News

Dec 2024

Closing event – Mentoring Program at the Cluster of Excellence “Precision Medicine in Chronic Inflammation” (PMI) – KIEL University

I will faciliate this closing event that provides space for reflection and feedback from participants (PhD students, postdocs and clinical scientists) on the entire program. Goals before/at the beginning of the program, goals achieved, wishes and recommendations are topics at this meeting.

Dec 2024

Closing event – International Female Scholars Mentoring, University of COLOGNE

I will accompany the international female scholars in their completion of the mentoring year with the IFS Mentoring Program, reflecting on their goals, achievements and wishes for further steps in their careers.

Nov 2024

Workshop “Getting ready after graduation! – How to transition and apply for a job on the German labor market” – University OSNABRÜCK

This workshop is designed for international students who want to prepare the transition phase towards completion of their studies. Offering a safe space for participants to share their different perspectives, experiences as well as wishes, it guides them through specific steps that help them land a desired job on the German labor market.

Nov 2024

Workshop on “Empathy and compassion as a means for increasing job satisfaction and resilience” for mentoring coordinators – FORUM MENTORING Regional Group Northern Germany

This workshop offers mentoring coordinators a compact overview of the concept of compassion, showing them ways to apply it, to avoid empathy fatigue and thus to protect themselves and other target groups from stress and burnout. Participants will then experience compassion for themselves through small exercises and reflect on how they can incorporate more empathy and compassion into the work routines and roles of their choice.

Oct 2024

Kick-Off for mentees – MarMento Mentoring Program, Module: International Mentoring Skills, University MARBURG

This workshop welcomes new international students who are mentees of the MarMento Mentoring, and introduces them to the structures, processes and the next steps in the mentoring program. Here mentees will have the chance to know their peers for the first time, discuss and prepare for their communication  and collaboration with their mentors over the course of the winter semester 2024/2025.

Oct 2024 - Mar 2025

Mentor Training and Facilitation of Framework Events for “MarMento” – Mentoring Program for International Students, University MARBURG

During the winter semester 2024/25, I will offer a mentor training to students in higher semesters at the Univ. Marburg who will support new fellows from abroad one semester long with study-related challenges or in everyday life. They will acquire mentoring competence and strengthen their crosscultural communication skills. I also accompany the international mentees in their start in this mentoring program alongside the beginning of their studies at the Univ. Lingua franca is both German and English.

Oct 2024

Peer counseling – Mentoring Program at the Cluster of Excellence “Precision Medicine in Chronic Inflammation” (PMI) – KIEL University

I will facilitate a short peer counseling workshop for mentees in the mentoring program at the Cluster of Excellence “Precision Medicine in Chronic Inflammation” (PMI) – Kiel University, and guide the participants through practice sessions based on their  individual questions and concerns.

Oct 2024

Compassionate Communication -Unleashing the Quiet Power of Compassion at Work, Workshop for Supervisors at Forschungszentrum JÜLICH

The overall aim of this workshop is to introduce the target audience to the concept of Applied Compassion, show them how to skillfully embody compassion in their roles and work routines of supervising younger and less experienced (international) team members.

Aug-Sep 2024

Summer break

From August to September I’ll be having a Summer break and I’m back in October 🙂

Jul 2024

Keynote speech at the festive opening and closing event of the Mentoring Program AdvanceMent – University FREIBURG

This talk walks the audience through the concept of mindful communication and aims at raising more awareness about cultural diversity that plays a role in how we think, collaborate and get things done. By focusing on the aspects of gender, social and ethnic backgrounds, and by introducing recent results from neuroscience and organizational psychology, this talk will suggest a number of strategies for mindful and effective communication in mentoring processes. Finally, it highlights “communication” as an essential part of the required skill sets in the graduate labor market in Germany.

Jul 2024

Mid-term exchange – Mentoring Program at the Cluster of Excellence “Precision Medicine in Chronic Inflammation” (PMI) – KIEL University

I facilitated this event that initiated an exchange with and among the mentees in order to elicit their (verbal and/or written) feedback as well as their suggestions. The review of the first part and the look ahead to the second part of the program reinforced everyone’s positioning of what went well  and which areas need further development or improvement.

Jul 2024

Mid-term exchange – International Female Scholars Mentoring, University of COLOGNE

This workshop supported the international female scholars in the IFS Mentoring in their reflection on the mentoring year so far and in their preparation of the next concrete steps toward the end of the year. Once again, participants ended up with a peer coaching session for a group member. Reassuring, supportive, a lot of ideas, more confident, friendly, encouraging, openness and exchange were the feedback that the group gave before the closing.

