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References

Online Workshop "Supervisory Practice and Leadership in Science"

To advertise the workshop to future participants, it would be great to get statements of those who have taken part in it.

  • I would say that I am very lucky to get suggestions at this time point with this workshop, because I just started my new job in MPI. I would highly recommend this course.
  • Participation should be mandatory if one targets a leadership position in later occupations!
  • Silke can get a lot out of what is given as a framework, i.e. transforming a strongly personal workshop into an online format. If giventhe opportunity I would definitely go for the in-person workshop.
  • The workshop is nicely designed and includes personal coaching for late stage PhDs and early stage Postdoc. Although the onlineformat was challenging, the trainer, Silke, was very professional yet sincere throughout the workshop. I would recommend it to everyone interested gaining insights especially on structured supervision of students.
  • This was a good workshop and helpful to prepare myself for leadship duties.

organized by Dr. Stefanie Klug and Kristin Schröter
University of Göttingen, Georg-August-University School of Science (GAUSS)

DZHK Mentoring Program, First Workshop Module "Career Crafting in Science"

Co-facilitation with Dr. Neela Enke, Scienza, Berlin

Which parts did you enjoy in particular in this online workshop?

  • I liked the planned exercises that we did: listener/teller, giving feedback, wheel of satisfaction, planA/B...
  • That the created atmosphere was so personal without being intruding.
  • Over all the workshop is attractive. The mind map was something fascinating.
  • The core values part and career paths.
  • Training sessions.
  • Assessing values and skills, positive atmosphere and feedback, practicing foresight to predict future thoughts and feelings.
  • Interactive exercises with the other postdocs.

organized by Dr. Nadine Schwanhold, DZHK Junior staff development officer

Original TESTIMONIALS from 4 postdocs attending the online workshop "On the Pathway Towards Professorship - How to Gain Academic Independence" 

  • A well-structured workshop, which allows the active and dynamic interaction not only among the instructor and the participants but also between the participants themselves. It was constructive and informative as well.
  • I can hardly imagine an online workshop that uses this constrained format and the limited time more effectively.
  • It is a great workshop! Whether you want to stay in academia, or you are looking for a different career path, this workshop will definitely help you. The trainer is very knowledgeable, and she makes sure everyone is engaged. She will help everyone individually. She is amazing. I would definitely recommend this workshop.
  • The workshop was very interactive, it helped me to clarify my objectives and personal path, and was a safe environment to share experiences and opinions.

organized by Dr. Stefanie Klug and Kristin Schröter
University of Göttingen, Georg-August-University School of Science (GAUSS)

DZHK Mentoring Program, Second Workshop Module "Supervisory Work & Leadership in Science"

Which parts did you enjoy in particular in this online workshop?  

  • The exchange with the peers: To see how others deal with the topic and what have been their approaches in the past.
  • The leadership strategies test was really helpful and also the self-observation in pairs in breakout rooms.
  • Working with individual case examples for practical purposes (difficult situations in leadership).
  • I particularly liked the personal contact and assistance on current events. The external feedback made it possible to see the situation from a different angle.
  • Introduction to different leadership styles.
  • It was excellent to see the leadership styles put in theory. That helped to assess individual leadership personalities and goals.

organized by Dr. Nadine Schwanhold, DZHK Junior staff development officer

Workshop “Supervisory practice and leadership in science” 

What was the most beneficial aspect of the workshop? 

  • Case studies and detailed explanation. 
  • Giving structural knowledge about leadership and self-knowledge.
  • I think it helped me reflect on my own personality and to also see how others are dealing with that situation. I learned different perspectives of the same issue from other participants. 
  • Seeing different styles explained and see how very different approaches can still be valid and even useful 
  • Motivation 
  • Brainstorming about the leadership skills and development 
  • Transparency, clarity and communication is key for good leadership, stay true to your values 

Original Testimonials:

  • This workshop is very helpful not only for professional life but also for personal/ daily life.
  • Communicating with others is fun. 
  • This workshop did a great job in teaching some theoretical basis of leadership. Exercises made sense and helped to develop an understanding of the material.
  • This workshop taught me to learn about leadership potentials and tools for improving ones skills.
  • It was truly a great workshop.

organized by Dr. Stefanie Klug and Nadine Ernst
University of Göttingen, Georg-August-University School of Science (GAUSS)

Female senior postdoc/group leader from Canada attending an 1-year mentoring program for advanced scientists that was completed by 4 individual coaching units.


I absolutely enjoyed working with Silke, in both the workshop and the one-on-one coaching settings!  During workshops, Silke designed thoughtful and meaningful exercises that enabled us to think, reflect, and discuss topics that were highly relevant for career development.  

In our one-on-one sessions, Silke created an atmosphere that was very supportive and open, allowing us to discuss many issues relevant for my current and future career goals. Using different tools and techniques, she encouraged me to think about new perspectives and reflect on how my previous experiences and values could be utilized as I move into the next stage of my career.  Silke created a wonderful and supportive environment and offered me new tools and ways of communicating that I can use in my professional (and personal) life.  Thank you for a great experience!!

