10 years of Leibniz Mentoring: a reason to celebrate!

On 18 April 2024, Leibniz Mentoring celebrated its tenth anniversary with a big party. Over a hundred guests came together to celebrate the programme's successes and to look to the future. Among the guests were numerous mentees and alumnae from all cohorts, current and former mentors, Leibniz Mentoring trainers, current and former members of the selection committee and numerous heads of Leibniz institutes.

After a World Café that encouraged the guests to engage in an initial discussion about Leibniz Mentoring, Prof. Matthias Beller, Vice President of the Leibniz Association, welcomed the keynote speaker, Prof. Cornelia Woll, President of the Hertie School. In her lecture on "Women in science – expectations versus reality", Prof. Woll used impressive examples to illustrate how important programmes such as Leibniz Mentoring are for the future of equality in academia.

Following the successful lecture, Dr Alexandra Schweiger, head of the mentoring programme, cut a birthday cake. The bonding experiences from participating in the programme, the joy of seeing each other again and the many shared topics led to a cheerful atmosphere that facilitated lively exchanges and many new contacts.

The results of the future workshop were another topic of discussion. Over the course of the day, 13 former mentors and alumnae had developed their ideas of an ideal academic system. The results were presented again for discussion and developed further during the World Café.

In conclusion, we can look back on a successful evening of reunions and first encounters. It was impressive to see how important Leibniz Mentoring is for everyone involved and what added value it has for the Leibniz Association. We look forward to the next 10 years!