Jul 2024

The Quiet Power of Compassion – Online-Talk at Network Meeting Regional Group Rhein Ruhr – SIETAR (Society for Intercultural Education, Training and Research)

After the successful event in May organized in person in Cologne, and responding to the wish of my audience who could not be there and would like to join online, I offered the same talk for the 2nd time to the community and those who have interest to learn more about this topic.

May 2024

The Quiet Power of Compassion – Talk at Network Meeting Regional Group Rhein Ruhr – SIETAR (Society for Intercultural Education, Training and Research)

This talk introduces the community of interculturalists to the topic of compassion and shows why its application matters in different (work) contexts and in one’s own personal development. The contents are backed by scientific results from neurobiology, physiology, and positive organizational psychology.

May 2024

Crosscultural Communication – Turning Towards Mindful Mentoring, Supervising and Coaching in Multicultural and Heterogeneous Teams, Workshop for Supervisors at Forschungszentrum JÜLICH

The overall aim of this workshop is to support supervisors in (1) raising more awareness about the potentials and pitfalls when leading and communicating in international/multi-cultural or heterogeneous teams, and at the same time, (2) in the process of understanding the nature of interconnectedness in crosscultural communication.

Apr 2024

Mentor workshop across mentoring programs, AACHEN University

I facilitated a short introductory workshop for mentors across different mentoring programs at the Aachen university, introducing them to the concept of mentoring in academia, and supporting them in further developing as well as deepening their (mindful) mentoring skills.

Mar 2024

Short talk about Cross-cultural Communication and Applied Compassion – Forschungszentrum JÜLICH

This talk introduces to the community of supervisors at the Forschungszentrum Jülich the two concepts of Communication Across Cultures and Applied Compassion. These two concepts are the topics of the upcoming workshops in May and October 2024.

Mar 2024

Efficient collaboration and understanding-based communication in international and transdisciplinary scientific teams, University of BONN

This workshop designed for postdocs and group leaders who work in international and transdisciplinary projects as well as collaborations aims at raising awareness about (1) the advantages and potential conflicts of working in international and transdisciplinary projects, (2) about (unconscious) biases and the role of cultures on communication, on the one hand, and supporting participants in (3) building trust and high-quality connections, and (4) (co-)developing solutions compassionately, on the other. Here is the anonymous evaluation of the workshop download.

Mar 2024

Kick-off workshop – International Female Scholars Mentoring, University of COLOGNE

This workshop guides mentees through the process of building high-quality connections with one another, introduces them to the contents and processes of the mentoring program, supports them in determining their current situations and defining their goals. The second part will focus on the matching process of finding a mentor, and on the communication in mentoring tandems and peer group counseling. The anonymous evaluation can be downloaded here download.

Feb 2024

Process workshop – TandemDOK Mentoring Program, AACHEN University

The workshop accompanies the PhD students in exploring how to leverage differences in order to achieve learning success and grow both individually and collectively. Participants will gain more knowledge about group roles and dynamics, and become more aware of the strengths as well as weaknesses associated with each role. Post-workshop materials support the reflection and reinforce the transfer process of what have been learnt.

Feb 2024

Kick-Off workshop – Mentoring Program at the Cluster of Excellence “Precision Medicine in Chronic Inflammation” (PMI) – KIEL University

This workshop guides mentees through the process of building high-quality connections with one another, introduces them to the contents and processes of the mentoring program, supports them in determining their current situations and defining their goals. The second part will focus on the matching process of finding a mentor, and on the communication in mentoring tandems and peer group counseling.

Feb 2024

Informal Kick-Off – International Female Scholars Mentoring, University of COLOGNE

This informal event brings all new international mentees of the IFS Mentoring in 2024  together for the first time and accompanies them through the first steps of community building on their one-year journey of career planning and personal development at the University of Cologne.

Jan 2024

Information event – Mentoring Program at the Cluster of Excellence “Precision Medicine in Chronic Inflammation” (PMI) – KIEL University

This event introduces interested applicants (PhDs, postdocs und clinician scientists) to the mentoring program at the Cluster in 2024. The goal is to address as many potential applicants as possible and help them navigate through the application phase.

Dec 2023

Closing Event at Univ. Cologne – IFS Mentoring

I will be accompanying the international female scholars in their completion of the mentoring year with the IFS Mentoring Program, reflecting on their goals, achievements and wishes for further steps in their careers.

Nov 5th, 2023

I have become a facilitator, coach and ambassador of Applied Compassion, certified by CCARE, School of Medicine, at Stanford!!!

