ACADEMIC FUTURES
Training Programmes and Workshops
In-house formats for graduate schools, fellowship programmes, research offices and staff development.
Research Leadership
Three Complementary Focus Areas
Research Leadership, Research Funding and Research Careers
Academic Futures training programmes and workshops support researchers in addressing key questions in their professional development – from career orientation and research funding to leading research groups and supervising doctoral researchers.
Six Core Training Programmes form the centre of the portfolio: two programmes each in Research Leadership, Research Funding and Research Careers. They are designed for different developmental needs, levels of experience and current or emerging responsibilities and can be adapted to the participant group and institutional context where appropriate.
The portfolio is complemented by selected specialist training formats and individual consultation services – for example in doctoral supervision and supervisory relationships, research project management, and the higher education and research system.
Building Your Own Research Group and Supervising Doctoral Researchers
RL1 | Two-Day Blended Training Programme
Building and Managing Your Research Group
Target Group
Early-stage group leaders and researchers with current or imminent leadership responsibility for a research group or team.
Main Topics
•Transitioning into research leadership
•Direction and structure of a research group
•Roles, delegation and decision-making
•Communication, collaboration and team culture
•Priorities, coordination and group progress
RL2 | Two-Day Blended Training Programme
Supervising Doctoral Researchers
Target Group
Researchers with current or imminent responsibility for supervising doctoral researchers, as well as postdocs with a clearly defined role in a supervisory team.
Main Topics
•Roles and expectations in doctoral supervision
•Quality, feasibility and progress of doctoral projects
•Communication, feedback and adaptive supervision
•Co-supervision and the institutional framework
•Difficult situations and professional boundaries
Which programme is the right choice?
RL1 looks at the research group as a whole – its direction and organisation, the leadership of people and the coordination of projects and priorities. RL2 focuses on professional doctoral supervision and the interplay between research quality, project feasibility, progress and increasing independence.
The two programmes complement each other and can be arranged separately or in combination, depending on participants’ responsibilities.
Research Funding Strategy and Proposal Development
Research Funding
RF1 | One-and-a-Half-Day Blended Training Programme
How to Plan and Write a Competitive Research Grant Proposal
Target Group
Researchers with no or limited experience in developing grant proposals independently, particularly for first fellowship or research grant applications.
Main Topics
•Selecting suitable funding opportunities and strategic fit
•Developing a strong research and project idea
•Project design, feasibility and work planning
•Structure and logic of a convincing grant proposal
•Evaluation criteria and the reviewer perspective
RF2 | One-Day Specialist Workshop
How to Prepare a Competitive Proposal for an ERC Starting or Consolidator Grant
Target Group
Researchers with experience in developing grant proposals and an emerging project idea who want to assess their ERC readiness and possible next steps.
Main Topics
•ERC readiness and fit between project, profile and timing
•Frontier research, ambition and scientific credibility
•Scientific independence and Track Record
•ERC evaluation, panel selection and proposal architecture
•Strategic preparation and next steps
Which programme is the right choice?
RF1 develops foundational competence for preparing competitive grant proposals that is not tied to a single funding scheme. It connects the selection of suitable funding opportunities with project design, evaluation criteria and the convincing presentation of the proposed research. RF2 assumes such a foundation and focuses on ERC-specific readiness: the fit between project, profile and timing and the question of whether and how an ERC Starting or Consolidator Grant represents an appropriate next step.
RF1 can provide a useful foundation for RF2, but prior participation in RF1 is not required.
ERC Consultation Services
For researchers moving forward with a specific ERC Starting, Consolidator or Advanced Grant application, more in-depth individual consultation services can be arranged. These include a Strategic Stage Gate Review, up to two substantive Proposal Reviews, and ERC Step 2 Interview Preparation. These services are provided separately and are not part of the Training Programme.
Career development and positioning in academia
Research Careers
RC1 | Two-Day Blended Training Programme
How to Advance Your Research Career – and Get Funding
Target Group
Advanced doctoral researchers and early-stage postdocs who want to develop their future career in academia or public-sector research strategically.
Main Topics
•Academic positioning and development priorities
•Research strategy and individual research profile
•Research environment and development opportunities
•Funding pathways, programme fit and next funding steps
•Integrating career, research and funding decisions
RC2 | One-Day Workshop
Exploring Your Career Options in the German Research and Innovation System
Target Group
Doctoral researchers and postdocs whose future career direction remains open or who want to reassess their current career orientation.
Main Topics
•Roles, sectors and working environments
•Research competences and transferable skills
•Personal motivations, values and working preferences
•Potential career directions and decision options
•Next steps for further career planning
Which programme is the right choice?
RC2 is designed for researchers whose career direction remains open or needs to be reassessed. It focuses on personal priorities, competences and potential career directions within and beyond research.
RC1 becomes relevant when a continuing career in academia or public-sector research is already being seriously considered and should be developed strategically – with a focus on the individual research profile, research environment and suitable funding pathways.
Course Descriptions and Offers
Request a Course Description. Discuss the Right Format.
If you already know which training programme is relevant for your participant group, we will be happy to send you the corresponding detailed Course Description.
If it is still unclear which programme or programme configuration would best fit your institutional context, we can discuss the most suitable option with you.
Beyond the six Core Training Programmes, Academic Futures offers further specialist formats. These include workshops for doctoral researchers on navigating supervisory relationships as well as joint formats for doctoral researchers and supervisors, training in research project management combining traditional, agile and hybrid approaches, and programmes on the German higher education and research system, particularly for research-management and science-management audiences.