Scientists and Career Jena Network — Netzwerk “Wissenschaftler:innen und Karriere Jena“ (WKJ)

More equal opportunities for researchers

Promoting equal opportunities for female and male scientists is a concern of the German Research Foundation. In order to implement this goal at Friedrich Schiller University Jena, the Scientists and Career Jena Network (Wissenschaftler:innen und Karriere Jena, WKJ) was established. Its task is to bundle the equal opportunity funds provided for coordinated research programmes and to use them for targeted and tailored measures.

All network members benefit from the central pooling of funds, because the targeted use of funds allows them to realize larger, joint projects. This is particularly true for smaller member institutions as it allows them to benefit from and participate in the implementation of larger measures.

On the basis of an annual needs analysis, the WKJ network realizes, among other things, the mediation, organization and implementation of the following measures:

• targetgroup-specific mentoring programmes, continuing education and coaching to promote the career development of female researchers in the early stages of thier career
• traditional workshops and measures to promote family-friendly workplaces in academia
• interdisciplinary exchange of experiences as well as a platform to inspire new ideas and create networks

Coordination office 

Working alongside the Equal Opportunity Office of Friedrich Schiller University Jena, the coordination office mediates the needs of its network members. This includes an annual evaluation of whether  the objectives of individual and network measures were achieved.

Contact: Coordination Office of the WKJ network  – Judith Malsam

Network foundation and members 

The WKJ network was founded on 1 November 2020 by three of the University’s collaborative research centres (SFB/TR 234 CataLight, SFB 1076 AquaDiva, SFB 1127 ChemBioSys) and the CSP OrganAge clinician scientist programme  (University Hospital Jena and Medical Faculty). In January 2021, the collaborative research centre SFB/TR 124 FungiNet joined the network. The network also plans to include other DFG programmes in the future.

At the WKJ network meeting on 6 November 2021, unanimous approval was given to add a new member effective from 1 July 2021: FOR 3004 SYNABS.

In October 2021, the network was joined by the research training group ‘Modell Romantik’ (Romanticism as a Model) and the collaborative research centre Transregio SFB TRR 294 ‘Structural Change of Property’.