People in a seminar room

Career Center

Training and development for our staff

The development of all employees is an important aspect of our mission.

The internal platform offers scientific, technical and soft-skills trainings for competence development for individuals and teams.

Academy Maker
Language Classes
for MDC employees

The MDC offers German and English classes available free of charge to all MDC employees, including PhD students.

Classes are offered twice a year, usually in Spring and Fall, with no more than 12 participants per class. You can test your German online here to have a preliminary idea of your level of knowledge. If your level of German knowledge is better than B2 or C1, and there are no regular classes at the MDC suitable for you. Alternatively, you can apply for support from the MDC Committee for further education. Please visit the intranet for more information.

If you have registered at one of our partner universities (either Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin or Freie Universität Berlin), you are eligible to join regular German classes organized by the corresponding language centers.

There are also numerous schools teaching German to foreigners in Berlin, so you can find one suitable for you. Here are a couple of useful links:

Get more information here.

Contact us

Do you have any questions regarding the MDC Academy or looking for information?

Stefanie Leh
Christina Krüger
Jana Putnoki
academy@mdc-berlin.de

Career Counseling

The Career Center is the contact point for consultations and advice about your current and future career steps.

The service is available for current employees and guests at the Max Delbrück Center. Some of the questions below can be used as a guide to help you determine the best steps to take for your career. All counseling sessions happen in a  one-on-one confidential appointment.

What can I do after my time at the Max Delbrück Center?
 
  • My meeting on career prospects
  • Job market
  • Career Check
What job suits me best?
 
  • Professional and personal goals
  • Smart career decisions
  • Making a career development plan
How do I apply successfully?
 
  • CV Check
  • Interview Preparation
  • Networking support
What fundings are available?
 
  • My funding eligibility
  • Short-term and follow-up financing
  • Funding opportunities in Germany
How to become a professor?
 
  • My professional profile
  • Strategic networking
  • Insights into selection procedures
Women in Science
 
  • Funding for female scientists
  • Mentoring and advice
  • Negotiate and assert yourself
Is the industry a good alternative?
 
  • Skills required for industry
  • Freedom, salary, job security
  • Career Pathways - Industry Series
When conflicts arise
 
  • Conflicts with PIs or team members
  • Dealing with changing expectations
  • Overcoming challenges


 

Mentoring

At the Max Delbrück Center, we understand that a mentor could be the key to the next successful career steps.

The Career Center organizes several mentoring programs for different target groups.

Postdocs and science management staff
Further information

Our Mentoring Program is designed for all postdocs and staff in science management of the Max Delbrück Center. In addition to one-to-one mentoring our program will offer regular group meetings to reflect and accompany the mentoring process as well as workshops on specific topics and career counseling. The Mentoring Program is our contribution to support equal opportunities in science.

Our mentoring program (internal access only)

Postdocs and PhD researchers
Further information

In our Postdoc-2-PhD Mentoring Program postdocs act as mentors for PhD researchers.

Our P2P mentoring (internal access only)

Postdocs
Further information

In addition to workshops in different career paths, one important aspect of the ASPIRE program is the one-year long mentoring. The Mentoring revolves around the career aspirations of the postdocs and any topic connected to it. 

Our career track program ASPIRE

Staff, alumni and project partners
Further information

The exclusive online networking platform MDC Connect is for staff, alumni and project partners to engage and collaborate with the global community of current and former staff of the Max Delbrück Center. It contains a Mentoring Platform where everyone can participate as Mentors or Mentees. Both benefit from our Mentoring Platform alike.

MDC Connect platform