October 2024

  • 01.10.2024: Doodle Competition We're excited to invite you to join our Doodle Competition for WoCaNet 2025! The theme is a simple doodle of your field of study. Check the submission guidelines and submit your doodle here for a chance to win a goodie bag of your favorite treats. 🥳 Submitted doodles may be featured in our official promotional materials.

May 2023

  • 12.05.2023: Second WoCaNet Day The second day of WoCaNet starts with exciting talks, a career fair, and the networking dinner. We are looking forward to seeing you there!

  • 11.05.2023: New Speaker Dr. Wiebke Möbius Unfortunately we have to cancel the talk of Dr. Sarah Adio at short notice. However, we are very happy to welcome Dr. Wiebke Möbius from MPI for Multidisciplinary Sciences instead.

  • 11.05.2023: First WoCaNet Day We are very much looking forward to our first WoCaNet day with 4 exciting workshops on communication, networking and much more!



March 2023

  • 06.03.2023: Registration is open! We are happy to announce that the registration for the next WoCaNet symposium on May 11th and 12th is now open. Do not miss the opportunity of boosting your career 🥳!



March 2022

  • 08.03.2022: Happy International Women’s Day! Register in the IWD Community at www.internationalwomensday.com and support the #BreakTheBias campaign theme. Let’s celebrate all contributions on gender equality🥳!

IWD 2022 women's day
© https://www.internationalwomensday.com/Theme 2022

  • 07.03.2022: We are back!We are happy to announce that an awesome new community of women is working for the next WoCaNet2023, an inspirational and empowering event focused on women's networking to take place in Göttingen! Would you like to join the team? You are still on time to contact us: wocanet@gwdg.de We will keep you posted!

GroupPictureWoCaNet2023
© WoCaNet 2023

June 2021

  • 16.06.2021: Big "thank you" to all of you, who made this year's WoCaNet such an amazing event!

    The organizing team of WoCaNet 2021 would like to thank all the speakers who joined us and shared their personal experiences so openly and honestly. We would also like to thank all the participants for their engaging and insightful discussions. It was wonderful to see that so many of you joined our first virtual WoCaNet! This event would not have been possible without help and support from the Göttingen Graduate Center for Neurosciences, Biophysics, and Molecular Biosciences and our sponsors, Sartorius, and Evotec. We also thank the German Primate Center for hosting us during the event. Although WoCaNet 2021 has come to an end, we hope that you had a great time and are ready to begin blazing your own trails. We look forward to seeing you at the next WoCaNet symposium in 2023!

    WoCaNet2021
    © WoCaNet 2021

  • 16.06.2021: All registered participants will soon receive an email with further info about how to access the recordings. For those who asked for a certificate, they are in the making and will be sent out next week.



May 2021

  • 25.05.2021: Two more days to go!
    There have been some minor changes to the WoCaNet 2021 - Program Schedule (PDF). Make sure to check our updates here and on the landing page. See you on Thursday :)

  • 25.05.2021: Did I or did I not get into one of the workshops?!
    All slots in the three workshops are full! If you registered for a workshop and have not yet received an email about your status, we regret to inform you that there are no spots left. Due to the online format, there were many many more applications than free places. But, there is an upside: You will be able to attend the Career Fair, and you might even get the career boost you never knew you were looking for!

  • 23.05.2021: Only three days until WoCaNet 2021! Registered participants should have received an email with all the important information, including links and the program schedule. If you have not received this email before Tuesday evening (May 25), first check your spam folder ;), and then contact us (wocanet@gwdg.de). We will find a way to send you all the info you need in time! Meanwhile, you can have a first glance at the program schedule and find out more about the event in the WoCaNet 2021 Booklet.

    See you all next week!

  • 12.05.2021: Our final panelist will be Prof. Dr. Ulrike Beisiegel!

    "Science through the Lens of Society"
    How are scientists (especially female scientists) perceived within and outside the scientific community? Is it necessary to achieve gender balance in the STEM community? Are the challenges faced by scientists pandemic-specific? Or, have they always existed and never been addressed/acknowledged?

