Key Qualification

Target audience: Advanced PhD candidates (R1)
Date: Tuesday, 27 October 2026 | 9 am – 5 pm | Presence (HG 104)
Tutor: Dr. Simon Golin (Golin Wissenschaftsmanagement)

Language: German

Course content:

After wading through mountains of specialist literature, formulating and then discarding countless hypotheses, and perhaps even conducting experiments and test series, the completed doctoral thesis is finally ready. But the journey is not yet over: now comes the thesis defence.

Following the completion of the doctoral thesis, the defence presents doctoral candidates with new challenges. For many, oral examination situations are also associated with stage fright and a fear of mental blocks. However, with systematic preparation started well in advance, the final oral examination quickly loses its intimidating edge. Those who are familiar with the procedure, have found their own individual presentation style and can also handle difficult conversational situations will approach the examination with greater composure and be able to showcase their expertise to the full.

In this workshop, participants will have the opportunity to focus specifically on their upcoming final oral examination. They will develop personalised strategies for preparing for their defence and learn techniques to steer the discussion, even in critical moments. The following topics are covered:

• What is compulsory and what is optional? The requirements of the oral examination
• Choosing a topic: What should I bear in mind when selecting my examination topics?
• Is everything going to plan? Self-management and time management during the preparation phase
• The perfect presentation: How do I present myself and my work?
• The show must go on! Dealing with exam nerves and difficult conversational situations
• The oral examination: My next steps

Registration

Target Audience: Doctoral Candidates (R1) and Postdocs (R2)
Datum: Thursday, November 12, 2026 | 9 am - 5 pm | Presence (AM 02)
Trainer: Ms. Francesca Carlin

Language: English

Content:

Resilience has been proven to help people not only succeed but also to thrive when facing obstacles and stress. Managing change, pressure and perceived failure is a challenge and can often leave us feeling low on emotional and mental resources, but thankfully resilience and grit are a set of skills and tools that can be learned and trained.

This workshop focuses on identifying and building the elements that make us mentally and emotionally resistant to stress and pressure. Participants will learn skills for emotional regulation, sharpen their emotional awareness, gain techniques to reduce anxiety and stress, and understand how to use reframing strategies to turn threats into manageable challenges.

Registration

Primary target audience: Advanced PhD candidates (R1) and postdocs (R2/R3)
Date: Monday, 16 November 2026 | 9 am –1:30 pm | Online
Course leader: Dr. Nadine Riedl

Language: German

Course description:

Truly good texts usually only emerge after several rounds of revision; this insight can be found in countless writing guides. In practice, however, this stage of the process is often skipped, reduced to a mere final proofread, or carried out haphazardly, meaning that the potential of many texts remains largely untapped.

At the same time, the pressure to succeed in academia is enormous: authors face intense competition, high rejection rates and rigorous peer-review processes, whilst also being forced to publish quickly, frequently and to a high standard.

Expertise in editing can therefore be crucial to publication success. In this hands-on workshop, ‘Systematic Editing’, participants will learn, through practical exercises, how to apply professional editing techniques to their manuscripts and thereby significantly improve their texts – this ensures higher acceptance rates from journals and book publishers and reduces friction in the revision and peer-review process.

Registration

Main target audience: Early postdocs (R2) and advanced PhD candidates (R1)
Date: Thursday, 26 November 2026 | 1:30 – 2:30 pm | Online
Course leader: Dr. Geny Piotti

Language: German

Course description:

The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellowships support outstanding postdocs shortly after completing their PhDs in further developing their research – with a strong focus on international exchange, excellent academic work and professional career development. The fellowships fund your work on your own research project for up to two years, as well as mobility between institutions and countries (depending on the call for applications) and professional development in line with your individual career goals.

In this Coffee Talk, Dr. Geny Piotti, EU Consultant at Viadrina, will provide an overview of this funding opportunity and the application process. As always, the event is designed as an open discussion with plenty of opportunity for your questions.

