Call for professional exchange: Resilient Mentoring Programs – Strategies to Overcome Challenges (Exchange Session, Sept. 3)
Expected are insights and experiences shared by mentoring coordinators in navigating challenges of mentoring programs and proposing strategies to overcome them. Your expertise is invaluable in advancing our understanding of the challenges and opportunities in promoting gender equality by the means of mentoring within academia in Europe. By sharing experiences, strategies, and lessons learned, participants will collectively explore effective approaches to overcoming challenges and strengthening the impact of mentoring programs.
Possible topics for discussion and exchange:
Shortfall of structures and institutional support for gender equality initiatives
Challenges stemming from inadequate financing and resource allocation
Addressing disinterest among potential mentees, mentors, or stakeholders
Strategies for overcoming obstacles in organizing and sustaining mentoring programs
Best practices and innovative approaches in promoting gender equality and fostering a culture of learning from failure within mentoring initiatives
You are invited to submit proposals for presentations and case studies via email to eument-net with the subject heading „Professional Exchange Proposal Submission.“
Submissions should include: your name, title, organization and a brief description of the topic no longer than 150 words.
Deadline for Abstract Submission: July, 1, 2024
Notification of Abstract Acceptance: July, 15, 2024
As we strive to create a comprehensive brochure on the variety of mentoring programs in Europe, we are reaching out to practitioners like you, who are actively engaged in mentoring programs and gender equality initiatives. We would be grateful if you take a few moments to complete our questionnaire. The responses gathered from the questionnaire will form part of the overview in the brochure, and therefore your participation is very much appreciated. Even if you can´t come to the conference in Romania, you are very much invited to be part of the overview in the brochure.
Julie Batut, CNRS researcher, Coordinator of the Femmes & Sciences CBI PhD Programme mentoring programme, Head of the Multimodal Modelling of Organ Development team, MCD, Toulouse, eument-net member.
Julie Batut joined the CNRS in 2008 as a researcher in Developmental Biology. Since 2023, she has led a multidisciplinary research team at the Toulouse Centre for Integrative Biology, using mathematical modelling, the zebrafish embryo, imaging and data learning to understand organ formation. She is deeply committed to developing and transmitting inclusive, multidisciplinary science. In conjunction with her scientific career, she is extremely committed to promoting research and the place of women scientists via Femmes & Sciences, Les Chemins Buissonniers and Les Maths en Scène. Since 2017, she has been coordinating the mentoring programme for female PhD students in Toulouse with the Femmes & Sciences association and the CBI phD programme. This programme involves 30 mentor-mentee pairs each year.
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.
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)
Hosted by the kite mentoring (University of Freiburg) and the European Mentoring Network, eument-net, the conference „Flying to New Heights with kite Mentoring“ was a platform for profound professional exchange, knowledge sharing, and transformative insights.
With a focus on gender equality and the invaluable practice of mentoring, this event is set to ignite a spark of inspiration and innovation. Featuring delegates from eight European countries, we were proud to stand as a collaborative force, including eument-net members from Austria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, , Romania and Switzerland. This diverse and united community embodies the spirit of international cooperation and shared knowledge in the field of mentoring and gender equality.
At the core of our mission is the profound belief that mentoring holds the key to unlocking the full potential of female researchers. Our mission is to empower female early career researchers in science and business, fostering a generation of leaders who will soar to new heights.
We owe a great deal of our progress to the exchange of best practices, a collaborative effort that enriches our community. The kite mentoring of the University of Freiburg serves as a shining example of this. It showcases the power of mentorship, guiding individuals towards their academic aspirations with unwavering dedication. Eument-net extends the heartfelt congratulations to Dr. Evelyn Rusdea, a scientific coordinator of kite mentoring and a member of the Executive Board of eument-net, on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the kite mentoring programme for female researchers.
Thank you for being a part of this remarkable gathering!
