The Doctoral Supervisor Training offers support for the supervision of doctoral candidates on an academic and personal level. In cooperation with qualified trainers, various aspects of supervision, such as my role as a supervisor, leadership through communication, mental health, etc., are examined with best-practice examples in individual sessions.

The training will provide you with a holistic overview of how you can best support your doctoral researchers, from recruiting to career development. Through the cooperation with scientists from different fields and institutions, the training also provides a platform for professional exchange.

The jointly developed training is aimed specifically at professors, PIs, junior research group leaders, and postdocs with supervision tasks at TUM, the two Max Planck Institutes for Biochemistry and Biological Intelligence, and Helmholtz Munich.

The structured program consists of eight modules taking place between February and April 2026. The kick-off, as well as the conclusion of the training, are designed as in-person events, while the other six content modules take place online via Zoom. The modules are linked by an exchange of experiences and practical applications.

Please note that the registration period for the training in 2026 ended on December 10th 2025.

Program Outline

Module 1 | Kick-Off: Essentials of Supervision – Exploring my role as supervisor & team building

For both groups: Thursday, Feb. 26th 2026, 1.00 pm. - 6.00 pm, in person at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry
with Monika Beer, Neele Meyer Camila Hernández Frederick, Vera Kaulbarsch

• Getting to know each other and clarification of expectations
• Supervision timeline & formal aspects
• Understanding my role as a supervisor
• Team building & Get together

Module 2 | Self-Awareness, Emotional Intelligence & Non-violent Communication

Group 1: Wednesday, March 4th, 9.00 am - 1.00 pm, online
Group 2: Thursday, March 5th, 9.00 am - 1.00 pm, online
with Ulrike Schneeberg 

• Introduction to the basics of Nonviolent Communication (NVC)
• Understand and know how to manage own emotions in the workplace
• Increase awareness of other people’s emotions and needs
• Know how to integrate both their own and others’ needs and interests when communicating with others
• Apply concepts of emotional intelligence to improve their communication skills, especially when giving feedback, resolving
• conflicts and or motivating a team
• Use the tools of NVC to lead your team with empathy and make clear requests
• Implement NVC principles in different case situations

Module 3 | Basics of Leadership: Giving and Receiving Feedback, Clarification of Expectations

Group 1: Wednesday, March 11th, 9.00 am - 1.00 pm, online
Group 2: Thursday, March 12th, 9.00 am - 1.00 pm, online

with Martin Fladerer

• Giving and receiving feedback in a non-violent and constructive way
• Regular constructive feedback as an integral part of the supervisory role
• The importance of clarifying mutual expectations
• Identifying potential changes in the way of giving feedback, using concepts shown to improve communication skills

Module 4 | Recruiting Doctoral Researchers & Onboarding

Group 1: Wednesday, March 18th, 9.00 am - 1.00 pm, online 
Group 2: Thursday, March 19th, 9.00 am - 1.00 pm, online
with Clarissa Zwarg

• Introduction to the scientific basis of a structured recruitment process and the benefits of such a process
• Understand cognitive biases and strategies to reduce these biases within the recruitment and selection process
• Importance of effective onboarding and integration into the team
• Know the process of organizational socialization (i.e., integration on three levels: professional, social, value-based)

Module 5 | Intercultural Communication

Group 1: Wednesday, March 25th, 9.00 am - 1.00 pm, online
Group 2: Thursday, March 26th, 9.00 am - 1.00 pm, online
with Ulrike Schneeberg 

• Learn about and get familiar with culture-specific dimensions of communication (Erin Meyer) to increase your awareness of cultural dynamics to foster successful and productive relationships with your doctoral researchers
• Reflect on and discuss your own, other participants’ and/or exemplary critical incidents in the context of cross-cultural work experience to evaluate the effectiveness of the employed behaviors in these specific situations
• Learn to identify and focus on underlying interests and not on positions
• Understand the concept of principled negotiation and its benefit in the supervision of DRs

Module 6 | Mental Health

Group 1: Wednesday, April 15th, 9.00 am - 1.00 pm, online
Group 2: Thursday, April 16th, 9.00 am - 1.00 pm, online
with Judith Bergner

• Being a role model for staying mentally strong in a challenging work-environment
• Healthy self-motivation strategies
• Self-calming strategies in stressful times
• Knowing warning indicators for mental exhaustion
• Establish routines to keep strain and regeneration in balance
• Supporting doctoral researchers in dealing with different stressors
• Create a safe work environment in which people can flourish

Module 7 | Leading Difficult Conversations & Negotiations

Group 1: Wednesday, April 22nd, 9.00 am - 1.00 pm, online
Group 2: Thursday, April 23rd, 9.00 am - 1.00 pm, online
with Ulrike Schneeberg 

• In the weeks before this module, participants will conduct a role play via zoom with a professional actor, based on a specific scenario of their choice
• Analyzing, reflecting, and discussing the role play based on video feedback and feedback from the actors
• Improve your conversational skills and deal with challenging conversations

Module 8 | Closing Event: Looking back & future vision as a supervisor

For both groups: Thursday, April 30th, 2 pm - 6 pm, in person, TUM Campus Garching
with Monika Beer, Neele Meyer, Camila Hernández Frederick, Vera Kaulbarsch, Amudha Brugger & Rolf Holle

• Reflection: My role as a supervisor after the training, definition of milestones & implementation strategy to put theory into practice
• Impulse lecture with a supervisory role model and panel discussion
• Basis for responsible research: Being a role model for Good Scientific Practice
• Consequences of scientific misconduct & case studies
• Networking Event & Award of Certificates
   

Trainers

Ulrike Schneeberg, PhD
Professional Certified Coach (ICF) and systemic business trainer with a focus on caring and honest communication to improve (self-)leadership in research systems. Website | LinkedIn

Judith Bergner 
is a licensed psychologist and holds an Executive Master´s degree in business engineering. She founded skillfactors in 2000. Her focus is currently on mental health of employees and the correlation with working conditions and superior interactions. Website | LinkedIn

Dr. Martin Fladerer 
is a Postdoctoral Research Group Leader at the Chair of Research and Science Management at the TUM School of Management. He is also the Academic Director of the “Perspektivenlabor” at the House of Competence at KIT.  

Clarissa Zwarg
is a research associate and doctoral candidate at the Chair of Research and Science Management at the TUM School of Management.

Prof. Dr. Rolf Holle 
is Ombudsperson for Good Scientific Practice at Helmholtz Munich. After his formal retirement, he is still involved in teaching and research in the field of public health and health economics at the Institute for Medical Information Processing, Biometry and Epidemiology (IBE) at LMU Munich. Website

Dr. Amudha Brugger 
is Head of the HELENA Graduate School Office at Helmholtz Munich. She holds a PhD in Neuroscience, is a certified research integrity trainer, and facilitates workshops on Good Scientific Practice for doctoral researchers. She has several years of experience in science management and doctoral training. Website | LinkedIn

Organizers

Dr. Monika Beer 
is Head of Scientific Talent and Career Development, Strategy, Programs, Resources and Director of the Helmholtz Graduate School Environmental Health (HELENA) at Helmholtz Munich

Dr. Camila Hernández Frederick 
is Head of Career Services & International Max Planck Research School for Molecules of Life (IMPRS-ML) at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Munich

Dr. Vera Kaulbarsch 
is Project Manager Qualification Program at the TUM Graduate School

Dr. Neele Meyer 
is Postdoc Coordinator as part of the Scientific Training and Career Development Team at Helmholtz Munich