2025
From 23–27 June 2025, Freie Universität Berlin hosted the 13th International Staff Training Week, themed “Empowering Postdoc Support: Innovative Strategies and Global Collaboration”. After a leadership welcome, a campus scavenger hunt and summer reception set an informal tone. Over the next days, participants shared best practices on digital research tools, mentorship, and support for scholars at risk in sessions with partners from Europe, Africa, and Asia. A dedicated career day highlighted paths beyond academia and ended with a joint summer party and campus run. Throughout the program, participants exchanged expertise, built new networks, and gained practical inspiration for strengthening postdoc support at their home institutions.
2024
On 8 July 2024, the BUA Postdoc Academy gathered more than 80 postdoctoral researchers at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities for a full-day focus on global collaboration. Keynote speaker Christian Kobsda (Max Planck Society) outlined trends in international research partnerships, while Dr Lara Abel (University of Cambridge) shared lessons from joint projects. Trainer Dr. Jo Havemann then led a three-part workshop on building cross-border networks, refining project ideas, and pitching for funding. Mid-day, the academy unveiled its Hit the Jackpot 2024 call, inviting participants to turn their concepts into funded collaborations.
2023
On 28 November 2023, the DIY Hands-On Experience gave BUA postdocs a crash course in turning research into real-world impact. At the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, trainer Amanda Wichert guided peer-coaching and design-thinking sprints that aligned personal goals with market-oriented project ideas. The afternoon highlight, the TU Berlin “Serious Transfer Game”, put participants face-to face with technology-transfer dilemmas from IP to start-ups, demystifying innovation in a risk-free setting.
2023
On 19 June 2023, the BUA Postdoc Academy convened postdoctoral researchers from Freie Universität, Humboldt-Universität, Technische Universität Berlin, and Charité for a day of focused networking at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities. The event paired guided networking rounds with expert-led coaching and design-thinking workshops, giving participants concrete tools to build robust, cross-disciplinary connections. Throughout the sessions, postdocs exchanged ideas, identified collaboration opportunities, and drafted project concepts, potentially laying the groundwork for applications to the “Hit the Jackpot” funding call.