Mentoring

The mentoring programme is aimed at excellent women early-career researchers at the University of Regensburg:

• Postdoctoral researchers
• Habilitation candidates
• Private lecturers
• Doctoral candidates from the 3rd year of their doctorate.

The programme is cross-faculty and welcomes all those who aspire to a professorship or other leadership position in science, business or the cultural sector.

The mentees actively look for a mentor on their own responsibility after the start workshop.

The following groups of people can join the programme as mentors:

• C3, C4, W2, W3 professors from the University of Regensburg and other universities, including international ones.
• The mentors should be selected as closely as possible to the subject of research by avoiding dependencies between mentees and mentors.
• Managers within or outside academia.

The programme lasts 12 months.

Mentoring.UR is part of the CoMeNT.UR (external link, opens in a new window) personnel development programme, which is made up of the four pillars Coaching - Mentoring - Networking - Training. The kick-off and closing events provide the framework for the start and end of the official programme period. The mentoring tandem, which is accompanied by career coaching in the group, takes centre stage. Further, demand-oriented events complement the programme.

...for mentees

• increased integration and networking in the scientific community,
• Promotion of personal, strategic and professional competences,
• Development of management and leadership skills,
• Reflection on their own role as women early career researchers and focussing on (new) goals,
• Information on career management, work-life balance, structures and processes in the academic system or in areas outside (business, industry, culture, ...).

...for mentors

• Development of personal counselling and leadership skills,
• Gaining contact with possible future female colleagues and their networks,
• Insights into the situation of women early career researchers and their current research topics.

...across the board

• Locational advantage in the competition between universities for the "best minds",
• Encouraging women to continue on the path to a leadership position in science,
• Increasing the proportion of female scientists in management positions.

The mentoring programme is evaluated after each programme period to ensure quality. In addition, those responsible for the programme exchange ideas in regional and nationwide mentoring networks in order to consult with each other, work out new concepts and develop strategies for the continuous improvement of the programmes.

From January 2026 to November 2026, the participants of the 11th cohort of Mentoring.UR will take part in a group career coaching session and an individual coaching session. The coaching will be held in English.

Objective | You will gain clarity about your professional goals and competences in the context of individual life and career planning. The individual potential for your own career is promoted.

Subline |

• Clarity about personal and professional goals
• Utilisation of mentoring and other network relationships for your own development
• Knowledge of your own strengths and development opportunities
• Confident appearance and increased authentic self-confidence

Please refer to the Mentoring.UR 2026 Programme Schedule (dates with "Career Coaching")(external link, opens in a new window) (external link, opens in a new window).

Below you will find a small guide to help you decide whether to take part in the mentoring programme:

Mentoring.UR 2026 guide (opens in a new window). (This PDF is not accessible) (pdf file, 298 KB).

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at any time.

Not every mentoring programme is like the other - and every previous season of the Regensburg Mentoring Programme has been different. Nevertheless, it can be helpful to talk to female academics who have already taken part in the programme. You can find an overview of the previous mentees and their mentors (external link, opens in a new window) on our homepage (simply click on the respective season). Just get in touch and ask!

For each programme cycle, there is a call for applications and an application deadline by which you can apply in writing for admission to the programme. Places are allocated on a competitive basis. It is essential that you reflect well on your motivation for participating in the programme and your future career plans before applying and express this in your application.

If you are interested in a new call for applications for the programme and also in other offers and dates relating to equal opportunities and equality at the University of Regensburg, then simply subscribe to our newsletter "UR.Chancengleichheit". Then you will always be kept up to date. Contact: chancengleichheit​(at)​ur.de (opens your email program)

The key advantage of participating in our mentoring programme is that you as a mentee can determine the direction yourself. You actively choose a mentor and do not have to wait to be selected. The formalised framework of the programme makes it easier for you to make contact with a person who will act as a role model for you in your career and professional and perhaps also personal development.

The basic idea of mentoring is simple: an experienced person accompanies and supports a person who is willing to learn in their professional and personal development within an institutional framework, but independent of the hierarchy.

The CoMeNT.UR (external link, opens in a new window) umbrella programme also offers coaching (external link, opens in a new window), training (external link, opens in a new window) and networking events (external link, opens in a new window) specially tailored to the target group.

The chemistry has to be right: The right mix of people involved is the linchpin for a successful relationship between the mentee and their mentor.

But what makes a good mentor? Each mentee must answer this question for themselves, depending on the wishes and expectations they bring to the programme. There is no doubt, however, that the mentor should respond to the mentee's wishes and doubts.

The mentee should show appreciation towards the mentor by preparing the meetings well, formulating questions themselves and thus showing their commitment - after all, it is about the mentee's project. The mentor will then endeavour to support committed Women Early Career Researchers in the best possible way.

In the seminars and workshops of the supporting programme, soft skills and special knowledge required in the scientific community are taught. Unlike other programmes, the events take place regularly and in a fixed group, so that the mentees can get to know each other better and better and a familiar atmosphere is created.

At the end of the mentoring programme, the mentees can look back on their own small "competence cluster". In order to continuously expand this network, informal, topic-oriented networking meetings are held during the programme.

