Academic Career
Development Programme
Advance your skills and shape your research career – You are pursuing an academic career and want to advance your skills to meet the challenges of your everyday research environment? You want to further develop your role as a (prospective) research group leader, acquire progressive leadership and management skills and benefit from direct exchange with your peers?
Then take part in the "Academic Career Development Programme” - a joint programme of Heine Research Academies. The interdisciplinary program supports your personal career in academia and facilitates training in a small, set peer group. A certificate confirms the successful participation in the programme.
Target group:
The academic career development programme is a training and continuing education programme for advanced postdoctoral researchers and research group leaders seeking an academic career. The participants are members of HHU have an own research project and are
- advanced postdocs with own research experience
- junior research group leaders and
- Junior Professors
Objectives of the programme
The Academic Career Development Programme aims to further professionalize the management of your everyday research environment and prepares you for (future) management tasks in research. During the programme you will reflect on your personal capacity as a leader in research and actively extend your skills.
The programme is designed for a limited group of likeminded professionals that are or soon will be on their way to full research independency. You connect with your peers and discuss with each other on equal footing. The workshops and networking sessions are set up to further enhance your understanding of the research system in order to make use of it for your personal career. This leaves you well prepared for upcoming challenges and allows more time for your actual research.
Content of the programme
- Networking with fellow group leaders and junior professors is possible through the jungle_net events.
Peer Coaching: coaching in small peer groups concering individually choosen topics, 4-6 peers in one group, 5-6 sessions throughout the entire programme, each session is about 3-4 hours
Scope of the programme: 80-100 working units à 45 min
Application
The Academic Career Development Programme (ACDP) is a set programme for a maximum of 10-12 participants that runs every other year. The programme lasts for about 1 year (depending on the individualized schedule for workshop 4) and is held in English. Participation is voluntary and free of charge for HHU members. If you have signed up for the programme we expect you to take part for the entire length of the programme.
Please apply with your CV (listing your publications and all other academic achievements) and a letter of motivation (1 page; all in English). In your letter please describe your professional aims and how participating in the Academic Career Development Programme will support these goals. Finally sign and scan the letter of commitment and electronically submit your application in one document to the address below.
The application deadline is 30 November 2025. Programm Start will be in February 2026.
(The group of participants will be chosen by the Vice President for Research and Transfer with suggestions of the speakers and coordinators of Heine Research Academies (iGRAD, philGRAD, medRSD, JUNO) based on the submitted application documents.)
Dr. Uta Brunner
Junior Scientist and International Researcher Center (JUNO)
Heinrich Heine University
Universitätsstr. 1. Geb. 16.11 00.48
D – 40225 Düsseldorf
Tel. +49 (0)211-81 13564