Marieke van den Brink is Professor of Gender & Diversity at the Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands. Her main research interest focuses on ways how bundles of interacting organization processes produce intersectional inequalities in organizations. She is especially interested in how various gender practices tied in with academic organizing, such as recruitment and selection, recognizing and rewarding and the construction of scientific excellence. She is a member of the Dutch National Committee for Diversity and Inclusion in Higher Education and was elected as member of the Young Academy of the Royal Netherlands Academy for Arts and Sciences (KNAW). Her work has been published in the Journal of Management Studies, Organization Studies, Organization, Human Relations, Gender, Work & Organization, and Social Science & Medicine.
Tomas Brage is a professor of physics at Lund University. He has also worked at Vanderbilt University and NASA GSFC. He is strongly involved in work on Gender and Science, where he is regularly giving talks on “Gender and Physics” around Europe. He is a steering group member of the LERU Policy Group for EDI and participate in the GENERA network and the GenderEX Horizon 2020 project. He is the chair of the section for equality, diversity and inclusion of the Swedish Physical Society and has led or co-led projects on Gender Certification, Antidiscrimination, Core Values, bi-focal mentoring and Unconscious Bias observers in Lund and beyond.
Gender bias in academia – a threat to academic values.
Meritocracy, academic freedom for everybody and excellence in research and teaching are common and important core values for universities. However, there are many challenges to these, not the least from external pressure in a neo-liberal era. However, the most important threat might come from internal shortcomings. In academia, selections and evaluations are daily practices and important parts of e.g. career paths and assessment of students. Lately more and more evidence, research and studies show that our preconceived ideas – our bias – is a clear obstacle for a fair process and points to that mitigating its effects is essential to defend, not the least, the meritocratic principle.
In this talk, Prof. Brage will discuss bias both as a psychological and individual problem, but also as a systemic, where processes get hi-jacked. He will discuss how it can lead to micro-aggressions and, if not counteracted, to worse – harassment and discrimination. Prof. Brage will bring up examples on how to mitigate this problem, by referring to some “toolboxes” and good practices, from European networks such as LERU.
In October 2023, our eument-net member „kite-mentoring“ program will celebrate its anniversary „Flying to new heights with kite-mentoring – 10 years of empowering women“ at the University of Freiburg. The European mentoring network will support this celebration with a joint International conference on 12-13October 2023 for its members and all interested parties.
Two keynote speakers will discuss gender equality and mentoring in academia: Prof. Dr. Tomas Brage (Lund University, Sweden) – “Gender bias in academia – a threat to academic values”
Prof. Dr. Marieke van den Brink (Radboud University Nijmegen, Netherlands) – “Mentoring in higher education – supporting career development and organizational change”
AGENDA
Day 1, Thursday, October 12, 2023
13:00 Registration for the conference
14:00 Opening & all about „kite-mentoring“
16:00 Key Notes & discussion
18:15 Networkingin the loungewith finger food & refreshments
Day 2, Friday, October 13, 2023
09:30 Eument-net Expert Exchange with input from Prof. Marieke van den Brink
12:30 Lunch & Get Together
13:30 General assembly with special focus on future development and activities of eument-net
15:30 End of eument-net meeting
Learn more about how the „kite-mentoring“ program in Freiburg empowers women in STEM fields (Dr. Evelyn Rusdea), meet mentees, alumnae and mentors involved in the program during flash talks, speak with mentoring tandems from academia and industry, and hear from different role models, such as an alumna who recently held a professorship. There will be also various other offers like a small career fair for mentees and alumnae, including a brief presentation of the invited partners from industry. The first conference day will end with networking in the Lounge of IMBIT including finger food, snacks and refreshments.
The second conference day will begin with a Eument-net Expert Exchange involving Prof. Dr. Marieke van den Brink. In her keynote contribution Prof. van den Brink will explore the effects and possibilities of sponsorship and how inclusive gender equality approaches can be integrated into mentoring programs. This will be followed by an interactive session on sharing outcomes and international expert exchange. The participants will discuss in small groups from the perspectives of mentoring programme coordinators, gender equality officers, career advisors, personnel developers, but also of mentees, mentors, institutions and external drivers. The key aspects will be in the focus of the exchange:
recruitment of mentors and mentors’ skills
attitudes of institutions/awareness within institutions
external influences/driving forces
The Eument-net Expert Exchange will end with a joint discussion in the plenary.
