Mentoring in Academia and Research
DEADLINE IS EXTENDED UNTIL OCTOBER 4TH!
International Online Expert Exchange
Organizers: Centre for Gender and Science (Institute of Sociology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague) and eument-net (European Network of Mentoring Programmes for the Advancement of Equal Opportunities and Cultural and Institutional Change in Academia and Research)
Date: 23.10.2020
Time: 9:30 a.m. till 1:30 p.m.
Deadline for registration: 4.10.2020
Registration form: HERE
- Conference objectives are to:
• provide information about the eument-net, European Mentoring Network
• create a knowledge base about mentoring as a tool to advance gender equality in human resource management
• give programme managers and people who plan to establish a mentoring programme an opportunity to share experience, network and support each other
• offer a space to get feedback on institutional mentoring programmes in development
- Target groups:
• New and experienced coordinators of mentoring programs
• People who are interested in or who plan to establish a mentoring programme at their institution
• Decision makers, human resource managers, gender equality officers
Programme (draft version):
9:30 Welcome and introduction
Dr. Marcela Linkova, Head of Centre for Gender and Science in Prague, Institute of Sociology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Czech Republic
9:35 Eument-net: history, experience and mutual learning
Ekaterina Masetkina, University of Dusseldorf, Germany, Chair of eument-net
9:55 Czech Mentoring programme for early career researchers
Katerina Marsalkova, Centre for Gender and Science, Institute of Sociology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Czech Republic
10:10 Breakout sessions with mentoring experts and facilitators (Block I)
- session 1 – How to start a mentoring program
Experts: Dr. Marta Chiarinotti, Dr. Ruth Kamm, Dr. May Morris
Facilitator: MA. Xavier Ekhout
Presentation: MA. Cristina Fernandéz, Dr. Sara Banu Akkas
- session 2 – How to work with mentors
Experts: Dr. Evelyn Rusdea, MA. Kerstin Tiefenbacher, Dr. Maria Rosaria Masullo
Facilitator: Dr. Izaskun Lacunza
- session 3 – How to work with mentees
Experts: Dr. Julie Batut, Dr. Phuong Glaser
Facilitator: MA. Ana Bélen Amil
Presentation: Michelle Mommertz, Artiom Jucov
11:10 Break
11:30 Breakout sessions with mentoring experts and facilitators (Block II)
- session 1 – How to start a mentoring program
Experts: Dr. Marta Chiarinotti, Dr. Ruth Kamm, Dr. May Morris
Facilitator: MA. Xavier Ekhout
- session 2 – How to work with mentors
Experts: Dr. Evelyn Rusdea, MA. Kerstin Tiefenbacher, Dr. Maria Rosaria Masullo
Facilitator: Dr. Izaskun Lacunza
Presentation: MA. Claudia Miebach
- session 3 – How to work with mentees
Experts: Dr. Julie Batut, Dr. Phuong Glaser
Facilitator: MA. Ana Bélen Amil
Presentation: Dr. Renate Lucke
12:30 Break
12:40 Plenary session: The frame of mentoring programmes – from defining the goals to evaluation and monitoring
Michaela Gindl, University for Continuing Education, Krems, Austria
13:15 Conclusions of the conference
Dr. Dagmar Höppel, University of Stuttgart, Germany, Executive Director of LaKoG, Vice Chair of eument-net
Dr. Marcela Linkova, Centre for Gender and Science Institute of Sociology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Czech Republic
Experts, facilitators and presenters
Plenary
Dr. Marcela Linkova
Marcela Linková PhD, head of Centre for Gender and Science, Institute of Sociology of the Czech Academy of Sciences and Chair of the ERAC Standing Working Group on Gender in Research and Innovation. Her research focuses on sociology of gendered organizations, research careers, governance of research and research assessment from a gender perspective.
Ekaterina Masetkina
Ekaterina Masetkina is the head of SelmaMeyerMentoring programmes for female early career researchers of the Heinrich Heine University of Dusseldorf, Germany. SelmaMeyerWISS includes two programmes for German speaking and international doctoral researchers (in German and English languages), SelmaMeyerMED+ is a special mentoring programme for advanced interns and postdocs in medicine, SelmaMeyerPROF supports habilitands to become professors. Ekaterina Masetkina belongs to the Executive Board of eument-net since 2017, since 2019 she is a co-chair of the European Mentoring Network.