Applied Compassion Training (ACT) offered by the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford University is an experiential and highly-interactive 11-month training that focuses on applying mindfulness and compassion in occupations, professions, communities and institutions, as well as to our personal development. Alongside the immersive retreats, teaching and practice modules organized within a collaborative learning community, as well as 1:1 mentoring and coaching, this training includes an ACT Capstone Project that applies compassion- and mindfulness-based practices within a public-facing context. With my background as a scientist, mentoring manager, coach and facilitator for process and communication across cultures, I have developed a number of training and coaching concepts that can be adjusted and offered to different target audiences in academia and beyond. If you have interest in my offer in mindful and compassionate mentoring, coaching as well as communication across cultures, please feel free to contact me, I would be happy to share my capstone project as well as the offer of my training and coaching with you.

Nov 2023

GenderForum on Intersectional Gender Equality at the University of Cologne

On 27th November 2023 I am going to be part of the GenderForum on “Intersectional Gender Equality” at the University of Cologne. Together with other guests – the keynote speaker Gabi Rosenstreich from Berlin, Liane Bächler and Silke Hackenesch, as well as Susanne Groth from Cologne – I will share my experience from the project “International Female Scholars Mentoring” that I have been managing and co-developing since 2016.

Nov 2023

Team building for a multicultural, international researcher team at Cologne Excellence Cluster Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases

This workshop brings all team members together, supports them in creating high-quality connections, and being more aware of the diversity aspects at the workplace (being it intercultural, work-culture or personality related).  Discovering the strengths in these aspects and how to integrate them skillfully in team collaboration in order to achieve the shared goals and vision also belong to the focus of this training. Here you can find the evaluation of the workshop (download).

Oct 2023

Workshop Self-presentation – TandemBRIDGE Mentoring, Aachen University

This workshop supports master and Phd students in their transition phases to the next academic/career levels, strengthens them in building high-quality connections, being more aware of their inner and outer resources, and ultimately achieving the balance between authentic and situational/context-related self-presentation.

Aug-Sep 2023

Summer break

From August to September I’ll be having a Summer break and I’m back in October 🙂

Jul 2023

Mid-term Exchange Workshop at Univ. Cologne – IFS Mentoring

This workshop supports the international female scholars in the IFS Mentoring in their reflection on the mentoring year so far and in their preparation of the next concrete steps toward the end of the year.

Jun 2023

Sendung mit der Maus – WDR

In the “Sendung mit der Maus” on June 4, 2023, I announced alongside with Annette Frier the opening in Vietnamese language, bringing the sound of another language of the world to the audience. The show was aired at 09:30 a.m. on ERSTEN and at 11:30 a.m. on Kinderkanal. It was always a wonderful experience to support the Maus in this way 🙂

May 2023

SIETAR FORUM 2023 – Megatrends, neue Welten, neue Menschen, neue Gesellschaft – Erkenntnisse, Implikationen und Methoden in Bezug auf unsere interkulturelle Praxis

I am grateful for this opportunity to have joined the SIETAR Deutschland Forum 2023 in Villingen-Schwenning from May 18-21, to be part of the community, to have enriching exchanges with amazing colleagues and friends, to share different points of view, and to learn from one another. 

May 2023

Mentoring and Guidance – Workshop for postdocs at Cologne Excellence Cluster Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases

I facilitated the workshop “Mentoring and Guidance” for postdocs (incl. lab managers and young PIs) with mentoring and supervising tasks, supporting them in the reflection on their roles, and strengthening them in their skills of giving advice and guiding team members. Here you can find the evaluation of the workshop and a testimonial from a participant.

Apr 2023

Mentor Workshop at Univ. Aachen – Mentoring

I facilitated a short introductory workshop for mentors across different mentoring programs at the RWTH Aachen, introducing them to the concept of mentoring in academia, and supporting them in further developing as well as deepening their (mindful) mentoring skills. This workshop was part of the 20-year-anniversary program of the university in the area of mentoring.

Mar 2023

Peer Coaching Workshop at Univ. Cologne – IFS Mentoring

I facilitated the in-person Peer Coaching workshop in the mentoring program for international female scholars, Univ. Cologne, introducing them to some peer coaching tools along with demos and practice using real coaching cases.

Mar 2023

Final Event at Univ. Hamburg – Mentoring

I facilitated the Final Event in the mentoring program for both German-speaking and international postdoc mentees at the Faculty of Humanities of the Univ. Hamburg, closing the mentoring year that started in April 2022.

