New job, new path: Keep your goals in sight

Veranstaltungsort: AIB 1020/30 (Hochschulring 40)
Beginn: 15. April 2026, 09:00 Uhr
Ende: 15. April 2026, 13:00 Uhr

This workshop is part of the MAPEX Doctoral Qualification Programme. We aim to support and train doctoral candidates in acquiring transversal skills and developing useful competencies for future leading tasks inside and outside of academia.

Workshop Description

Starting a doctoral project while simultaneously taking up a position as a research assistant in the natural sciences and engineering can be both exciting and challenging. This half-day workshop supports doctoral students and early-career researchers in mastering their start in everyday university life, balancing project responsibilities with work on their dissertation, and staying motivated during the transition to academic life. For participants being new to Bremen, the workshop will also offer space to reflect on arriving in a new city and a new university environment.

Workshop Topics

- Tools for structuring daily work as a doctoral candidate and research assistant

- Organizing daily work in research and science

- Balancing project tasks and progress on your doctoral thesis

- Settling into a new academic environment

Workshop Learning Goals:

- Reflect on the current situation—starting at university, goals, strategies to date, and challenges

- Reflect on and define the function and role of a research assistant

- Develop practical strategies for organizing daily work in research and science

- Balance tasks as a research assistant with the goals of a doctorate

- Gain confidence in dealing with the transition to professional and doctoral life

Teaching method

This workshop offers a balanced mix of short presentations by the trainer, individual learning phases, and joint group exercises. The aim is to support participants in developing their own strategies and an action plan for starting their professional and academic careers with practical examples, concrete organizational tools and instructions, and self-reflective tasks. Materials from the natural sciences are used for further study. In addition, the trainer also addresses the role of AI-based tools and software that can assist in organizing everyday work.

Target Group

The workshop is especially useful for Ph.D. candidates of Natural and Engineering faculties at the early stages of their Ph.D.

Workshop Instructor

Dr. Melanie Schall is a lecturer in methods, media and didactic concepts in vocational education and research. After completing her studies in education and educational sciences, she initially gained experience as a social pedagogue, focusing on counseling and supporting young people in school, career preparation, and volunteer services. She became interested in the potential of digital media for educational purposes at an early stage. Since graduating in social informatics (2018), she has combined practical professional experience with research and development of media-based teaching concepts. Her doctoral thesis (2024) deepens this focus with an emphasis on incompany trainers. Her work concentrates on the design of innovative forms of learning for trainers and the implementation of seminars for teacher training students, as well as supervising students and doctoral candidates in their theses and research projects.