    The Panel Discussion at WoCaNet 2021, moderated by Dr. Katrin Wodzicki, will address these questions and many more. Join us to hear insights and experiences shared by Prof. Dr. Gijsbert Stoet, Prof. Dr. Alessandra Minello, Dr. Catharine Young, and Prof. Dr. Ulrike Beisiegel.

    PanelDiscussion - Science through the Lens of Society(1)

  • 11.05.2021: Registration is now closed!
    Check out our Program! See you soon at the first virtual WoCaNet symposium!

  • 03.05.2021: Online Registration extended until May 10!
    Already over 400 registrations: We are so excited to welcome you all at WoCaNet 2021!

  • 03.05.2021: WoCaNet2021 Career Fair
    This year's Career Fair will be a melting pot of #industry, #scicomm, #mentoring, & #education. We are excited! Are you? Register here until May 10!

    Career fair - schedule


  • 03.05.2021: Registration deadline extended until May 10!

    Register here until May 10!

    Poster_Registration-10-May2021



April 2021

  • 15.04.2021: Last chance to apply for our Virtual Networking Dinner!

    Last chance: Secure one of the limited spots at our Virtual Networking Dinner table and send us your application including a short career profile by today! Find out more on how to apply.

    NetworkingDinner - application reminder

March 2021

  • 08.03.2021: Happy International Women's Day!

    IWD-WoCaNet21

  • 06.03.2021: At the end of the first week of open Registration, we are excited to see that already close to a hundred people have registered their interest in WoCaNet 2021! Here, on our website, you will find the most recent updates about the Program, list of Speakers, and Career Fair! Our Workshops are filling up fast, check out the updates and hurry to secure one of the limited spots!

    small_Poster_Final (3) 07-03-2021_web

  • 01.03.2021:

    Join us at WoCaNet 2021 for a fun and engaging experience! REGISTER NOW!



February 2021


January 2021

  • 11.01.2021: The WoCaNet 2021 organizing team wishes you a "Happy New Year"!
    With the start of 2021, we are finalizing our program, working on various virtual networking tools, and are excited to announce that our set of speakers is nearly complete!
    Prof. Dr. Frances Ashcroft, Dr. Emma Camp, Dr. Radhika Patnala and Dr. Noushin Delmdahl will join us this year on May 27-28 for Women's Careers and Networks 2021! Find out more about their careers in medical science / marine ecology / industry / science illustration here!


November 2020

  • How can we fight loneliness?
    Now, more than ever, we are confronted with social isolation and loneliness. Karen Dolva, CEO and co-founder of the Norwegian startup "No Isolation", is committed to fight these issues together with her colleagues. We are happy to announce that she has confirmed to speak at WoCaNet 2021!



    • What does the lockdown reveal about the 'maternal wall'?...
      ... is probably one of the questions Dr. Alessandra Minello, Assistant Professor of Demography at the University of Florence, will answer in her talk at WoCaNet 2021!

      Check out her Nature World View article "The pandemic and the female academic"!


    October 2020

    • 11.10.2020: Our lineup of speakers is growing!
      We are thrilled to host inspiring talks and discussions with scientists from diverse research fields and interests:
      social demography & gender studies | physics & biophysics | nanomechanics & nanomagnetism | psychology & education | clinical & affective as well as cellular & cognitive neuroscience | cancer research | science communication
      Check out our speakers page: here.


    July 2020

    • 21.07.2020: We are excited to announce the two keynote speakers for WoCaNet 2021!

      Erin Schuman
      © Erin Schuman

      Prof. Erin Schuman is a Director at the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research in Frankfurt, where she founded the Department of Synaptic Plasticity. She studies the cell biological mechanisms that underlie information processing and storage in neural circuits. In particular, her research contributed to our understanding of how proteins are synthesized locally within neuronal processes. She is an elected member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO), the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, and the US National Academy of Sciences. In 2020, Erin Schuman was awarded the ALBA-FKNE Diversity Prize for her exceptional accomplishments in promoting gender equality in the field of neuroscience, as well as the Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine.