Feb 2023

Kick-Off Workshop at Univ. Cologne – IFS Mentoring

I facilitated the Kick-Off workshop for the International Female Scholars Mentoring Program (Univ. Cologne), welcoming 12 international scientists from 9 countries in the world and introducing as well as preparing them for their journey of career planning and personal development.

Jan 2023

Publication by the Dept. International Marketing – Federal ministery of education and research &  German Academic Exchange

I was interviewed by Research in Germany (together with three colleagues from the Max-Planck Society and the Univ. of Münster) on the topic of how to successfully attract and retain young international female scientists.

Dec 2022

Publication – Univ. Cologne (University Magazine)

My short article on the milestones of the International Female Scholars Mentoring Program (Univ. Cologne) on the occasion of its 10th anniversary (2012-2022) has been out. This is the program I have been coordinating and facilitating since 2016.

Nov 2022

Mid-Term Workshop at Univ. Hamburg – Mentoring

I accompanied the postdoc mentees (mentoring program at the Faculty of Humanities) in their mid-term workshop, reflecting on the last mentoring months and taking a future look at the processes toward the end of the program.

Oct 2022

Communication in Heterogeneous/Multi-cultural Teams – Workshop at Univ. Aachen

I gave this workshop for group leaders and postdocs in the TandemPLUS Mentoring, raising awareness about the
potentials as well as pitfalls in working and communicating in heterogeneous teams, and accompanying the target group through the process of understanding the nature of
interconnectedness in intercultural communication. Above is the feedback of the participants after the workshop.

Sep 2022

Invited Talk at Univ. Cologne – Albertus-Magnus Center

I joined the In-Person-Summer Reception at the Albertus-Magnus-Center as one of the invited guests, and shared with doctoral candidates and postdocs my career path as a mentoring manager as well as a coach for (international) scientists in their career transitions.

Aug 2022

Research In Germany Newsletter – Federal ministery of education and research, German Academic Exchange

I was invited to make a contribution in the Newsletter of Research in Germany to one of the topics reported on therein “how Germany promotes female researchers”. Here I talked about the International Female Scholars Mentoring at the Univ. Cologne as one of many successful support programs with which Germany aims to increase the proportion of women in the country’s scientific landscape.

Jun 2022

Talk at Univ. Cologne – Career Service & Female Career Program

I was invited to give a talk on Career Planning from a Cross-cultural Perspective and addressed the questions: What does it mean to study, do a doctorate and conduct research at German universities as an international scholar? What are the experiences of these target groups in relation to their German-speaking fellow scholars and colleagues? What support measures are available to them at universities?

Jun 2022

Peer Coaching Workshop at Univ. Hamburg – Mentoring

I faciliated the Peer Coaching workshop in the mentoring program for postdocs at the Faculty of Humanities, Univ. Hamburg, introducing them to some peer coaching tools with practice using real coaching cases.

May 2022

Communication and Collaboration in International Scientific Research Groups – Workshop at the Ocean Science Center, Helmholtz Association

I facilitated a two-day training for both junior and senior researchers, focusing on cross-cultural communication, (mindful) consulting/mentorship and collaboration in multi-cultural teams.

May 2022

Mentor Workshop at Univ. Hamburg – Mentoring

I faciliated a short introductory workshop for mentors in the mentoring program for postdocs at the Faculty of Humanities of the Univ. Hamburg.

Apr 2022

Kick-Off Workshop at Univ. Hamburg – Mentoring

I faciliated the Kick-Off workshop for the mentoring program for postdocs at the Faculty of Humanities of the Univ. Hamburg.

Mar 2022

Collaboration with SiviHamburg – Support for Vietnamese Students in Time Management

I gave a group coaching session on time management for the Vietnamese Students studying in Hamburg, some of the results of this coaching have been creatively intergrated by them in the short video above.

Mar 2022

Peer Coaching Workshop at Univ. Cologne – MINT Mentoring

I faciliated this workshop for doctoral candidates from Germany in STEM fields introducing them to some peer coaching tools with practice using real coaching cases.

Feb 2022

Kick-Off Workshop at Univ. Cologne – IFS Mentoring

I gave the Kick-Off workshop for the International Female Scholars Mentoring Program (Univ. Cologne), welcoming 12 international scientists from 9 countries in world and introducing as well as preparing them for their journey of career planning and personal development.

Jan 2022

Kick-Off Workshop at Univ. Cologne – MINT Mentoring

I facilitated the Kick-Off workshop for the MINT
Mentoring Program (Univ. Cologne), welcoming 8 doctoral candidates from Germany in STEM fields and introducing as well as preparing them for their journey of career planning and personal development.