Testimonials/Benefits

Workshop" Know Yourself - Emphasize Your Strengths"  

  • A helpful introspective course.
  • Highlight: Preparing a 2 minute elevator speech
  • A refreshing look into where you are at and where you want to go in your career and life.
  • There is no magic. The workshop is very well organized and structured. It indeed reveals your strengths, unless you write down and analyze your decisions, actions and background regularly. Besides, it is very interactive which allows everyone to practice immediately (learning by doing) and to get direct feedback and a different perspective on the skills required in everyday life.
  • We all know our professional skills. However, to compete successfully on the job market, it can help to be aware of "soft skills", for example communication skills or personal (self management) skills. In this workshop, you will think about these skills that you certainly have. You may be surprised how skilled you are!
  • This workshop helped in understanding how to better present yourself to potential employers in a way where I showcased my best attributes.

Workshop "My Project Management Skills"

  • Highly recommended workshop for early-stage researchers!
  • It was fun and learning at the same time!
  • Very informative with interactive sessions.

Organized by Kathrin Wodzicki & Christin Schröter
University of Göttingen, Graduate School of Life Sciences 

 Original voices collected throughout the entire year:


"Greatly structured workshop full of material and incentives" (Project Management)

"It's really great to have the possibility to think about one’s own life and personality! Very beneficial!" (Plan Your Career)

"I would attend the workshop again. Every minute was worth it!!" (Plan Your Career)

"I have attended numerous personal development workshops. This is the first time I feel like I am leaving the room with new knowledge and a fresh perspective!" (Emphazise Your Strengths)

Organized by Kathrin Wodzicki & Christin Schröter
University of Göttingen, GGNB

October, 2016


TESTIMONIAL attending the workshop "Managing Yourself - Tools for Professional and Personal Success"


"The consultant was really knowledgeable and helpful. The course was organized, concise and had a clear flow and progression from one segment to the other. It is helpful for any student concerned about the course or the state of his PhD."

Organized by Kathrin Wodzicki & Christin Schröter
University of Göttingen, Graduate School of Life Sciences 

February, 2016


Workshop "Networking in Science"
" ... I was able to take a lot out of the two days, both personally and on a professional level. Many thanks also for the great materials, very compressed, informative and a huge help with the reflection and the personal "keeping up with the topic" - I am a huge fan of your flipchart approach".

organized by Marie Lutz

CUI, The Hamburg Centre for Ultrafast Imaging
Universität Hamburg

Workshop "Fostering Fruitful Connections - The Use of Networking for Professional Development"
 

Would you recommend the workshop to a co-worker?
It is a workshop about finding your own strengths and values, which is something everyone should be aware of, since it makes you much more confident during interactions with others. It was very helpful to get to the bottom of one's intricate value system, in order to understand one's actions better and also in order to understand what one is looking for when connecting to others.

How would you rate the trainer's expertise and his or her teaching and social skills after completing this workshop?
You could see that she has done these kinds of workshops before and I felt that she has a lot of expertise in this field. She was honest (something that I highly value) and tried to motivate even the shyest participants. You could also feel that she takes what she does very seriously and I highly appreciate it that we wrote most of the things down and were able to take our "strengths" and "values" home.

How did you find the contents and structure of the workshop?
I really liked the content and the structure. It made perfect sense to first focus on us as unique personalities and then, on day two, two focus on our interaction with others. Also, we did a so called "Elevator Pitch" and although at the beginning it felt like I would never be able to do it, it was such a great feeling to experience it eventually and see what I had actually learned in the course of the two days.

What were your main expectations for this workshop?
I thought we would be a big group and the workshop would be about "fostering fruitful connections" on campus. However, what I got was much better. We were a small group and the focus lay on us as individuals. Thus, I can use my newly gained knowledge on campus and beyond, knowing what I am looking for in my network and what I can bring to it.
 

Conducted at the WU Vienna, coordinated by Alexander Mingst, administrative staff developer

May, 2015


Workshop "Entrepreneurship - A Career Option For Me?"
TESTIMONIAL


"Very recommendable workshop for anyone that wants to get an informative, fast, intense and "to-the-point" idea of where he/she is standing regarding the idea to embrace the entrepreneur adventure."
 

Carried out at the Georg August University of Goettingen for the GGNB Career Service Unit, coordinated by Dr. Katrin Wodzicki.

TESTIMONIALS from two postdocs attending the workshop "Career Essentials: My Project Management Skills" 


"The workshop helps you to find your strength and skills, and also the skills that needs to be developed." 
"Do not ignore these opportunities of self-empowerment and soft skill developing. Whether you stay in Academia or leave - they are always useful and might give you that extra edge you need in the future." 
 

organized by GGNB Career Service Unit
Coordinator: Dr. Katrin Wodzicki
Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 11
37077 Göttingen
Germany

February, 2012

As part of the `Transferable Skills and Mentoring Program´ for female doctoral students, Dr. Silke Oehrlein-Karpi has held two workshops in English for the Graduate School of Life Sciences at the University of Würzburg.

1st Profiling and Positioning in Science on Nov 9th./10th, 2011
2nd Interim Workshop of the Mentoring Program on Dec 05th, 2011

Both workshops were characterized by high intensity and concentrated attention of the participants. The trainer dealt in detail with the concerns of the participants, which she achieved particularly well through the visualization of the material being worked on with a trustworthy approach. Dr. Oehrlein-Karpi's workshops have greatly enriched our mentoring program and we will be very happy to work with her again.


organized by Dr. Rose Liebert
Graduate School of Life Sciences, Würzburg