      <

      Eva Pellicer
      © Eva Pellicer

      Dr. Eva Pellicer is an Associate Professor at the Physics Department of Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB). Her work is focused on chemistry and nanotechnology, and she has authored or co-authored over 200 articles. She was the coordinator of the Tempus project "Development of Sustainable Interrelations between Education, Research and Innovation at WBC Universities in Nanotechnologies and Advanced Materials where Innovation Means Business". She was awarded the Spanish L’Oreál-Unesco ‘For Women in Science’ (2014) and the L’Oreál-Unesco ‘International Rising Talents’ (2015). She is remote evaluator for L'Oréal Corporate Foundation for L’Oréal-Unesco ‘For Women in Science Awards’.

      <


    • The WoCaNet 2021 team is looking for motivated Ph.D. students and postdocs to strengthen the organizing team.
      13.07.2020: Do you like the idea of empowering young female scientists and introducing them to new and exciting career opportunities? Do you enjoy working as part of a team? Do you want to help organize an engaging scientific and networking event? Join the WoCaNet 2021 organizing team!
      We are working in four subgroups on different tasks to make WoCaNet a successful and inspiring event. Right now, we are looking for help in all subteams: Program coordination, Finances & Career fair, Logistics, and PR & Design.

      If you have already have prior experience, or if you would like to learn how to:
      - plan a conference program,
      - look for sponsors,
      - successfully promote a scientific event,
      - get useful contacts in industry,
      - balance the budget of a big event,
      - plan a career fair, or
      - organize delicious food and a nice stay in Göttingen for our speakers and participants,

      you are the person we are looking for :)


      If you are interested in one or several of the tasks mentioned above, please contact the coordinator of the relevant subgroup listed here.

      We look forward to seeing you!


    • The dates are in!
      01.07.2020: WoCaNet 2021 will take place on May 27 and 28, 2021, in Göttingen.
      We look forward to seeing you there!

    May 2020

    • 10.05.2020: We are excited to announce that, despite the COVID-19 "remote" situation, preparations are underway for the 7th Women’s Careers and Networks symposium that will take place in Göttingen (Germany) in Spring 2021.

      Logo2021-big
      The WoCaNet symposium aims to bring students, researchers, and established scientific professionals together for a stimulating two-day event. In an open and inspiring environment, ideas and experiences on building careers and achieving a successful work-life balance can be shared.
      The focus of WoCaNet 2021 will be the importance of “Transformation” in our lives, from the viewpoint of both professional and personal growth. Throughout the event, we will explore the circumstances and unexpected challenges that contribute to one’s personality and outlook as a scientist (and as a woman), as well as the impact that these changes can have on science and society.
      We are in the process of putting together an amazing set of speakers, an insightful panel discussion, fun and informative workshops, and loads of networking opportunities. Stay tuned for updates!
    • March 2019

      • 20.03.2019: WoCaNet 2019 was a very interesting and inspiring symposium! We are happy that you came and enjoyed this event with us. We would like to thank everyone who made it possible: speakers, partners, participants, and organizers! You can find photos of the workshops and symposium in the WoCaNet archive links here.

      • 14.03.2019: Don't miss our open panel discussion on Diversity in Science: A Utopia?, on March 19th, from 13:30 to 15:00, at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry (MPIbpc) in Göttingen. The open panel discussion, in line with our slogan Towards a dialogue, aims at exchanging ideas and experience with the entire Göttingen campus. For that, we have launched a survey on inclusiveness and career opportunities on campus. We will present insights from the survey. Come join the discussion! The Panel Discussion is free and open to all without prior registration!

      • 06.03.2019: Dr. Viki Bockstal unfortunately cannot attend WoCaNet 2019. Instead of her, Dr. Alexandra Molitor, Manager Strategic Projects at KWS Saat SE in Einbeck, will explain us how she went from zigzag lines towards a „straight“ career.

      • 01.03.2019: Dr. Vivian Chan, the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Sparrho, unfortunately cannot attend WoCaNet 2019. Nevertheless, Dr. Sybil Wong, the Chief Operating Officer of Sparrho, will give a talk on how having multi-faceted careers can be deeply rewarding.

