Career Mentoring for STEM Doctoral Candidates

Many doctoral candidates face the question of how to pursue a career outside academia after the completion of their doctorate. The programme “Career Mentoring for STEM Doctoral Candidates” prepares twelve to fourteen doctoral candidates for a successful career in industry and society. It provides them with better access to career-relevant networks and helps them to develop and expand their competences for the non-academic job market.

The programme offers a combination of three components: mentoring, networking and training. The core of the programme is the mentoring component. The mentees will meet in groups of four to five people, so-called peer mentoring, to exchange ideas on career-related topics and support each other in regular, structured meetings. In addition, in pairs, mentees will be assisted by experienced managers or executives from various fields of work in industry and society. The mentors will pass on their knowledge of structures, strategies and rules in fields outside academia. Networking events and four workshops complete the programme.

You can find more information at: https://www.uni-jena.de/en/career-mentoring

Who can apply?

The programme is aimed at doctoral candidates from the STEM subjects at Friedrich Schiller University Jena, who want to pursue a career outside academia after their doctoral projects and who are in the final phase of their PhD.

Support

The doctoral candidates (mentees) accepted into the programme take part in the project modules: mentoring support by the peer group and supervision by mentors, participation in networking events and target group-specific workshops. Up to 14 doctoral candidates are accepted into the programme.

The programme lasts 12 months and is conducted in English. It starts with a preparatory workshop on 16 January 2026 and ends in December 2026.

What are the selection criteria?

The Graduate Academy will select the mentees. The mentees are selected based on the following criteria:

• Motivation for the aspired career in industry and society
• Expectations conform with the topics addressed by the mentoring programme
• The applicant shows initiative and commitment to every component of the programme
• The participation in all programme components is achievable
• The programme matches with the applicant´s career stage

The application documents can be submitted in German or English in the application portal. The application deadline is 24 November 2025.