On 10 December 2025, LMU will once again host its postdoc career day. Under the motto "#EXCELLerate and connect!", the event focuses on career opportunities and individual pathways for postdocs – both within and beyond academia. Take advantage of the opportunity to meet experts, to expand your professional networks, and explore new perspectives for your professional future!
Look forward to an exciting program: In interactive workshops, presentations, and lectures and individual consultations, you will gain valuable information on funding opportunities and insights into various career prospects. Experienced coaches, representatives from funding organizations, and former postdocs will share their knowledge and experiences, offering practical advice for your next steps.
The event will also offer you plenty of opportunities to connect with other postdocs and with the Postdoc Services of LMU.
Date: 10 December 2025
Time: 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Location: Biomedical Center (BMC), Großhaderner Str. 9, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried
Target group: postdocs
Agenda: event schedule (PDF, 470 KB)
Save the date! Registration for the event opens on 15 October 2025.
Further details will be available here in due time.
Explore the LMU Postdoc Day 2025 program – ready for you to download now (PDF, 470 KB)!
CAREER SERVICE SUPPORT @LMU
Transitioning from academia to industry can be a daunting process, but it also presents exciting opportunities for growth and development. Our career events & services aim to demystify this transition and provide you with the resources and support needed to make a successful career change. Whether you are exploring industry options for the first time or actively seeking new opportunities in other fields, this keynote will offer valuable insights and practical advice to help you achieve your career goals or to identify your goals themselves. After my short keynote about LMU’s Career Services I’d love to discuss in detail your opportunities and how we can be of support.
Time: 2 p.m.
Room: Room N02.011
About the trainer: Dr. Stephan Pflaum has been working at LMU's Career Service since 2012. Previously, he worked in human resources management at various companies. At LMU, he advises students, doctoral candidates and graduates on all career issues.
MASTERING THE CHALLENGE OF "FAMILY AND SCIENCE"
The course "Career WITH a child! Mastering the challenge of 'family and science'" focuses on the compatibility of family and scientific career as well as personal development. The course aims to enable participants to strike a balance between professional ambitions and family commitments. It offers insights into the theoretical perspectives on reconciliation at various levels and focuses on developing individual strategies for overcoming everyday challenges.Participants are encouraged to critically reflect on their current roles and responsibilities, clarify their values and goals and develop an action plan that enables them to deal with stress in a more relaxed and resilient way. The course also covers the importance of self-care and activating personal resources to promote better mental health.
Time: 9:30 a.m.
Room: Room N02.011
About the trainer: Dr. Sashima Läbe is a first-generation trainer, coach and scientist. After completing her Ph.D. and postdoctoral studies in geosciences at the University of Bonn, she has been working at TwentyOne Skills GmbH as an expert in mental health and gender & diversity issues in science and teaching. She understands the challenges of academic work from her own experience and knows how important it is to keep an eye on yourself. She is a mother of three and lives in Bonn.
SUPPORT AND ORIENTATION FOR YOUNG ACADEMICS OF THE FIRST GENERATION
This course is specifically aimed at first-generation early career researchers who are the first in their family to embark on an academic career. It offers valuable support and guidance by addressing the specific challenges and opportunities of this group. Participants gain insights into the social image of academics, reflect on how they see themselves and how others see them and learn how to deal with the reactions of their social environment.Participants in this course will not only be able to reflect on their own academic career, but also actively shape it. They will learn how to overcome challenges as first-time academics and how to bring their unique perspectives to academia as a strength.
Time: 3 p.m.
Room: Room N02.016
About the trainer: Dr. Sashima Läbe is a first-generation trainer, coach and scientist. After completing her Ph.D. and postdoctoral studies in geosciences at the University of Bonn, she has been working at TwentyOne Skills GmbH as an expert in mental health and gender & diversity issues in science and teaching. She understands the challenges of academic work from her own experience and knows how important it is to keep an eye on yourself. She is a mother of three and lives in Bonn.
ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HOW TO START YOUR OWN COMPANY
Being an entrepreneur is much more than doing business. It means understanding a problem, finding a solution, recognizing an opportunity for change and building an organization, that is able to bring the solution into realization. In this workshop, we provide a rough overview on basics of how to start: basics are team, IP, time and money (grants) & advantageous attitude of founders. Also, we introduce you to the support of the LMU Spin-off Service and the support of the LMU Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center. Plus, we will present an inspiring LMU-example of an entrepreneur, who brought science into business and we will talk about entrepreneurship as a tool to bring research into application & science into action. Furthermore, BioM which supports Bavarian biotech companies will present their services including the MAxL, the Co-Creation-Start-Up-Incubator for Medicine and Life Sciences in Martinsried.
