coach, Berlin
15:15-15:45 - Coffee Break
15:45-17:45 – Parallel Workshops: Session 3
Forget About Work-Life Balance! Tailor Your LIFE! 9 Principles to Get It All Under One Roof
Prof. Dr. Daniela Elsner, Coaching with CARE
How to Become an Editor of a Scientific Magazine
Marco Squillaci, Editor, Wiley-VCH
Science Management - Panel Discussion
Dr. Irina Epstein, Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Frankfurt
Dr. Arjan Vink, GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research, Darmstadt
Dr. Axel Kohler, Goethe Research Academy for Early Career Researchers, Frankfurt
Panel Chair: Anne Grewlich-Gercke, MPG
Career Planning for Postdocs
Dr. Matthias Merkelbach, impulsplus
15 min Break
18:00-19:00 Networking and Virtual Get-Together
Program - Day 2 September 21, 2021
9:00-9:05 – Welcome
9:05-10:00 – Fishbowl: Fit for the Non-Academic Job Market?
Join the discussion of Max Planck and GU Alumni
Dr. Imke Rajamani, Falling Walls Foundation
Dr. Marija Grujić, International Centre for Migration Policy Development
Maya Gradenwitz, Hessisches Ministerium für Wissenschaft und Kunst
Dr. Kristina Popova, The Firefly Academy
Panel Chair: Anne Grewlich-Gercke
15 min Break
10:15-11:45 – Career Talks with Industry and Non-Academic Partners - Session 1
The career talks run between 60 and 90 min each. Apart from short presentations by the companies/organizations, you will meet recruiters, HR managers, and also employees with a scientific background.
Chemical Industry - Alessandro Dani, Head of Entrepreneurship and Max Planck Alumnus will introduce Evonik and its job opportunities. He will also share insights on how to transfer from science to industry successfully.
National Foundations - Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, a German think tank advising the Bundestag, federal government, and decision-makers in international organizations on international relations and security policy issues.
Federal Departmental Research Institutions - Gunnar Tan & Kerstin Rötzler, Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM)
Start-Up Environment - Falling Walls Foundation: From Science Talent to Innovator – Start-up Training for Postdocs
Science Publishing House – De Gruyter GmbH, an internationally renowned publisher in the science domain, offering a range of services in many subject areas for the scientific community.
11:45-12:30 – Lunch Break
12:30-14:00 – Career Talks with Industry and Non-Academic Partners - Session 2
The career talks run between 60 and 90 min each. Apart from short presentations by the companies/organizations, you will meet recruiters, HR managers, and also employees with a scientific background.
Consulting – EY – Ernst & Young, a multinational professional services network providing consulting to companies and institutions on a wide range of topics.
Research Institutes – Honda Research Institute Europe, a company research institute located in the Rhine-Main region, working on cutting-edge innovations in artificial intelligence, optimization, and robotics.
Pharmaceutical Industry - Boehringer Ingelheim is an international research-driven pharmaceutical company. It focuses on developing innovative therapies for the treatment of various conditions.
International Organizations – Julie Tumler, Advisor at BFIO (Büro Führungskräfte zu internationalen Organisationen/Bureau for International Organization’s Personnel) at Federal Foreign Office Germany (Auswärtiges Amt)
The Start-up Ecosystem: Mastering the Entrepreneurship Journey – get insights into the start-up value chain and the responding environment by Javier Gutierrez Boronat, Tech Scout at Max Planck Foundation, and Dr. Philipp Topic, Head of Start-up Incubator Program at Max Planck Innovation
14:00-14:30 Closing Session
Conference review with the Impro-Theater frei.wild Berlin