The RMU Postdoc Career Weeks 2026 – a great success with a focus on mental health and career perspectives
RMU Postdoc net-working on the beach volleyball court at JGU, 16 June (photo: Laura Stein)
From 8 to 19 June, the Postdoc Career Weeks 2026 attracted more than 260 Early Career Researchers (ECRs) from all three Rhine-Main Universities (Goethe University Frankfurt, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and Technical University of Darmstadt), as well as from other German research institutions. The program, which is aimed at doctoral candidates, postdocs and scientists in the qualification phase for a professorship, offered more than 30 workshops, lectures and networking events, both online and in person, and once again established itself as a key career forum for the promotion of young researchers in Germany.
In his welcome address, Professor Stefan Müller-Stach, Vice President for Research and Academic Careers emphasized: “This year’s program places a particular focus on the realities and challenges of academic careers, as well as on mental health and wellbeing in the research environment. And I think that this focus is both topical and important. While science offers great intellectual freedom, creativity and a sense of purpose, but is increasingly shaped by uncertainty and pressure […]. It is important that the universities openly acknowledge these challenges.”
In line with these current topics, the two-week program started with a discussion titled “What keeps us going? Postdoc Careers between uncertainty, purpose and opportunity”. Julia Häuser-Huth, managing director of this year’s host Gutenberg Academy, again emphasized the envisaged added value of the event when she led over to the discussion: “In order to determine together how you as Postdocs can successfully master [these challenges] not only from a professional perspective, but also with regard to your wellbeing, we have compiled a diverse panel so that we can explore this topic both from a scientific and from a personal perspective.” The panel brought together experts from business and organizational psychology and occupational medicine with experienced researchers to show Postdocs ways to build their resilience, deal with uncertainties and to independently shape their career both within and outside of academia.
The program of the RMU Postdoc Career Weeks 2026, organized by Gutenberg Academy at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, offered a carefully curated mixture of short, stimulating info session and more extensive interactive workshops that provided specific guidance for academic and professional practice. Key topics included researchers’ digital visibility, research data management, mapping of personal skills and – based on personal experience reports – funding programs for Postdocs and an independent career in academia, as well as various career paths and career planning.
Participants praised the quality and variety of the program and, in particular, emphasized the great competence and expertise of the speakers, as well as the added value brought by the interactive formats. They also gained “new impulses which […} did not expect before”. Some participants stated that the combination of general info sessions and in-depth workshops meant that they did not only gain valuable insights, but also picked up specific tools for their every day (work) life.
While the majority of the program was held online (which, in turn, enabled a Germany-wide reach), the organizers particularly valued the personal exchange with the participants during the in-person events such as the MAMI guided tour or the postdoc net-working on the beach volleyball court.
Now that the Postdoc Career Weeks 2026 have been successfully completed, the organizers are already looking forward to the RMU Postdoc Career Weeks 2027 which will be hosted by GRADE at Goethe University Frankfurt. The format thus remains a key element of career support for Early Career Researchers at the Rhine-Main Universities, in the Rhine-Main region and beyond.
