The fourth networking event held on 6 November 2024 was hosted by Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin in the auditorium of the university's Jacob- und-Wilhelm-Grimm-Zentrum. Guests had time to enjoy some finger food and chat together before Professor Christoph Schneider, vice president for research at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, gave some words of welcome.

The moderated session was led by Professor Christine Gockel (HWR Berlin), and highlighted aspects of leadership. Entitled "Management versus independence of students, PhDs and postdocs," the session discussed levers of empowerment, levels of leadership, and methods of debriefing and giving feedback. Evidence-based input, suggestions for individual reflection, and group discussions provided space to consider personal and current leadership experiences.

In the third part of the event, our mentoring expert Carmen Kurbjuhn helped tenure-track professors to find a peer mentoring group. During this part, guests also had the opportunity to talk to each other and/or speak to the tenure-track advisors of the BUA partners about procedures specific to their institutions.

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A pleasant corner of the Schleusenkrug beer garden provided the perfect setting to network over a couple of drinks. Professor Daniel Guhl (HU, Department of Business Administration With a Focus on Consumer Behavior) and Professor Jonas Østergaard Nielsen (HU, Department of Integrative Geography) shared their personal experiences of evaluation procedures and answered questions. Guests then discussed issues currently affecting them in smaller groups. The evening was a chance to consolidate relationships and forge new ones with some conversations opening up new paths to explore.

The third network event on 19 March 2024 took place at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin. Vice dean for research with clinical focus at the Medical Faculty of Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Professor Ulrich Kintscher, welcomed the guests to the new, aptly named "Charité CrossOver (CCO)" building.

He praised the BUA Peer Mentoring Program as a successful example of institutional and professional "cross over," pointed out that tenure-track professorships in their current form are structurally new, and emphasized that new processes require intensive communication if they are to be effective in the long term.

The moderated session focused on the topic of research quality, in particular research assessments. These are relevant for tenure-track professors from two perspectives: On the one hand, tenure-track professors act as assessors in the scientific community (peer reviewers, reviewers for third-party funding applications, members of appointment committees, etc.), while on the other hand, they are subject to special evaluation procedures, which they can influence through their self-assessment reports. Professor Ulrich Dirnagl, founding director of the QUEST Center for Responsible Research at the Berlin Institute of Health, gave a keynote and fielded questions. Using figures and examples, he provided a compelling case for his message regarding the need to switch from quantitative assessment parameters to qualitative ones. Guests then had the chance to discuss the talk at a world café. The moderator was Carmen Kurbjuhn.

Following this, managing director of the BUA, Alexandra-Gwyn Paetz, welcomed everyone to an open networking session with coffee and finger food. Guests then had the chance to discuss any issues with her and Dr. Martin Breuer and Caroline Bacciu from the Management Unit of the Promoting Talent Objective. Topics and suggestions for the next network event were collected using questionnaires.

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The second networking event was hosted by Freie Universität Berlin in the event space on the top floor of its building at Fabeckstraße 23/25.

The thematic section of the event was moderated by Dr. Martina van de Sand on the topic of micropolitics entitled "Tenure-Track Professors – Equal or Unequal?" The discussion focused on the everyday balancing act required of tenure-track professors, resulting from the fact that they are both junior scholars seeking to qualify for a permanent professorship, while also belonging to the same status group and having essentially the same tasks to perform as a full professor. The discussion addressed what this means for relationships among academics. Are differences noticeable when it comes to speaking in and influencing committees, recognition in academic collaborations, and the distribution of teaching and administrative tasks? Does the fact that more established colleagues may later be involved in interim and tenure evaluations influence how tenure-track professors behave towards them? Dr. Martina van de Sand initiated the discussion on a panel that included Professor Theresa Roth (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin) and Professor Franziska Hausmann (Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin) as newly appointed tenure-track professors, Professor Birgit Beck (Technische Universität Berlin) as a former tenure-track professor, and Professor Christian Thomsen (Technische Universität Berlin, president from 2014 to 2022) as a long-standing professor. She then opened the discussion to the audience, which resulted in a lively exchange between all parties.

The second part of the event offered two options: Firstly, guests had the chance to find out more about peer mentoring. Our mentoring expert Carmen Kurbjuhn, who had supported the setting up of peer mentoring groups from the outset, moderated presentations given by existing groups and helped participants find a suitable group or set up one of their own. The other option was to chat with fellow tenure-track professors over coffee and finger food. The open space made it possible to switch between the two offers and to come and go freely, enabling all participants to benefit according to their interests and their availability. A poster wall was set up where participants could suggest dates and topics for the next networking event.

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The kick-off event took place on Monday, 5 June 2023, in room H3005 in the Main Building of Technische Universität Berlin. Many of the tenure-track professors attending had only recently taken up their positions. BUA spokesperson and president of Technische Universität Berlin, Professor Geraldine Rauch, opened the event, praising the Berlin University Alliance as a space to forge a career and presenting the peer mentoring offer for tenure-track professors as an example of the advantages created by the Alliance.

Coffee, finger food, and bar tables provided the ideal environment for people to meet and get into conversation. Parallel to this, three topic islands were set up to ensure structured input. At the "Mentoring – From Peer to Peer" island, our mentoring expert, Carmen Kurbjuhn, moderated the matching of the first peer mentoring groups. A total of five groups were set up, which we continued to support over the following weeks. At the "Let's Talk About Being Evaluated" island, a current and a former tenure track professor shared their impressions of their interim and tenure evaluations. The number of people attending and the many questions asked revealed how much support tenure-track professorships still required. Advice and support for tenure-track professors with children and/or caring responsibilities were available at the "Let's Talk About Family and Professorship" island, which was organized by the universities' family services offices. Topics and suggestions for the next networking event were collected using an anonymous online questionnaire.

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