The Mentoring.UR programme is offered in English since 2025. The events of the supporting programme will also be held in English. Events from the CoMeNT.UR training and networking modules will continue to be held mostly in German. For the language, please check the details of each event.

Summer 2025

Call for applications

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October 1, 2025

Closing date for applications

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October 2025

Selection process

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by end of october 2025

Written confirmation to the mentees

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12-01-2025, 5 pm

Kick-off event with keynote speech by Dr Tatiana Klepikova and farewell to the participants of group 10

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01-30-2026

Career Coaching & Mentoring | Initial workshop for mentees

participation mandatory

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afterwards

Selection of individual mentors, agreements between mentees and mentors

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03-10 & 03-11-2026 | 9:00 am -5:00 pm

Career Coaching | Two-day intensive workshop

participation mandatory

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06-22-2026 | 9:00 am - 5:00 PM

Career Coaching: Small Group workshop (1 day, date option)

participation mandatory

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2026, 2nd & 3rd quarter

Career Coaching: Individual Coaching (1 appointment by arrangement) on specific topics

Participation mandatory

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10-21-2026, 9:00 am-5:00 pm

Career Coaching | Reflection Workshop

participation mandatory

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11-16-2026 | 8:30 am - 12:00 pm

Career Coaching and Mentoring | Closing Workshop

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End of 2026

Closing Ceremony for mentees and mentors

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permanently

Networking events, invitations to various dates and events. Further training courses are being planned. For further information see CoMeNT.UR (external link, opens in a new window).

The workshop and coaching programme focuses on potential and career development and accompanies the mentorships.

On December 1, 2025, the University of Regensburg celebrated a major milestone of its Mentoring.UR programme, marking the successful completion of the 10th cohort and welcoming the 11th. Professor Miriam Banas, UR's Deputy Representative for the Equality of Women in Academia and the Arts and Senior Physician of the Department of Nephrology at the University Hospital Regensburg, hosted the evening alongside programme coordinator Anna Theresa Wolferstetter M.A.

Vice President for Research and Support for Emerging Academics Professor Ernst Tamm welcomed the guests, among them members of UR's Executive Board and Professor Astrid Ensslin, UR's Representative for the Equality of Women in Academia and the Arts and Professor for Dynamics of Virtual Communication Spaces (at DIMAS). Dr Tatiana Klepikova, a mentee from the 9th cohort, delivered the keynote speech.

The event highlighted the decisive role of mentoring in fostering academic careers, promoting gender equality, and strengthening interdisciplinary networks, while sharing concrete success stories from mentees and alumni. Through keynote reflections, personal testimonies, and institutional perspectives, the celebration showcased Mentoring.UR as a vibrant, impactful programme that empowers women early-career researchers and helps shape the future of academia.

Why Mentoring Matters

At the celebration of the 10th cohort and the launch of the 11th Mentoring.UR programme, Miriam Banas opened the event with a reflection on the impact of mentoring in academia. Drawing on research and her own experience, she highlighted mentoring as a key driver of personal development, strategic career planning, scientific productivity, and long-term retention of young researchers at the university.

Using vivid references from Greek mythology and contemporary science alike, she illustrated mentoring as a network of guidance, protection, and shared wisdom. The success of the program was underscored by concrete achievements, including the 2025 City of Regensburg Prize for Women in Science and Art awarded to a former mentee of the program, PD Dr Stephanie Kandsperger.

Voices of the mentees

Miriam Banas and Anna Theresa Wolferstetter congratulated the new 11th cohort and reflected on a decade of mentoring success through the voices of the mentees themselves. Participants described gaining confidence, learning to navigate academic cultures, building clear research profiles, and recognising their own strengths as established researchers.

Across disciplines, mentees emphasised that mentoring helped them understand they were not alone and that asking for support can be transformative. In 2025, the programme once again brings together mentees from a broad range of faculties, highlighting Mentoring.UR's interdisciplinary reach and inclusive vision.

A programme with impact

Welcoming mentors, mentees, and guests, Ernst Tamm emphasised that Mentoring.UR is more than a program-it is a space for learning, connection, and shared growth. Since 2009, more than 140 early-career researchers from all faculties of the University of Regensburg have taken part, strengthening women's representation in academic leadership and addressing structural inequalities.

The programme's unique strength lies in its equal and mutually enriching mentor-mentee relationships, complemented by career coaching and peer networking. Celebrating the milestone of the 10th cohort, including the successful introduction of an English-language track, he thanked all participants for shaping a vibrant and forward-looking mentoring community.

Precarity, Courage, and Joy in Academia

Former mentee Tatiana Klepikova concluded the event with a deeply personal keynote on the precarities and joys of an academic career, reflecting on her path through doctoral and postdoctoral research. She spoke candidly about uncertainty, mobility, and pressure, while also emphasising the freedom, creativity, and collective strength that come with early academic stages. Her message resonated across disciplines: mentoring creates solidarity, perspective, and the courage to shape change, even in imperfect systems.

The evening ended with a networking reception, turning reflection into connection and reinforcing the spirit of Mentoring.UR-learningtogether, supporting one another, and shaping the future of academia.

To the short report in German language (external link, opens in a new window)