Careers plus
Postdocs, permanent academic staff and research managers at the University of Bonn can profit from the wide range of training provided within the scope of our Careers plus program. Develop your generic management skills and creativity and learn to convince a range of audiences at a number of formats. Take advantage of a large number of workshops, webcasts, e-learning and coaching provision to develop your professional profile and equip yourself to meet future challenges.
Designed and run by experts, our courses help you develop and tailor your professional profile to the needs of employers in both a university and non-university context. See all courses in one of the three following Career Tracks:
Content
Our training and coaching provision covers generic skills in the areas of:
- Management & health
- Research & research funding
- Research communication and presentation
- Project management & new work
- Diversity and international cooperation
- Legal issues in university management
- Guidance & career planning
One program - three career tracks - three certificates
Whether you choose the research track, the research management track or the business & organizations track, Careers plus imparts the academic and interdisciplinary skills requisite to success in a range of university and non-university employment contexts.
If you need to move quickly to up-skill in specific areas, the Careers plus program could be for you. As an open source continual professional development program, applicants can compile a bespoke qualification profile pertinent to their needs.
Those requiring more extensive continual professional development can study for a certificate qualification awarded within one of three career tracks. Simply select from the various modules provided under the aegis of Careers plus to meet your individual needs; completion of the requisite amount of study leads to the award of a certificate qualification.
Research Track
Target group | Postdocs
Are you planning a research career at a university or research organization? Then you would be well-advised to augment your academic portfolio with leadership, management and communication skills.
Take part in single components of the Careers plus program or extend your skills with the
Certificate
Leadership and Management in Academia
(min. 60 units):
- Leadership module (min. 16 units)
- Management module (min. 16 units)
- Communication module (min. 8 units)
- Research and teaching module (min. 8 units)
- Career planning module (min. 4 units)
Theory-practice transfer - Three-page written abstract/reflection on your leadership concept (8 units)
+ Initial consultation with a representative from the academic career development
Research Management Track
Target group | Postdocs, research managers, permanent academic staff
Are you working in an exciting and growing professional field at the interface of research and administration or do you aspire to do so in the future?
If so, why not expand your personal portfolio by completion of the research management track.
Take part in single components of the Careers plus program or extend your skills with the
Certificate
Professional Research Management
(min. 60 units):
- Management Module (min. 16 units)
- University System Module (min. 16 units)
- Communication Module (min. 8 units)
- Leadership Module (min. 8 units)
- Career Planning Module (min. 4 units)
- Theory-Practice-Transfer:
Three-page written abstract (8 units)
+ Initial consultation with a representative from the Academic Career Development team.
Business & Organizations Track
Target group | Postdocs
Are you considering a career outside academia? Acquire the relevant additional qualifications in the business and organizations track and reflect on the transferable skills that make you attractive to employers in industry, business, ministries and NGOs or vital to working in a start-up or the context of self-employment.
Take part in single components of the Careers plus program or extend your skills with the
PE NRW-Certificate
"Skills for Careers in Business and Society"* (min. 80 units):
- Leadership module (mind. 8 units)
- Management module (mind. 8 units)
- Communication module (mind. 8 units)
- Methods module (mind. 8 units)
- Career planning module (min. 4 units)
- Courses freely-selectable within the 5 modules (min. 44 units)
+ Initial consultation and closing reflection within the scope of consultation with a representative from the human resource development – research staff team
* This focus is provided in all cooperating universities in NRW. Find out more here.
Requirements
A work unit involves 45 minutes of teaching. Units are awarded as follows:
- Half-day course: 4 units
- One-day course 8 units
- Two-day course 16 units
The number of units awarded for each course is stated in the individual course descriptions.
The certificates are issued by the Academic Career Development in cooperation with the Bonn Graduate Center, the Bonn Center for Higher Education, Bonn University and State Library, the International Office, enaCom and the Gender Equality Office.
Registration for the Certificates
If you are interested, please send an email to the respective contact person below in which you briefly introduce yourself, outline your current professional situation and academic history and state your motivation for participating in the certificate program. We will contact you to arrange a consultation. This step does not commit you to participation.
Contact
Petra Best
Dr. Wiebke Deimann
FAQs
The courses are open to all current employees of and visiting scientists to the University of Bonn as well as members of the clusters and collaborative research centers affiliated to the University of Bonn. The specific target groups are indicated in the descriptions of the tracks and in each announcement.
Employees of universities cooperating within the "PE NRW Skills for Careers in Business and Society" certificate program can take courses from the business and organizations track, capacity permitting. These courses are marked with a star in the course catalog.
Participation is free-of-charge for eligible persons.
Participation in all the workshops, seminars, lectures, webcasts and coaching and e-learning provision provided within the scope of the Postdoc plus program counts towards the certificates. The number of units awarded for participation in each event or course and the track under which they can be credited are stipulated in advance. Participants must have attended at least 80% of the course in order to receive the respective certificate of attendance.
Up to 8 units can be awarded for participation in courses with a similar content but not provided within the scope of Postdoc plus and organized by other university and non-university bodies (e.g. Bonn Graduate Center, Bonn Forum for Biomedicine, Bonn University and State Library or the International Office, Gender Equality Office and Bonn Center for Higher Education).
Participation in a single workshop cannot be credited for two different certificates, e.g. for both “Leadership and Management in Academia” and “Professional Research Management”.
Participants completing a workshop, course or event will be issued with proof of participation. Simply submit all your proofs of participation in the individual courses to receive a certificate.
The certificates can be awarded at any time during employment as a postdoc or University employee and are not subject to any time-based restriction. Acquisition of the certificate is limited only by the capacity restrictions for the individual courses run within the scope of the Postdoc plus program; we therefore advise that you set aside sufficient time (more than a year) to complete the certificate.
Participants in the course receive support within the following areas:
- Skills development | Acquisition of key skills in the specialist modules
- Self-reflection and self-marketing | Preparation, realization and presentation of the participant's profile and skills portfolio
- Career orientation and support | Formulation of career goals and options, systematic career planning and preparation for professorial appointment processes and other application procedures
- Transferable skills | Realization and definition of skills and their transferability to other fields within the Qualification for Professional Fields in Business and Society certificate.
The program reproduces the structure of the "Skills for Careers in Business and Society" certificate provided by the Personnel Development Network of Universities in NRW (PE NRW) in the establishment of which the University of Bonn Academic Career Development was active and the University of Bonn participates.