Young Researchers Day

Young Researchers Day 2026

Workshop und Networking Day | October 6, 2026, in Eichstätt

A Career in Academia – Actively Shaping Your Own Career Portfolio

When you embark on your PhD, you are – more or less consciously – taking your first steps into a career in academia, which can lead to a professorship. You gain an increasingly detailed understanding of day-to-day life in academia – encompassing research, teaching, knowledge transfer and committee work – and gradually build up an academic portfolio that you use at a later stage to apply for further positions, whether within the academic system or in other contexts.

The further you progress in your career development, the more varied the roles you fulfil in your day-to-day work become, whether as a researcher, lecturer, committee member, project manager or communicator. You will also increasingly take on responsibility for others. You learn many things ‘on the job’, often without having the time to consciously reflect on and actively shape these development processes.

We would like to support you in approaching your next career steps with a clear understanding of your roles and competencies, and in consciously setting priorities in your day-to-day work in line with your individual career goals. Even though not all PhD graduates remain in academia, the career goal of a professorship is an ideal starting point, as the full academic portfolio is assessed during appointment procedures. This will also help you prepare for other selection processes (scholarships, postdoc positions, permanent posts in mid-level academic staff).

Make the most of Young Researchers Day 2026 to explore the following questions, amongst others, together with your colleagues:

What does an academic portfolio look like?
What skills underlie the individual components?
How do you gradually build up and develop these skills?
Which skills do you develop during your PhD?
Which elements of the portfolio are particularly important in the early and late postdoc phases?
What do appointment and selection committees look for?
Which aspects are also relevant for non-academic career paths?

Agenda

From 9:30 | Arrival

10:00 – 10:30 | Welcome by the Vice-President for Research & Warm-up

10:30 – 11:30 | The academic career portfolio

11:30 – 11:45 | Coffee break

11:45 – 12:45 | Competency models for researchers

12:45 – 13:45 | Lunch break, lunch together in the Mensa

13:45 – 15:15 | Diversity of roles in the academic system

15:15 – 15:30 | Coffee break

15:30 – 16:00 | Feedback, Q&A & closing remarks

(The sessions will be offered in English on demand. Please indicate your interest upon arrival.)

Ort

The event is expected to take place at KGA on the Eichstätt campus. Changes may occur due to ongoing construction works. We will let you know as soon as possible!