Katerina Marsalkova
Kateřina Maršálková, coordinator of the Czech Mentoring programme for early career researchers of the NKC Gender & Science. Kateřina is enrolled at the MA of gender studies, Charles University in Prague. She joined the NKC Gender & Science in April 2019.
Michaela Gindl
Michaela Gindl, co-head of the “Unit for Gender Equality and Gender Studies”, University for Continuing Education, Krems, Austria. Michaela studied sociology, she is an expert for equal opportunities in higher education, experienced in application-oriented research projects as well as in Implementation of gender-specific equal opportunity measures at universities.
Dr. Dagmar Höppel
Dr. Dagmar Höppel, is Executive Director of the Conference of Equal Opportunies Officers at Universities and Academic Institutions in Baden-Württemberg, University of Stuttgart, Germany. Dagmar studied oeconomics and holds a PhD, she is an expert for equal opportunities in higher education and experienced in research projects as well as in implementation of gender-specific equal opportunity measures at universities.
Session 1 – How to start a mentoring program
Dr. Marta Chiarinotti
Dr. Marta Chiarinotti is project coordinator of the mentoring programme via:mento_international, an English speaking programme for female postdoctoral researchers, which will start at the end of this year. As one of the equal opportunity commissioners of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at Kiel University, she develops new measures in order to improve e.g. the awareness of gender equality within the faculty and she takes part in professorship appointment committees and in recruitment procedures for non-professorial academic staff.
Dr. Ruth Kamm
Dr. Ruth Kamm joined the Central Office for Gender Equality, Diversity & Family of Kiel University (Germany) in 2010 as coordinator of the mentoring programme via:mento for female postdocts. She is also consulting collaborative research project consortia of the university on their gender equality activities. Ruth is an active member of the Forum Mentoring e.V., the German Federal association for mentoring in science, and was a member of its board between 2012 and 2016.
Dr. May Morris
Dr. May C. Morris, CNRS Research Director at the Institute des Biomolecules Max Mousseron, University of Montpellier, France. May is an active biochemist focused on development of diagnostic technologies and therapeutics for cancer, as well as an active member of Femmes & Sciences (Women & Science in France). She pionneered the first mentoring programme for female PhD students in France which has been established at the University of Montpellier since 2015.
MA. Xavier Ekhout
Xavier Eekhout, International projects Unit, Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT). Xavier has worked as a project manager for different FP7 and H2020 projects, many linked to the EURAXESS initiative and researcher career development in general. These projects have included the coordination of the mentoring programmes for researchers REBECA, Researchers Beyond Academia (EURAXESS TOP IV) and FELISE, Feminist Leadership in Science (GEARING-Roles). Apart from EU projects, Xavier collaborates in the management of the EURAXESS Spain network, including the administration of the national portal www.euraxess.es.
MA. Cristina Fernandéz-Garcia (Presenter in Block I)
Cristina is a third-year PhD student at Cardiff University (Wales, UK). After completing her bachelor and master studies in Biochemistry in Madrid (Spain), she moved to the UK to pursue a career in science, starting her PhD in Biomolecular Sciences.
She soon realised there was a still-existing gap in researchers´ doctoral training between lab-based skills and transferable and soft skills, the latter increasingly becoming more valuable both in an academic and non-academic environment. Pursuing to get a scientist well-rounded skill set, she is currently undertaking a BBSRC-funded professional internship for PhD student at The Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT, from its Spanish initials) where she is working under the supervision of Dr Izaskun Lacunza in the International Projects Unit.
Abstract of the presentation
FELISE is a feminist mentoring programme whose goal is to raise awareness among women scientists of the current gender imbalances in research so that they can contribute to and demand for the necessary structural and institutional changes to promote gender equality. Also, it aims at fostering safe spaces where these female academics can reflect on their career challenges in academia and is focused on creating feminist networks that allow for an exchange of experiences and good practices.