      • February 2019
      • 26.02.2019: Registration is closed. We are excited and looking forward to the symposium next month!

      • 14.02.2019: The registration for WoCaNet 2019 is extended until 25.02.2019! Don't miss this opportunity to participate and register now!

      • 08.02.2019: Dr. Alexandra Krasnikova will be our fifth and last job speaker. She is the Head of Product Management Lab Essentials at Sartorius in Göttingen, Germany. Register now to know how her professional career took her from Russia to Göttingen.

      • January 2019
      • 18.01.2019: The workshop Embracing Diversity in Leadership is now full as well! From now on, you will be put on the waiting list if you want to participate in one of our workshops. You can register here.

      • 08.01.2019: Birgit Wirtz, MBA, Dipl. Ing., will be our fourth and last keynote speaker. She is an Associate Director Global Material Development & Supply Baby Care at Procter & Gamble in Frankfurt, Germany. She is going to explain us how she went up the job ladder “in a man’s world”. Register now to get more tips!

      • 08.01.2019: There are only three free seats for the workshop Embracing Diversity in Leadership ! Hurry up if you want to get one ! Register now!

      • December 2018
      • 18.12.2018: WoCaNet2019 is open for all genders! You don't need to identify as woman to participate in the main event and panel discussion. Our slogan this year is Towards a Dialogue since we believe that we need a dialogue across all genders in order to make a difference! You can register here.

      • 07.12.2018: The workshop Storytelling for Scientists is already full! From now on, you will be put on the waiting list if you want to participate in this workshop. On the other hand, there are still a few free seats for the workshop Embracing Diversity in Leadership ! You can register here.

      • 05.12.2018: The workshops are filling fast! Hurry up if you want to get the last places ! Register now!

      • November 2018
      • 26.11.2018: A highlight of WoCaNet 2019 will its Panel Discussion on March 19, on Diversity in Science: a Utopia ?. This will be an interactive discussion between a panel of various speakers and the public. The Panel Discussion is open to all and does not require any prior registration. To feed this discussion, we are organizing an online survey on inclusiveness and career opportunities at your university/place of study, in which we cordially invite you to participate. It should not take more than 5-7 minutes. Thanks a lot for your contribution! You can find more information here.

      • 19.11.2018: WoCaNet 2019 will end with a Networking Dinner at the restaurant Bullerjahn in Göttingen, with some of our speakers, and a selection of applying participants. Maximize your chances to talk to the speakers, guests and other participants in a restricted circle by applying here for the participation in the networking dinner. Don't wait as the number of seats is limited!

      • 15.11.2018: Registration for WoCaNet 2019 is now open until February 15, 2019 ! You can find the preliminary program here and register here.

      • Due to other commitments, Dr. Deborah A. O'Neil had to cancel her participation in WoCaNet 2019. We will announce her replacement as soon as possible. Stay tuned!

      • 13.11.2018: Registration for WoCaNet 2019 will start on the 15th of November 2018. Mark your calendars!

      • 12.11.2018: Dr. Karin Bodewits & Simon Hauser, trainers at NaturalScience.Careers, will give us handy hints on Storytelling for Scientists during the second soft-skill workshop of WoCaNet 2019 on March 18. If you are tired of monotonous science talks and would like to learn how to do better to enchant a wide range of audiences with science stories and to captivate a lay audience with complex research results, this workshop is for you! You can find an overview of the workshops offered during WoCaNet 2019 here. Please note that the workshops are reserved for female participants and all people identifying themselves as such, as they are paid from equal opportunities funds.

        • 05.11.2018: All session speakers for WoCaNet 2019 have now confirmed their participation! After Dr. Karin Kühnel, Dr. Bart Geurten, Jun. Prof. Dr. Neva Caliskan, we are happy to introduce Dr. Viki Bockstal from Leiden, Netherlands. After obtaining her PhD in Bioengineering Sciences, Immunology, in 2012, she joined Janssen Infectious Diseases and Vaccines (Johnson & Johnson), first as a preclinical Lead, and later on as a Senior Scientist. Since 2017, she has been the Biomarker Lead for the Ebola vaccine and the multivalent Filovirus vaccine. In 2017, she featured in Business Insider's inaugural list of "30 biotech leaders under 40 shaping the future of medicine". To know more about her vision of women and minorities in leadership positions in healthcare, read her interview by Education and Career News.

