A disproportionately high number of women in Germany leave academia in the postdoctoral phase of their careers. As a result, only a little over a quarter of professorships are currently held by female scientists (27,2 % in 2021, Statistisches Bundesamt) - with variations across the disciplines. This is also true for the University of Jena and we would like to see this change. Outstanding female early career researchers should become an integral and long-standing part of academia. To this end, we offer tailored support for female postdocs.
The ‘Career Objective for Women: Professor’ leaflets offers an overview of available advisory services, funding opportunities, and early career researcher support at our University.
This programme is offered by the Office of the Vice-President for Research. It aims to promote academic exchange among female researchers and provides opportunities to network, increase the visibility of women in academia, and explore research interests further.
The programme also offers financial support to cover the costs of pubications, short research stays, and the participation in conferences, workshops, and summer schools.
‘ProChance career’ is a funding programme for outstanding female postdocs on a fixed-term contract who completed their doctorate at least two years before their application and are adequately involved in univeristy teaching. The objective of the programme is to promote and further improve the participants' academic profile and their chance to be appointed as professor.
The main focus of the programme is to promote the academic independence of female postdocs. Funding is available for research projects, conferences, and mobility programmes (e. g. research stay abroad). Participants can also apply for third-party funding, research leaves, as well as for family allowances paid in addition to existing scholarships.
Rowena Morse was the first women who completed a doctorate at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena in 1904. The mentoring programme is an interdisciplinary and inter-university programme designed by Friedrich Schiller University to support young female academics and artists at Thuringian higher education institutions.
The programme is aimed at young female academics who are in the final phase of their doctorate or post-doctoral orientation phase and are planning their further career. It offers support in the form of peer mentoring and group mentoring with experienced women professors as well as training in career-relevant soft skills. Calls for applications open during the summer semester. The programme lasts for one year and starts in the winter semester.
The programme is offered by all universities in the Thuringian Competence Network for Gender Equality. At the University of Jena, the Office of the Vice-President for Early Career Researchers and Diversity Management is the central point of contact for female early career researchers.
The Mentoring Programme for Female Postdocs has been jointly run by the universities of Halle-Wittemberg, Jena and Leipzig as part of their cooperation since 2013. It promotes outstanding and advanced:
in pursuing a career in academia leading to a professorship. Applicants must have at least two years of postdoc experience.
The programme offers:
Every year, up to 24 female postdocs from the three universities are admitted to the programme. The duration of the programme is one year and can be extended for a second year.
Applications open in January and February. They are announced on the programme's and partner universities' websites. The programme usually starts at the end of the summer semester.
Academic careers can involve temporary periods of financial difficulties. This is particularly true if structural challenges such as by part-time work and family commitments get in the way of qualifications. Compared to men, women are disproportionally affected by these challenges.
This scholarship scheme aims to support female researchers with an outstanding doctorate by offering project-related funding. Scholarships are available for projects that advance the applicant’s academic career by complementing or improving their research profiles in order to increase their chances of being appointed as professors.
The scholarships are funded by the Free State of Thuringia.
The Graduate Academy offers individual and gender-sensitive doctorate and career advice.
For a first consultation, please contact the Welcome and Service Desk in the House for Early Career Researchers. If you have any further questions, you can arrange a personal consultation to discuss your personal questions and concerns.
Spotlight on successful female academics: In the portrait series ‘Women in Academia’, women professors at Friedrich Schiller University describe their scientific career paths in pictures and in writing to inspire their early career colleagues and to demonstrate that there many different ways and detours to professorship.
Knowing that we can defend ourselves in potentially dangerous situations strengthens our self-confidence.
Under the theme ‘Defend yourself in everyday life!’, the university sports programme regularly offers self-defence courses for women.The training programme aims to help everyone get physically fit and learn some simple defence techniques that allow them to defend themselves in the event of a physical attack. Courses are designed for two people who want to train together, but you can also register on your own. More information on current and upcoming university sports courses is available hereExternal link.
For a first insight into self-defence techniques, you can watch this videoExternal link of a self-defence course.
Dr. Hanna Kauhaus
Johannisstraße 13
07743 Jena
Postal address:
Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena
Graduierten-Akademie
07737 Jena
Room 1.01, 1.02
Zwätzengasse 3
07743 Jena
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Office hours:
Consultations with Prof. Dr Weinke by appointment via email
gleichstellung@uni-jena.de
or anonymously via our contact form.