A total of 46 mentors and 46 mentees are chosen amongst the 6 GEARING-role participating organisations. FELISE consists of two strands: a classical mentoring scheme focused on contributing to institutional change and a sponsoring scheme aimed at supporting career development. In the first part of the programme, senior women researchers with a feminist sensitivity take the role of mentors to guide and advise early postdoctoral women researchers from the same institution while in the second one, these same mentors are requested to act as career sponsors for one of the mentees in another organization with similar research backgrounds (if available) in order to contribute to their career advancement.
As the first edition of the mentoring programme unfolds, we are already collecting information from mentor-mentee meetings in the hope of being able to publish our findings to further contribute to identifying gendered norms and tackling gender inequalities at the structural level.
Dr. Sara Banu Akkas (Presenter in Block I)
Dr. Sara Banu Akkaş holds a Ph.D. degree (2009) from the Department of Biology in ODTÜ. She was a researcher in several FP6 and FP7 projects within an SME in ODTÜ TEKNOKENT between 2008-2010, and has been working in ODTÜ Research Coordination Office (RCO) since March, 2010. She was first (February, 2015) the coordinator of the Office of Sponsored Projects under RCO and is now the coordinator of RCO since November, 2019. She was in the organizing committee of the “Conference on Turkish Universities in the European Research Area (ERA)” held in Ankara, Turkey on October 8-9, 2015. She has coordinated one professional development project match funded by the British Council and ODTÜ under the Newton-Katip Çelebi Fund, one national TÜBİTAK science and society project and two H2020 MSCA European Researchers’ Night projects. Dr. Akkaş leads ODTÜ’s EURAXESS Working Group, the work of which has recently (August, 2020) made ODTÜ the first university in Turkey to be qualified to obtain the Human Resources Excellence in Research Award.
Abstract of the presentation
This presentation will give a general overview of Middle East Technical University (ODTÜ)’s mentoring programme for researchers. As a best practice, ODTÜ offers an Academic Development Program (AGEP) for faculty members; i.e. assistant professors and instructors who have just been employed at ODTÜ and Administrative Development Programme (İGEP) for administrative staff. The AGEP and İGEP programmes have several modules, including a gender sensitivity training module. This presentation will aim to discuss ODTÜ’s approach to gender equality, the opportunities that the mentoring programme brings to career development of academic and administrative staff and to open a discussion for finding novel ways to integrate new tools to improve gender equality in human resource management.
Session 2 – How to work with mentees
Dr. Evelyn Rusdea
Dr. Evelyn Rusdea is the coordinator of the “kite-mentoring” programme at the University of Freiburg/Germany. It is an English speaking programme aimed at female doctoral candidates and postdoctoral researchers in STEM disciplines, covering physics, chemistry, pharmacy, mathematics, computer sciences, engineering, environmental sciences, biology and medicine. The program was initiated in 2013 as part of the Gender equality supporting measures in the Cluster of Excellence “BrainLinks-BrainTools”, and is today supported by several research programs and institutions of the university. Evelyn Rusdea is member of the Board of eument-net since 2018 and has experience as coordinator and as mentor since many years.
Mag. Kerstin Tiefenbacher
Kerstin Tiefenbacher, Gender Equality and Diversity Unit, University of Vienna. Kerstin is the coordinator of the career development measures for female academics at the University of Vienna, including mentoring programs for pre- and postdocs. She is trained as a social- and cultural anthropologist and since 2013 working as a gender and diversity practitioner the University of Vienna.
Dr. Maria Rosaria Masullo
Dr. Maria Rosaria Masullo, PhD in Physics, Senior Researcher at INFN unit of Naples, Italy. Maria Rosaria works in particle accelerator field, conducting mainly experimental and numerical studies on particle instabilities and on innovative solutions to mitigate them. Since 2008 active in gender issues, she has been mentor in the pilot GENOVATE mentoring program at University of Naples. In 2018 as president of the INFN Central Guarantee Committee, she promoted in her Institute a gender mentoring program for female fellowships and youg researchers. It has been the first program in a research institute in Italy. A new INFN program will start in 2020.