        • October 2018

          • 29.10.2018: WoCaNet 2019 will start on March 18 with two one-day soft-skill workshops offered in parallel. The first one will be about Embracing Diversity in Leadership and will be held by Dr. Alexander Schiller from Schiller & Mertens. If you find it difficult to recognise and address intercultural and interdisciplinary differences, and wish to enhance your leadership skills for managing diverse teams, don't miss this interactive workshop! Please note that the workshops are reserved for female participants and all people identifying themselves as such, as they are paid from equal opportunities funds.

            • 15.10.2018: Dr. Vivian Chan from London, UK, will be the fourth and last keynote speaker of WoCaNet 2019 ! After completing a PhD in protein crystallography from the University of Cambridge, she co-founded Sparrho in 2013 and is since then its Chief Executive Officer. Sparrho is a global platform that helps researchers and layman users to stay up to date with scientific literature. If you are curious to discover the career path of this "learning geek", as she calls herself, don't miss her talk on March 19, 2019.

            • 01.10.2018: WoCaNet 2019 will also welcome male speakers! Dr. Bart Geurten will give a session talk. He is a research scientist leading his own research group at the Department of Cellular Neurophysiology at the University of Göttingen. Beside that, he is the happy father of three young boys! To learn more about his career challenges and paternity leave experience, come and listen to him on March 19, 2019. Please find more information about him here.

            • September 2018

              • 10.09.2018: We are happy to introduce a Göttingen campus alumni as a speaker of WoCaNet 2019: Jun. Prof. Dr. Neva Caliskan. She is now a Group Leader at the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research in Würzburg, Germany, and a W1 Professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Würzburg. She works on understanding the mechanisms of RNA recoding during infections. Beside that, she has two young children, the first of whom was born during her PhD studies. She will tell us about this experience, and dual career and parenting, on March 19, 2019. You can already get a taste of it in her article entitled "The right time to have a baby ..." (PDF, 109 KB) on becoming a mother during PhD studies.

              • August 2018
              • 21.08.2018: WoCaNet 2019 will be pleased to welcome an American keynote speaker: Prof. Dr. Sheila A. Lukehart, Professor of Medicine & Global Health at the School of Medicine at the University of Washington, Seattle, USA. This recognized expert in sexually transmitted diseases is a founding member of the Seattle Association for Women in Science. Please find more information about her here.

              • 14.08.2018: Dr. Karin Kühnel also confirmed to be a speaker at WoCaNet 2019 ! She was a group leader in the Department of Neurobiology at the Max-Planck-Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen and decided later to change her career path. Since 2016, she is an Associate Editor at Nature Communications in London. If you want to hear another story of a successful transition out of academia, don't miss her talk on March 19, 2019.

              • 06.08.2018: [Cancelled] Dr. Deborah A. O'Neil will be another keynote speaker and will share with us her experiences of working outside academia at WoCaNet 2019. After studies in immunology, she founded and is now the Chief Executive Officer of NovaBiotics Ltd, a clinical-stage biotechnology company based in Aberdeen, Scotland. Dr. O'Neil has been very recently named amongst the top 30 woman leaders in UK healthcare. Find out more about her here and here. Don't miss the opportunity to discover successful career paths outside academia. Join us on March 19, 2019 !

              July 2018

              • 19.07.2018: The organization of WoCaNet 2019 is on track!
              • We are pleased to introduce our first keynote speaker: Prof. Dr. Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard. She is the Director Emeritus of a research group at the Max Planck Institute of Developmental Biology in Tübingen, where she has also worked as a director for 29 years. Her current research work includes colour pattern formation in the zebrafish. Among other honours, she was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine or Physiology together with Eric Wieschaus and Edward Lewis in 1995. To support women with children in science, she created the Christiane-Nüsslein-Volhard-Stiftung.