Time: 9:30 a.m.
Room: Room N02.016
About the trainers: Elisabeth Harbich (Project Management Start-up Support) joined BioM as a project manager in Start-up Support in 2025. She is involved in the finding of new trends and innovations and organization of the BioM mentor network as well as the organization of boot camps and pitching events. Elisabeth studied bioengineering at the Munich University of Applied Sciences and biochemistry at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. Later she joined Micromet AG in Munich as a research assistant in process development.
Andrea Socher (Spin-Off Service LMU) studied Business Administration at the LMU and Digital Technology Management at CDTM. She founded a consumer product company and worked for 5 years in the M&A consulting & business development area for different companies. Since 2020, she has been working as a StartUp Consultant at TH Rosenheim before joining the LMU Spin-off Service in 2024.
WHAT TO BRING AND WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT RECRUITMENT PROCEDURES
How does a recruitment committee for a professorship work in Germany, Austria or Switzerland?
When am I ready to apply for different types of professorships?
What are the most relevant documents I have to prepare for my written application?
These are the central questions the workshop answers. In addition, you get some ideas for writing your cover letter and research statement.
Time: 9:30 a.m.
Room: Room N02.017
About the trainer: Dr. Matthias Schwarzkopf is a coach and trainer for scientists. He is cofounder of karriereberatung-akademiker.de. Before that, he was responsible for accompanying the process of appointing professors (Berufungsverfahren) at Friedrich-Schiller University Jena for several years.
BUILD YOUR PROFESSIONAL NETWORK AND GET CAREER-WISE!
It can be hard to fit in time for career planning alongside your research but it is definitely worth starting before you actually “need” to apply. For researchers looking to switch out of academia in particular, the entry routes into the non-academic job market are not always transparent, it might not be clear what you really want to do or what you can do. But there are lots of micro-steps you can take to get yourself launched on this pathway. One such step is conducting “informational interviews” – a non-transactional and low-risk way to gather information, identify organisations or roles that fit you and your profile and test out ideas (… or hopes or dreams even!), all while expanding your network at the same time.
In this event, you’ll learn strategies for identifying who to talk to, how to approach people, what to ask, as well as pitfalls to avoid. You will be supported to start to act right away and empowered to reach out and connect with relevant stakeholders in the job market. The interactive lunch-break which follows gives you an immediate testing ground and lets you get “hands-on” right away!
Time: 9 a.m.
Room: Room N02.015
About the trainer: Philippa Cook is a careers advisor, trainer and coach who is an expert on the situation of international researchers in Germany. She worked in academia in Germany for many years and has an international background herself. A particular focus of her work is supporting academics who are looking to transition to Germany's non-academic sector.
A PEER-TO-PEER GUIDED TOUR THROUGH THE DIMENSIONS OF ACADEMIC CAREERS
Academic careers involve tough choices, a constant balancing act between competing expectations and the ongoing challenge of finding your own path within a complex environment.
This interactive workshop offers you space to step back and reflect. In a guided tour through key areas of academic life, you’ll explore your current challenges, recognize your resources, and discover how others manage similar crossroads.
The route is shaped by your interests. Your peers are your guides – offering insights, support, and new perspectives from their own experience.
Expect open conversations, new impulses, and ideas worth exploring further.
Time: 2:30 p.m.
Room: N02.015
About the trainers: Dr. Barbara Riesche has been working in research management and funding since 2007. After five years at the German Research Foundation (DFG), she established the national research funding team at LMU Munich, which provides information, advice, support, and training on German funding programmes. She also offers career consulting for postdoctoral researchers at LMU through both individual sessions and group formats.
Dr. Anna Pahl is a research manager in LMU’s team for national research funding programs. She is involved in information, advice, support, and training on national research funding programmes with a focus on LMU’s Faculties of Physics and Biology. She also offers career consulting for postdoctoral researchers at LMU through both individual sessions and group formats. She has been working in research management and funding since 2014.
A job in science management is one of the top career tracks for young PhD’s and Postdocs. But how do the responsibilities of a science manager really look like? What makes this field an attractive career choice? And what should be considered before taking the decision to enter science management as a professional? This talk gives an insight into an interesting career opportunity within the German academic system in a condensed manner.
Time: 1 p.m.