Dr. Izaskun Lacunza
Dr. Izaskun Lacunza, International projects Unit, Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT). On the one hand, Izaskun coordinates FECYT´s participation in EURAXESS related projects and other international fora fostering the necessary conditions for researchers to fully develop their potential and to have open, diverse, intersectoral, international and interdisciplinary career paths in an open science framework. On the other hand, she coordinates FECYT´s participation in projects supporting European science diplomacy.
MA. Claudia Miebach (Presenter in Block II)
Claudia Miebach is coordinator at Mentoring Hessen and is responsible for mentoring and networking. She studied civil engineering and worked in this field for several years before becoming a coordinator at Mentoring Hessen. She has been working here for almost 10 years now.
Abstract of the presentation
Mentoring Hessen is a joint project of Hessian universities and universities of applied sciences to advance the careers of women. The aim is to increase the percentage of women in attractive specialist and management positions in both academia and business. With the help of four different lines of support, young women are supported and guided through the decisive phases of their professional development – from student to professor.
Each year we start mentoring up to 300 female mentors. The active engagement with the mentors starts a few months before the mentoring process begins. In discussions and/or workshops, the mentors are prepared to perform their tasks and are continuously accompanied by the coordinators. In addition, they receive specialized training and networking opportunities that they can use for their own career development and advancement. The commitment as a mentor often does not end with the awarding of the certificate, which serves as confirmation of the commitment as a mentor and the support provided. Many mentors continue to remain active in our (women’s) network.
Thanks to the size and diversity of our network, we are able to offer mentees and mentors contacts to women from a wide range of professional fields and career levels. Through the opportunity to share experiences, we bring women together to support each other in their careers. Network events are an important pillar of the program.
Session 3 – How to work with mentors
Dr. Julie Batut
Dr. Julie Batut is a French biologist, researcher at the CNRS, specialised in neurogenesis and the identity and shape of cells during embryonic development. She is a member of the association Femmes & Sciences with which she has developed the mentoring programme for female doctoral students. Since 2017, as part of the doctoral programme at the Centre for Integrative Biology (CBI, Toulouse), she has been coordinating the Femmes & Sciences mentoring programme with two doctoral schools at the Paul Sabatier University. This programme aims in particular to support female doctoral students and to encourage them to build their professional project with the help of their mentors. It also offers them thematic discussion circles and group training as well as seminars and testimonials from more experienced people.
Dr. Phuong Glaser
Dr. Phuong Glaser is mentoring manager at the Human Resources Dept. Development for Researchers, University of Cologne, and is currently responsible for the “International Female Scholars Mentoring Program”. From 2017 to 2019 she co-created and coordinated the “Career Mentoring – A Program for Scholars at Risk” in a cooperation between the Cologne University and other universities in North-Rhine Westphalia. After about 10 years working in science as a linguist, she has accompanied since 2016 international scholars in career planning in Germany.
MA. Ana Bélen Amil
Ana Belén Amil is the Gender Equality Officer at Central European University (Vienna/Budapest) for the EU-funded project SUPERA (Supporting the Promotion of Equality in Research and Academia). She is responsible for the design, implementation and monitoring of CEU’s first Gender Equality Plan, which aims at diagnosing and correcting gender imbalances in the institution across all constituencies and hierarchical levels. She is trained as a clinical psychologist and holds an Erasmus Mundus Master’s Degree in Women and Gender Studies.
Dr. Renate Lucke (Presenter in Block II)
Dr. Renate Lucke works since 2017 at the Center for Research and Transfer at Coburg University of Applied Sciences and Arts. She coordinates as certified Mentoring-Manager the first Mentoring-Programme for female Phd-candidates at a Bavarian University of Applied Sciences. She is also lecturer and trainer in topics related to German Language, Communication and Media. As member of the german federal association Forum Mentoring she is engaged as speaker of the working group Evaluation and Research.
Abstract of the presentation
Yet Mentoring?!
Tightly schedules are growing and doing a Phd for example is still a big challenge.
How to use Mentoring as a successful tool of personal development in sciences?
I’ll give a short input of our Mentoring programme for (female) Phd candidates and how I work with them. We could discuss e.g. good addressing of Mentees and framing of our programmes.
The website of the our partner European Network of Mentoring Programmes for the Advancement of Equal Opportunities and Cultural and Institutional Change in Academia and Research is available here.