                "In mathematics and science, there is no difference in the intelligence of men and women. The difference in genes between men and women is simply the Y chromosome, which has nothing to do with intelligence." Prof. Dr. Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard, 2006, source
                To know more about her, click here.

              • May 2018

                • WoCaNet 2019 team is looking for motivated Ph.D. students and Postdocs to strengthen the current team. The next Women's Careers and Networks Symposium (WoCaNet) will take place on 18-19 March 2019. If you like the idea of the symposium, it might be interesting for you to join the organizing team. It consists of four subgroups working on different tasks to make WoCaNet a successful and significant event inside and outside the Göttingen campus. Currently, we are especially seeking help in fundraising, finance management, and logistics. If you have some experience in these fields or you would like to learn how: - to look for sponsors, - to get useful contacts in industry, - to balance the budget of a big event, - to plan a career fair or - to organize delicious food and a nice stay in Göttingen for our speakers and participants, you are the person we are looking for! Excellent German skills would be an advantage. If you are interested in one or several of the tasks mentioned above, please contact the coordinator of the relevant subgroup listed here. We look forward to seeing you!

                March 2018

                • 22.03.2018: The organization of WoCaNet 2019 is under way! We have set both the date and the location of the event: WoCaNet 2019 will take place on the 18th and 19th of March 2019 at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry (MPIbpc) in Göttingen. Don't forget to mark your calender!

                February 2018

                • 19.02.18: We are happy to announce that a new team has been assembled for the organisation of Wocanet 2019! If you are interested in joining the team, you can still contact us. Stay tuned for more news.

                October 2017

                • 14.10.17: Thank you everyone for such an interesting and inspiring symposium! We are happy that you came and enjoyed this event with us and thank everyone who made it possible: speakers, sponsors, participants, and organizers!
                • You can find photos of the symposium here.

                September 2017

                • 24.09.17: The registration is closed.
                • The registration for WoCaNet 2017 is extended until 24.09.17!! Please register here.

                August 2017

                • For another job talk, we are happy to announce that Dr. Dana Krämer will tell us about her job as a European Patent Attorney! Find out more about her here.
                • The second keynote speaker will be Dr. Eva-Maria Neher, Managing and Executive Director of XLAB (Experimental laboratory for young people), Göttingen. Find out more about her here.

                July 2017

                • The registration for WoCaNet 2017 is now open until 15.09.17!! Please register here.
                • The job talks we will have are given by a Product Manager, a Medical Writer, a Data Scientist and a Senior Scientist R&D. Find out more about them in our Speaker section!
                • Dr. Nadine Sinclair, who is an independent consultant and coach, will also share her experiences with us on 13 October! Find out more about her here.

                June 2017

                • Frauke Heiligenstadt, Kultusministerin of Niedersachsen, wrote the Welcome Notes for WoCaNet 2017! Please read her kind words here.
                • Dr. Katalin Balázsi, Head of Department at the Centre for Energy Research of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, confirmed to be a speaker at WoCaNet 2017! Please find more information about her here.
                • This year, there will be three workshops! The topics will be International Business Etiquette, Helpful Skills for newly appointed Leaders and Voice and Body Coaching. You can find out more about the workshops and the trainers here.

                May 2017

                • We are glad to confirm more speakers for WoCaNet 2017! As session speakers, we would like to announce Melina Schuh, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen, and Nadine Sinclair, Entrepreneur and Coaching & Consulting. For a series of job talks, the first person we want to present you is Kalpana Singh who is a Global Product Manager for Flow Cytometry Reagents at Miltenyi Biotec GmbH in Bergisch Gladbach.
                • Shortly, you will find more information about all of our speakers here.

                November 2016

                • 01.11.16: We are happy that Janette Atkinson agreed to be a speaker at WoCaNet 2017! She is Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience in University College London. Please find more information about her here.

                August 2016

                • The organising of WoCaNet 2017 is under way!
                • Our first keynote speaker has been confirmed: Prof. Dr. Katharina Landfester is the director of the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz.
                • We have set a date: WoCaNet 2017 will take place on the 12th and 13th of October 2017.

