Mentoring.UR | Group 10 (2025)

Reaching for the stars: The Power of Mutual Support and Scientific Networking

Report on the Mentoring.UR Ceremony: Saying Goodbye to Group 9 and Welcoming Group 10

On Tuesday, December 3, 2024, Mentoring.UR, the University of Regensburg’s program for Women Early Career Researchers, held its traditional Closing and Kickoff Ceremony to celebrate both the achievements of the current group of mentees and the start of a new cohort.

Prof. Dr. Miriam Banas, Deputy University Representative for Gender Equality in Academia and the Arts and Program Director of Mentoring.UR, welcomed the attendees and gave a brief introduction to the afternoon’s agenda and the program itself , which for the first time will be held in English with Group 10. With this new alignment, Mentoring.UR especially reached out to international Women Early Career Researchers at UR to create a more inclusive environment following UR’s internationalization strategy.

In his welcome address, Prof. Dr. Ernst Tamm, Vice President of UR for Research and Support for Emerging Academics, highlighted the program's significance for the University of Regensburg and expressed his excitement for the upcoming keynote speech.

In her ensuing welcome address, Prof. Dr. Astrid Ensslin, University Representative for the Equality of Women in Academia and the Arts, emphasized the importance of mutual support, networking, sharing resources and finding role models as keys for a successful (academic) career.

Keynote Speech by Prof. Dr. Angelika Lingnau, Chair of Cognitive Neuroscience at UR
In her keynote speech, Prof. Dr. Angelika Lingnau shared inspiring insights into her journey to becoming a professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at UR. She spoke about the mentors and role models who guided her along the way, including her PhD advisor. Through building international networks, she connected with people who recognized her skills and strengths, and later encouraged her to apply for exciting opportunities. Prof. Lingnau also advised the audience to seek guidance, stay curious, and remain passionate about their work, while learning how to handle rejection and take time to recharge. The speech concluded with a brief Q&A session between the speaker and the audience.

“Never be limited by other people’s limited imaginations.”
Citing Dr. Mae Jemison, physician and first African American woman astronaut, Prof. Banas bid farewell to the mentees of Group 9 of Mentoring.UR and wished them all the best by sending them out on their own journeys to reach the stars. As an outstanding example of such a stellar path, mentee Dr. Laura Niebling presented her and co-mentee Dr. Aybike Hofmann’s podcast project on pediatric urology “Die Kinderurologen”, that was created thanks to their encounter during the mentoring program. Mentees and mentors showcased their individual ways of role modeling and pathways by telling the audience where they saw themselves/their mentees in five years’ time and how the mentorship helped them embark on the way to reaching this goal. Each mentee of Group 9 received a certificate of participation, and Prof. Banas warmly welcomed the mentees of Group 10, who will begin their career coaching and training program in January.
The ceremony ended with a small get-together, providing a chance for everyone to mingle, exchange ideas, and get to know each other better.

Zum Kurzbericht in deutscher Sprache

Call for applications

Closing date for applications

Selection process

Written confirmation to the mentees

12-03-2024, 5 pm

Kick-off event with keynote speech by Prof. Dr. Angelika Lingnau and farewell to the participants of group 9

Career Coaching | Initial workshop for mentees

participation mandatory

Selection of individual mentors, agreements between mentees and mentors

Information for mentors (online)

Career Coaching | Reflection Workshop

participation mandatory

End of 2025

Closing Ceremony for mentees and mentors

The next call for applications for Mentoring.UR starts in summer 2024. Applications are open to women early career researchers (Privatdozentinnen, Habilitandinnen, Nachwuchsgruppenleiterinnen, Postdoktorandinnen and Doktorandinnen from the third year of their program).

Please find all information in the call for applications:

Call for applications Mentoring.UR 2025 (pdf file, 245 KB)

Poster Call for applications Mentoring.UR 2025 (pdf file, 1.366 KB)

Application requirements

• Completed academic degree (Masters level)
• Research project based at the University of Regensburg UR) for the duration of the program
• Career goal: professorship or other leadership position in or outside academia

There are two options: You may apply with or without specific ideas on who might be your mentor!

Application documents

• Motivation letter

• Profile sheet (MS word file, 81 KB)

• Curriculum vitae in tabular form with list of publications, list of courses taught, overview of third-party funding already obtained, grants, awards and prizes

• University diplomas

Please send these documents in one pdf file to the Equal Opportunities Coordination Office (mentoring@ur.de) by October 1, 2024.