Image: © Tobias Ritz/ ct.qmat

In order to enhance women’s academic career opportunities and increase the proportion of women at all academic career levels, ct.qmat provides financial support to female researchers for participating in mentoring programs, soft skills training, leadership, and coaching courses and workshops:

• BeWISE–Women in Science and Ingineering (2020, 2022, 2024)
• Female physicists meet and greet(2021)
• Women's leadership development: unconscious bias, public speaking, and body language (2022)
• Fireside chats on academic careers, with or without children, during internal annual events

The acquired qualifications may be helpful for a leadership position in academia and for applying for a professorship.

A special activity of ct.qmat to foster gender equity is promoting professional networking opportunities for women through the Grete Hermann Network and its colloquium series.

JMU and TUD offer extensive funding and training opportunities for female early career researchers:

• SCIENTIA career development program at JMU offers mentoring for female doctoral researchers, training for female postdoctoral reserachers, assistant and junior professors, coaching for female assistant and junior professors, and junior research group leaders, as well as interim funding to early career female researchers.
• Various units of TUD also offer funding programs for female early career researchers.

These measures are not actively organized or supported by the Cluster but are still open to employees of both universities and are usually free of charge. However, if any costs are incurred, please contact us for reimbursement.