                February 2016

                • 27.02.2016: Thank you all for this inspiring and encouraging symposium! Your enthusiasm and openness in the discussions made it possible! Thank you to all speakers for sharing their personal stories with us! Thank you to all supporters and organizers for all your commitment and dedication to WoCaNet over the past year!
                • All talks have been recorded on video, so you can all watch the talks that you have missed. They will be released on our website shortly.
                • Since the Lean-In session during WoCaNet 2014 was such a success, we are happy to use this discussion format again during WoCaNet 2016. Check out this TED talk by Sheryl Sandberg, the author of the book "Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead" and current COO of Facebook.

                January 2016

                • Registration is closed. We are excited and looking forward to the symposium next month!
                • Check out our updated program schedule and the welcome message of Bundesministerin Manuela Schwesig, Federal Minister of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth!
                • Dr. Mimma Pernetti, Director Global Marketing at GlaxoSmithKline Vaccines in Rixensart, Belgium, completes our speakers list!

                November 2015

                • 11.11.2015: Registrations are filling up, register soon, especially if you'd like to attend the workshops and dinner!
                • 02.11.2015: The WoCaNet 2016 program is complete and registration is now open!

                October 2015

                • As part of WoCaNet 2016 we will have two interactive workshops by Dr. med Tanja Meyer-Treschan and Barbara Hoffbauer. Check out the contents of the workshops here. Registration for the symposium - including the workshops - will start on the 2nd of November 2015.
                • The opening addresses of WoCaNet 2016 will be given by the President of the Georg-August-University Göttingen, Prof. Dr. Ulrike Beisiegel, and Viola von Cramon, former member of the German Federal Parliament for Bündnis 90/Die Grünen.
                • Two more speakers are confirmed: Dr. Elizabeth Gaskell, Associate Scientific Editor, Molecular Cell, Cambridge, MA, USA and Prof. Dr. Ute Kothe, Associate Professor of Biochemistry, University of Lethbridge, Canada!

                September 2015

                • The closing keynote speaker is confirmed: Dr. Elizabeth Pollitzer, Director of Portia Ltd, an organization devoted to improving gender equality in STEM, London, UK!

                August 2015

                • Two more speakers for WoCaNet 2016 are confirmed: Dr. Christel Fenge is the Vice President of Marketing, Fermentation and Technologies at Sartorius and Dr. Ruth Wellenreuther is Alliance Manager & Project Coordinator at DKFZ, Heidelberg. We are already looking forward to welcome them on the symposium!

                June 2015

                • We are very happy to announce that Dr. Belén Begines Ruiz is a confirmed speaker of WoCaNet 2016! She is a Postdoctoral research fellow in the Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing Research Group at the University of Nottingham, UK.

                May 2015

                • First real news on WoCaNet 2016! We now have the date and also our first keynote speaker fixed. WoCaNet 2016 will actually be a 2-day event and takes place on the 25th and 26th of February.
                • Prof. Dr. Joan A. Steitz accepted our invitation to be the first keynote speaker for the symposium. Prof. Steitz is Sterling Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry at Yale University and Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

                January 2015

                • Videos of some symposium talks can now be found here.

                December 2014

                • Pictures of the symposium can be found here.

                November 2014

                • The symposium on 20 November 2014 was a great success with more than 180 participants, encouraging talks and conversations, an inspiring Lean In discussion, body language workshop and career fair. Thank you all for making this symposium alive, by your active participation, discussions and questions!

                October 2014

                • WoCaNet is drawing near and registration is closed. We are looking forward to an exciting symposium on 20.11.2014 at MPIbpc!
                • More news! Bioline, participating at the WoCaNet Career Fair, offers 2 positions for R&D scientists in London at the moment. Application deadline is 30.11. Bioline will provide more information on these offers at the career fair. You can discuss your qualification and CV with them if you like.

                August 2014

                • Registration is open till 17.10.2014!

                July 2014

                • The symposium will be opened by Line Matthiessen-Guyader, Head of the Unit "Fighting infectious diseases and global epidemics" at the European Commission in Brussels.

