Introduction to career guidance of international early-stage researchers (in English) (10618)

What to expect

The academic landscape in Germany is becoming more and more international, with a rising proportion of international  early-career researchers in universities and non-university research institutions. Not surprisingly, there is an increasing demand for specific career counselling services designed to help international these researchers to effectively progress their career, whether within or outside  the German academic  system. The challenges faced by international researchers in this context include aspects as diverse as language barriers, residency status, access to healthcare, cross-cultural conflicts, pressure from family expectations, social isolation, and a lack of knowledge regarding the job market, among many others.

As a career guidance practitioner, you will learn in this workshop how to address these challenges in a professional, strengths-based and culturally sensitive manner. Drawing on case studies exploring the experiences of international scientists and researchers in Germany, we will deepen our understanding of their multifaceted needs and explore suitable advisory approaches. For this purpose, we will examine genuine examples of successful career progression both within and outside academia among international PhD holders in Germany. Our goal is to empower you to strike a delicate balance between maintaining a professional stance, expressing empathy and proposing culturally sensitive viable strategies for action.

Workshop times

• 23.02.2027, 10:00 am – 06:00 pm
• 24.02.2027, 09:00 am – 03:30 pm

In the case of insufficient registration, ZWM reserves the right to cancel the course.

Contents

• Introduction to careers advising
  • Key theoretical underpinnings
  • Practical methods and tools
  • The professional stance
• The specific challenges faced by international early-stage researchers in Germany
  • Constraints of the academic system
  • Personal and pragmatic considerations
  • Empathy-building and client empowerment
• International advisory competence
  • Understanding interculturality
  • (Self-) reflection on norms and values in academia
  • Culturally sensitive advising
• Case studies of successful career paths within academia and transitions to the non-academic job market
• Peer learning and exchange of experiences within the training group

Your takeaways from the workshop

As a participant of this workshop you will …

• deepen your understanding of the complex challenges faced by international early-stage researchers in the academic workplace in Germany,
• increase your knowledge of approaches to career advising,
• develop your own stance as a career advisor in an international context,
• gain hands-on experience with methods of international career advising,
• extend your intercultural competence and connect it with your role as a career advisor in academia,
• enlarge your own professional network within the training group.

Your background

You are an international person or bring an international background or experience and work at a university, non-university research institution or funding agency related to academia in Germany. You are engaged in internationalisation, especially international career advising, or you are interested in moving into that field.