Registration

Target Audience: Doctoral Candidates (R1) and Postdocs (R2)
Datum: Monday, November 30, 2026 | 9 am - 5 pm | Online
Trainer: Ms. Marietta Gädeke

Language: English

Content:

For doctoral researchers and postdocs, networking is a key competence for academic and professional development. Research collaborations, visibility, informal knowledge, and career opportunities rarely emerge by chance. They develop when early-career researchers understand their networks, define strategic goals, and communicate with clarity and confidence.

This one-day English-language online workshop supports participants from all disciplines in developing a personal networking strategy. They analyze their academic and professional networks, identify relevant contacts, contexts, and blind spots, and define concrete next steps for expanding their network. The workshop also addresses practical academic networking situations: entering conversations, finding and switching subjects, creating a  constructive atmosphere, and presenting oneself and one’s research clearly. Participants  develop a concise elevator pitch to communicate who they are, what they stand for, and  what kind of exchange they are looking for.

A further focus lies on social status, hierarchies, and role expectations in academic communication. Participants reflect on how status shapes conversations and develop strategies to communicate with confidence and visibility in asymmetric situations.

Registration

Primary target audience: All interested members of Viadrina
Date: Tuesday, 8 December 2026 | 10 am –12 noon | Presence (Room GD 312)
Course leader: Dr. Jens Mittelbach

Language: German

Course description:

Structured note-taking is a key tool for reflective learning, creative work and sustainable knowledge management. Digital approaches open up new possibilities for flexibly capturing thoughts, linking them systematically and developing them continuously.

Obsidian is a powerful open-source programme for note-taking and knowledge organisation based on simple Markdown files. It enables users to build personal knowledge networks, structure ideas dynamically and make their own thought processes visible and traceable over the long term.

The workshop is aimed at people who have already gained experience with note-taking software and have a clear idea of specific use cases or workflows. The aim is to apply these ideas to Obsidian and other knowledge management tools, such as literature management programmes, RSS feed readers or E-Ink tablets, and to explore possibilities for linking and automation.

Registration

Primary target audience: Advanced PhD candidates and early-career postdocs (R1/R2)
Date: Thursday, 14 January 2027 | 1:30 – 2:30 pm | Online
Course leader: Dr. Petra Kuhnau
Language: German

Course description:

With the transition to the postdoc phase, new milestones on the path to a (permanent) postdoc position or a professorship take centre stage in academic career planning. These include successfully securing external funding, carrying out your own research projects, and gaining professional experience abroad (projects, visiting fellowships, conferences, etc.).

Fortunately, there are several funding schemes available to provide you with optimal support on this path at the start of your postdoctoral phase. In this Coffee Talk, Dr. Petra Kuhnau, Head of the Office for Research and Career Development, will introduce you especially to the DFG’s Walter Benjamin Program and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation’s Feodor Lynen Research Fellowships, which enable you to carry out research projects lasting up to two years at locations of your choice.

As always, the Coffee Talk is designed as an open discussion with plenty of time for your questions.

Registration

Primary target audience: PhD candidates and postdocs (R1–R3)
Date: Thursday, 28 January 2027 | 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm | Online
Speakers: Steffi Tetzlaff, Nadine Arnold, Björn Grötzner

Language: German

Course description:

The Academic Fixed-Term Contracts Act (WissZeitVG) regulates the maximum duration of fixed-term employment contracts for researchers both before and after they have completed their PhD. As such, the Act has a very direct impact on career and life planning within the academic sector. And whilst it is the subject of lively debate across Germany, specific questions often remain unanswered.

In this Coffee Talk, Steffi Tetzlaff (Human Resources Department) and Björn Grötzner (VCGS) will provide an overview of the provisions of the WissZeitVG, taking into account the service agreement governing the drafting of employment contracts for academic staff at Viadrina. The Commissioner for Families, Nadine Arnold, will also provide information on the specific regulations for researchers with care responsibilities and the services offered by the Family Office. We will be available to answer your questions in an open discussion. Please feel free to send us your questions in advance via the registration form or by email to vcgs@europa-uni.de so that we can prepare accordingly.

Registration