Dusseldorf, May 26-27, 2025

Committee Lead: Ekaterina Masetkina MA, Michaela Gindl MA, Dr Dagmar Höppel, Dr Evelyne Rusdea (EUMENT-NET) & Dr Ola Thomson (COST Action VOICES) will host this year’s event at the Heinrich Heine University (HHU) Dusseldorf, Germany, home to the pioneering and highly successful SelmaMeyerMentoring programme. HHU is renowned for its cutting-edge research across various disciplines. The university also hosts the Life Science Center, a state-of-the-art facility supporting innovative startups and companies in life sciences and related technologies.

Inclusive Research Cultures Through Mentorship: a Practitioner-Researcher Dialogue. Exploring the role of mentorship in shaping inclusive and transformative research culture

Universities in many European countries offer mentoring programs for women* to support their academic careers and reduce their underrepresentation in academic leadership positions. To further the professional development of experts in this field, the eument-net network and the COST Action VOICES are jointly organizing an International Expert Exchange, featuring various workshops and best-practice sessions.

Workshop 1
Transformative change towards gender equity at universities / Prof. Dr Liudvika Leišytė

Workshop 2
The power of mentoring: A Multi-Perspective Approach on quality assessment in Academia / Dr. Nina Steinweg

Workshop 3
Flipping the Script: Reverse Mentoring for Inclusive Research Cultures / Dr. Alice Matimba

Workshop 4
Organic Mentorship to Promote Inclusive Cultures / Dr. Manuela Picariello

This event brings together mentorship managers and coordinators, researchers, personal development officers, and stakeholders to share their expertise, experiences, challenges, wins big and small, and evidence-based approaches to inclusive mentoring. By bridging practical experience and academic knowledge, we aim to elevate mentorship as a tool for inclusive research cultures in which diversity is a critical building block for the common good.

Join us for a collaborative dialogue to exchange good practice, cross pollinate new ideas, and build connections across disciplines, as well as learn from non-academic settings. Together, we will explore how mentoring can become a powerful tool for cultivating equitable and innovative research environments and facilitate institutional change for inclusive gender equality.

It is possible to apply for an Erasmus+ Staff Mobility Grant to join the event in Dusseldorf. Please contact Ekaterina Masetkina for an invitation for your Erasmus Office.

Objectives of the exchange

Final program of the International Expert Exchange

Please register here.

This co-organised event is based upon work from COST Action VOICES, CA20137, supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology).
COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) is a funding agency for research and innovation networks. Our Actions help connect research initiatives across Europe and enable scientists to grow their ideas by sharing them with their peers. This boosts their research, career and innovation.

Constanta Maritime University (Romania) and the European Mentoring Network (eument-net) are organising an international conference with a professional exchange session:

Mentoring – Potentials for the advancement of female careers in European academia and research and for Gender Equality Plans

02. – 03. September 2024, Constanţa, Romania

It is with great pleasure that we invite you to our upcoming international conference. The core aims are to share good practices and positive examples of mentoring programs designed for advancing female careers in academia and Gender Equality Plans (GEP) actions. The event will also provide excellent networking opportunities for developing joint actions in mentoring and overall gender equality.

Objectives of the conference:

1. Improve action based on mutual sharing and discussion on mentoring and overall gender equality.
2. Brochure on the variety of mentoring programs in Europe and GEP prerequisites.
3. Share good practices on mentoring as part of Gender Equality Plan and on changing organisational culture towards gender equality.

We welcome members of academic and research institutions, practitioners, governmental agencies and any other individuals interested in mentoring programs and GEP and institutions across Europe. Please read about the opportunities to take part in the Call for Contributions.

Venue:

Constanţa Maritime University / UNIVERSITATEA MARITIMA DIN CONSTANTA
Mircea cel Bătrân Street no. 104
Constanţa 900663, Romania

Here you can find the location on Google Maps!

Please find all the relevant travel information in our Constanţa travel guide: Constanţa Travel Guide

The program of the conference you can find here: Program eument-net Conference 2024

We are looking forward to meet you in Constanţa!

Organizational Team:

Prof. Cristina Dragomir
Michaela Gindl
Dr. Dagmar Hoeppel
Ekaterina Masetkina
Dr. Evelyn Rusdea

On June, 12 at 10:30-12:00  Dr. Julie Batut (Universite Toulouse, FR) gives a talk on how to establish an inclusive and operational mentor-mentee relationship using the tools of collective intelligence. Mentoring plays a crucial role in personal and professional development, providing support and knowledge transfer between experienced mentors and people seeking to grow. Establishing a mentor-mentee relationship requires a shared understanding of the principles of mentoring and a solid foundation of trust and communication. A practical one-day workshop has therefore been created to build this relationship collectively. The tools used help to build bridges between people and clarify the needs, rights and duties of each person in the interests of an inclusive and active science.

You can find more information about Dr. Julie Batut HERE!

The talk is based on the publication:

Foncy, J., Kwapisz, M., Knibiehler, M. & Batut Jl. Collectively building a mentor–mentee relationship through a one-day workshop. Nat Biotechnol 41, 1829–1833 (2023). https://doi-org.insb.bib.cnrs.fr/10.1038/s41587-023-02056-4

Please apply to participate for free till June 11, 2024: https://forms.gle/SVzj8cFmJKP8ZpaQ7

You are welcome to invite your interested colleagues to the meeting.

Since 1998, the MuT mentoring program of Stuttgart (Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany) has been supporting female scientists on their way to professorship. During this time, a considerable mentoring network has been built up and countless success stories of professorships among mentees have been celebrated. Current statistics and personal reports show, how important the mentoring program for women in science continues to be.

Over the past 25 years, Dagmar Hoeppel, the initiator of MuT mentoring and distinguished Vice President of eument-net, has not only paved the way for gender equality in academia in Germany, but has also set standards as a pioneer at the European level. Her vision and commitment to equal chances have not only crossed borders, but also paved the way for other ground-breaking initiatives, such as European Mentoring Network, eument-net. The European cooperation in the field of mentoring, which Dagmar Hoeppel has driven forward, is a shining example of her ability to think beyond national borders and connect people. Building networks, transferring knowledge and promoting mutual understanding have always been central elements of her work. Dagmar´s sound scientific findings in mentoring and gender equality have not only laid the foundation for the development of guidelines and programs, but have also contributed to the global discussion on equality and inclusion.

Eument-net would like to extend the heartfelt congratulations to the eldest mentoring for female scientists in Germany and to thank everyone, who contributed to the success of this program. As one of the first programs of its kind Germany-wide, the MuT mentoring program for female scientists in Stuttgart has made an important contribution to the advancement of women in science. It has supported women in developing their talents, achieving their goals and overcoming obstacles.

Eument-net wishes our member MuT program continued success on your journey. May MuT mentoring encourage the next generations of female scientists and continue to be an inspiring role model for other countries and universities!

Anniversary celebration on December 8, 2023: Ekaterina Masetkina, Dr. Dorett Schneider, Dr. Dagmar Hoeppel, Michaela Gindl, Dr. Christina Kurmeyer (left to right)