Room: Room N02.017
About the trainer: Dr. Oliver Grewe works as a program manager at the Volkswagen Foundation, one of Germany’s leading private funders of research and technology. He holds a Ph.D. in neurosciences and began his career in science management after his first postdoc. His started off in 2008 as a program manager of the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes. Two years later he enrolled in the Scientific Commission of Lower Saxony to organize evaluation processes at universities, before he took his current job in 2011. Since 2015 he’s additionally self-employed as a trainer and coach, offering workshops at various universities in Germany. In January 2020 he published the book “Wissenschaftsmanagement als Beruf – Strategien für den Einstieg“ together with Dr. Mirjam Müller.
This workshop offers early career researchers an introduction to the most relevant funding opportunities provided by the German Research Foundation (DFG). Dr. Katja Fettelschoß, our guest speaker from the DFG head office, will present an overview of key funding programmes tailored to the early stages of an academic career. The session will also cover the DFG’s review process and provide insights into the essential components and requirements of a successful DFG proposal. Following the presentation, participants will have the opportunity to engage in a Q&A session and address their individual questions directly to the speaker.
Time: 2:30 p.m.
Room: Kleiner Hörsaal
About the trainer: Dr. Katja Fettelschoß has been working at the German Research Foundation (DFG) since 2008 in the group for Research Training Groups and Research Careers. She began as a program officer for early career support and now serves as head of the team for International Research Training Groups and deputy head of the group. A political scientist by training, she earned her doctorate with academic stays in Düsseldorf, Lüneburg, Naples, and London.
MSCA POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS & ERC STARTING GRANTS
Are you a PhD or Postdoc researcher interested in EU funding? In this workshop you will learn about EU research funding opportunities for individual researches. The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships equip postdoctoral researchers with complementary professional skills for their future careers through the implementation of a personalised research project. The ERC Starting Grants fund talented early-career scientists who are 2 - 7 years after the PhD for a duration of up to five years.
Time: 10 a.m.
Room: Kleiner Hörsaal
About the trainers: Dr. Mila Borri obtained her MSc in Medical Biotechnologies at the University of Padua, Italy, and then moved to Belgium for her PhD. Here she joined the lab of Angiogenesis and Vascular Metabolism at VIB/KU Leuven under the supervision of Prof. Peter Carmeliet. Since March 2024, she is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the lab of Prof. Dominik Paquet at ISD, Munich. Her current project focuses on studying the role of vasculature in neurodegeneration using iPSC-derived 3D models of human brain tissue.
Prof. Aaron Bufe joined the Faculty of Geosciences of the LMU as a professor for sedimentology in 2023. His research focuses on the physical and chemical processes that control the evolution of landscapes, the transport of sediments, and the global fluxes of nutrients and carbon. Following his studies at the University of Cambridge and the University of California, Santa Barbara, he worked for six years at the Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences before moving to Munich.
As part of LMU’s Postdoc Career Day, join us for the Postdoc Career Day Fair — a unique opportunity to explore the wide range of career support services available at LMU and across the greater Munich area.
During a two-hour lunchtime session, postdocs are invited to connect with representatives from key service units and networks, including:
Whether you're exploring funding options, planning your next career move, or seeking skill-building opportunities, the fair is your gateway to LMU’s resources and to connecting with peers and partners in the broader research community.
Come connect, explore, and take the next step in your postdoc journey!
Have you ever wished you could sit down for a candid conversation with someone who’s already walked the path you're considering?
At the Postdoc Career Day Fair, we’re making that wish come true with our Living Library — a unique networking experience where you “check out” people instead of books.
Our “living books” are early-career professionals who have successfully transitioned from postdoctoral research into a wide range of exciting roles — including academic positions, industry, entrepreneurship, NGOs, research and science management, cultural institutions, and beyond. In small, informal sessions, they’ll share their personal career stories, insights, and lessons learned — giving you an authentic glimpse into the diverse possibilities that lie ahead.
Whether you’re exploring alternative career paths or simply looking for new inspiration, the Living Library offers a relaxed, open space to ask questions, discover new directions, and connect with people who have recently faced similar choices.
Networking fair and living library are open to interested postdocs from all research institutions.
Fair times: 12 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Location: Foyer
Connect quickly and easily with LMU’s research funding advisors during our Speeddating session.
In brief consultations, you’ll receive answers to your questions, tips, and guidance on the next steps of your application process.
Take this opportunity to move your research career forward!
Speeddating sessions: 12 p.m. - 2 p.m.
Locations: Room 2.013 & Room 2.014