                May 2014 We would like to introduce one more speaker to you:

                • Susanne Diederich is the spokesperson of the German primate center and is involved in public relations and science communication.

                April 2014 We have three more speaker confirmations for WoCaNet 2014!

                • Gina Park is Product Line Manager for Texas Instruments.
                • Jade Safta is Line Manager at R&D department at Octapharma.
                • Maria Fitzgerald is Professor of Developmental Neurobiology at the University College London.

                March 2014 We are very happy to introduce to you three of the confirmed speakers for WoCaNet 2014:

                • Katharina Landfester is managing director at the MPI for polymer research in Mainz. The mother of two children is an expert in nanoparticle cell interaction and was spokesperson for the Young Academy of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities.
                • Carolin Borgmann - section head in Material Development for Pampers at Proctor & Gamble - has received her PhD in chemistry and is a specialist for new market introductions and business development. Caroline is a great example for a successful industrial career and the combination of profession and family.
                • Caroline Simard is associate director of the Office of Diversity and Leadership at the Stanford School of Medicine and is, amongst other things, working on solutions to recruit, retain, and advance women and underrepresented minorities in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields.

                January 2014

                • The first confirmed speaker for WoCaNet 2014: Highly awarded Ann A. Kiessling is one of the leaders in human parthenogenic stem cell research and a former Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School.

                December 2013

                • Save the date: WoCaNet 2014 will take place on the 20th of November 2014 at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry!

                October 2013

                • After an inspiring kick off meeting in October 2013, the new WoCaNet organization team has assembled. 16 women from different scientific fields, both PhD students and Postdocs, are eager to follow up on the huge success of the last WoCaNet meetings.

                August 2013

                • Selected talks of the 2nd Women´s Careers and Networks Symposium can be found here.

                June 2013

                • Impressions of the 2nd Women´s Careers and Networks Symposium can be found here.
                • For results on the PhD survey "Experiences in academic research and future plans" have a look here.

                March 2013

                • The 2nd Women´s Careers and Networks Symposium was a great success! Thanks to all speakers, participants, organizers and supporters, who made this event happen!
                • The next symposium is planned for late 2014.

                February 2013

                • The final Schedule can be downloaded here.

                January 2013

                • All Dinner places are distributed!
                • Registration for the Symposium was extended until 8th of February!
                • Take part in the survey here.
                • More about the Networking Dinner here.
                • More about Registration here.

                December 2012

                • Registration is open!
                • More about Registration here.

                October 2012

                • Professor Rita Süssmuth, former presiding officer of the German parliament, has confirmed her attendance!
                • Find a list of all confirmed speakers here.

                July 2012

                • We have two more speaker confirmations for WoCaNet 2013!
                • Dr. Sandra Wechsler (Regulatory Affairs Expert at DSM Nutritional Products, Basel) accepted our speaker invitation
                • Dr. Annette Luther (Head of Communication in Diagnostics, Hoffmann-La Roche AG) accepted our speaker invitation

                June 2012

                • We have several speaker confirmations for WoCaNet 2013!
                • Patent lawyer Daniela Kinkeldey accepted our invitation to give a talk.
                • Reinhard Kreckel, professor of sociology, also confirmed his attendance as speaker.
                • Dr. Emily Monosson accepted our speaker invitation. The toxicologist, writer, consultant, and mother of two children is author of the book Motherhood, the Elephant in the Laboratory: Women Scientists Speak Out (Cornell University Press, 2008).
                • Professor Julia Fischer (Group leader at the DPZ, Göttingen) accepted our speaker invitation
                • A representative from biotech industry will be giving a talk at the symposium. More details as soon we have confirmed the speaker!

                May 2012

                • We have a date for the upcoming Women's Careers and Networks: March 6th, 2013!
                • Distinguished chemistry professor Carol Robinson agreed to join WoCaNet as keynote speaker!

                April 2012

                • The next symposium will be held in spring 2013.

                March 2012

                • The next Women's Careers and Networks Symposium is on the way!
                • With a new team and an innovated concept, we are taking on the preparations for the next successful career symposium!

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