Application

Which program track should I apply for?

“When a man does not know what harbor he is making for, no wind is the right wind.” (Seneca)

AdvanceMent is expressly intended to contribute to your professional orientation as a mentee. Therefore, your future career path does not have to be certain before you start the program. The five components of the mentoring program help to shed light on career perspectives, to work out your own potential and priorities, and to weigh different options. However, there must be a clear tendency as to whether you are aiming for an academic or non-academic career at the current time. If this decision is still unclear, individual coaching for doctoral candidates or postdocs can support you in the decision-making process.

The following descriptions can help you determine which program track is right for you:

You are a doctoral candidate or postdoc at the University of Freiburg and:

you are currently in a phase of professional transition (end of doctorate, early postdoc phase) and would like to explore your next career steps?
you want to learn about career prospects in the non-academic job market and lack role models?
you would like to gain insights into a certain company, industry or professional field in order to decide whether you see a perspective for yourself there?
you may already have some experience in the non-academic job market and are searching for support for the next steps?
you ask yourself how you can successfully integrate your personal life situation, starting a family, physical constraints or personal values into the implementation of your professional goals and visions?
you would like to openly and actively engage in a one-on-one mentoring relationship as well as your peer group to learn and develop together?
you want to deepen your job-related skils and expand your non-academic network?

Then you should apply for the program track AdvanceMent @newpathways.

You are a doctoral candidate or postdoc at the University of Freiburg and:

you are currently in a phase of professional transition (end of doctorate, early postdoc phase) and would like to strategically plan your next career steps towards a career in academia?
you lack role models to guide you in your personal career planning?
you ask yourself how you can successfully integrate your personal life situation, starting a family, physical constraints or personal values into the implementation of your professional goals and visions?
you would like to openly and actively engage in a one-on-one mentoring relationship as well as your peer group to learn and develop together?
you want to deepen your science-related skills and expand your academic network?

Then you should apply for the program line AdvanceMent @academia.

You are a (international) doctoral candidate or postdoc at the University of Freiburg and:

you are currently in a phase of professional transition (end of doctorate, early postdoc phase) and open to either an academic or a non-academic career?
you want to focus on one-to-one-mentoring?
you are interested in an English-speaking program (also open for German postdocs and doctoral candidates at a late stage)?
you lack role models to guide you in your personal career planning?
you ask yourself how you can successfully integrate your personal life situation, starting a family, physical constraints or personal values into the implementation of your professional goals and visions?
you would like to openly and actively engage in a one-on-one mentoring relationship as well as your peer group to learn and develop together?
you want to deepen your profession-related skills and expand your professional network?

Then you should apply for the program line AdvanceMent @flexability.

Which documents do I need to include in my application?

The program language for the program lines @academia and @newpathways is German. Therefore, we ask for applications in German.

The program language for the program line @flexability is English. Therefore, we ask for applications in English.

Your application should contain the following documents:

@academia:

@newpathways

@flexabilty

Please assemble all documents into one .pdf file in the following order:

application form (in German or English, according to the programm language)
tabular CV
declaration of consent (in German or English, according to the programm language)

Important: Please name the file according to the following pattern: "LastName_Application.pdf"

To enable us to read your data, please send us the application form in a single .pdf-file by the specified deadlines to AdvanceMentFreiburg@zv.uni-freiburg.de, Subject „Application AdvanceMent 2023-24.“ For technical reasons, it is important that the application form is filled out electronically.

Please note that incomplete and incorrectly submitted applications will not be processed. In case of technical issues with the document, please contact AdvanceMentFreiburg@zv.uni-freiburg.de.

We are looking forward to your application for the mentoring 2023-24 in the program lines @academia and @newpathways starting March 1st, 2023. The deadline for application is May 7th, 2023. You can apply for the program line @flexability starting April 1st, 2023 with no deadline.

What are the participation requirements?

A prerequisite for participation is that you are a doctoral or postdoctoral researcher at the University of Freiburg during the program period. Please note that doctoral researchers have to be enrolled or registered at the University of Freiburg. Otherwise, we unfortuately cannot consider your application. You can find information on the Compulsory enrollment or registration on the website of the FRS.

In addition, you should be able to participate in the accompanying program (introductory workshop, interim review, final review) and the workshops of your program line. Please check your availiability for these days before applying. As the program language of the program lines @academia and @newpathways is German, sufficient language skills are required.

As a mentee, you also commit to participating in the evaluation for the further development of the program and to write a short final report.

Which criteria are used to select the mentees?

Mentees are selected based on the following criteria:

They meet the general requirements for participation
Personal motivation
Prospect of full and successful program participation
Program fits the current career stage
Balance of the mentoring group of the program (field of study, career phase, personal situation) with regard to the applicant pool
Please let us know in your application if you have a special need for support due to e.g. family commitments, illnesses, social and geographical background, older age, first-time graduate

How can I prepare for the mentoring program?

In preparation for your application, please familiarize yourself with the concept of "mentoring" and with the program itself (see our guidelines for further reading). Clarify for yourself what you expect from your participation in the mentoring program, from the peer group, and from the mentoring relationship: What specific issues would you like to work on? What forms of exchange and support do you want? Does the qualification program fit your needs?

After the successful application, the mentees of the program lines @academia and @newpathways are invited to an introductory mentoring workshop. In the course of the workshop, expectations are concretized as best as possible and checked to see if they are realistic. A list of possible mentors should be prepared by then. You will receive information on this with your acceptance to participate in the program. In addition, it will be clarified how the mentees can contribute to shaping the communication situation in such a way that cooperation is as clear and goal-oriented as possible. The mentees in the @flexability line are prepared individually for the mentoring year in a personal meeting with the program management.

I am unable to attend the introductory workshop or another scheduled event for my program track. Can I still apply for AdvanceMent?

AdvanceMent Freiburg is a fixed program with face-to-face events (program that support the mentoring process and workshops) in which the participation of all mentees is required.

If you already know at the time of application that you will not be able to attend one of the scheduled events or that you will not be able to follow the program to the end, please indicate this on the application form. Changes in personal and professional plans are often not foreseeable. After consultation with the program management, individual solutions can be sought in such cases. However, we would like to point out that participation in the introductory workshop as well as the interim and final evaluation is mandatory and of central importance for the successful course of the entire mentoring program in the program lines @academia and newpathways. Your presence, especially at the introductory workshop, is central to the program. On this day, you will get to know the other participants, prepare for the work in the mentoring partnership, and clarify your goals for the mentoring process together with the program management. Furthermore, the peer groups will be formed. So please check before you apply whether you can participate in the introductory workshop.

What should I know about data protection regarding my application?

When merging PDF files, we do not recommend using free online services that require you to upload the files. Instead, use software installed locally on your computer. (Besides paid PDF editing programs, there are freely available open source programs for merging multiple PDF files).

To ensure the security of your data, we recommend encrypting your e-mail with the application documents using the S/MIME procedure, as security gaps can generally occur when sending e-mails. You can find the S/MIME certificate for encrypting the e-mails here.

Please read the notes on data protection in the consent form for more information on how we handle your data.