During the lunch break, we cordially invite all the eument-net members and interested parties to an informal Get Together. After the lunch there will be the Annual General Assembly of eument-net. We will focus on future development and activities of eument-net as a network and especially on the members interests and needs. Please bring your ideas.
For those who stay in Freiburg after the conference on Friday, October 13 „kite-mentoring“ and eument-net will organize a joint dinner and social networking event at 19:00 for all attendees at „Paradies“ – a traditional beer garden in Freiburg.
Venue: The Conference will take place on both days at
Albert-Ludwigs-University of Freiburg Faculty of Engineering
IMBIT building (Intelligent Machine-Brain Interfacing Technology)
Georges Köhler Allee 201
79110 Freiburg, Germany
The joint dinner & networking event will take place on Friday October 13 at 19:00 at
Restaurant „Paradies“
Mathildenstr. 26
79106 Freiburg, Germany
Accommodation: Book your own accommodation or take advantage of the contingent of rooms pre-reserved for eument-net members at Hotel Stadt Freiburg near the conference venue. 20 single rooms are available for the special price of €110 per night (incl. breakfast buffet); double rooms are available for the special price of €145 per night (incl. breakfast for two people). Participants are able to reserve rooms directly with the hotel up until 12 September 2023 using the keyword “eument-net”. Please only book in writing by sending an email to .
Breisacher Str. 84
79110 Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
In case of requests, please do not hesitate to contact Ekaterina Masetkina, eument-net chair () or Evelyn Rusdea, kite-mentoring coordinator and member of eument-net executive board ().
Invited experts Lisa Kamlade and Thomas Berghoefer from the Genera Network are going to give a keynote talk based on their knowledge and experience regarding gender equality in higher education and research. The experts will offer an European view on mentoring as a measure to improve for gender equality.
Please save the date of the next Eument-net Expert Exchange: September, 6th 10:00-12:00 a.m. CET, online
We invite all eument-net members and interested mentoring experts to discuss and exchange on your approaches and experiences towards gender equality within your current or future mentoring programs.
GENERA is a gender equality network in Physics in European research area. Since 2015 GENERA has boosted awareness on the issue of gender equity in physics. The GENERA consortium prepared all tools necessary to tailor and implement gender equality plans (GEPs) and gender equality measures in the participating institutions. In the GENERA toolbox, for example, more than 100 good practice measures to support gender equality in physics institutions have been compiled. All necessary steps to implement a GEP have been described in the GENERA Roadmap. Guided by a project internal evaluation the individual institutions created and implemented their GEPs.
Thomas Berghoefer, Senior Scientist
Copyright: PRIVAT
Dr.Thomas W. Berghoefer studied Physics and Astrophysics in Marburg, Bochum, and received a PhD in Munich. He won a Humboldt fellowship to work at the Space Sciences Lab at UC Berkeley. During his active research career, he was working in X-ray and EUV astronomy at the Max Planck Institute for extraterrestrial Physics, UC Berkeley, and University of Hamburg. While working at the University of Hamburg he was appointed as one of the women’s representatives in the faculty of physics. He holds a degree in higher education didactics and e-learning methods from the University of Hamburg. Later he became a science programme manager in the German research funding system of the federal government. He coordinated several larger European consortia on research funding, R&D, and gender in physics. Thomas Berghöfer is currently the coordinator of GENERA Network.
Lisa Kamlade, Project manager
Copyright: PRIVAT
Lisa Kamlade studies business psychology (M.Sc.) in Hamburg and works as a full-time project manager at DESY, Hamburg.
In the GENERA project she was the Implementation Manager coordinating between all relevant stakeholders involved in the implementation of a Gender Equality Plan at DESY. After GENERA project she worked in the European project ACT as a Community of Practice (CoP) facilitator. Alongside, Lisa is the vice-coordinator of the GENERA Network since 2018 and she’s part of the European project Einstein Telescope (INFRA-DEV). LinkedIn Profile
