You are never strong enough that you don’t need help.

Cesar Chavez

Our hybrid Annual General Meeting (AGM) was a lot of fun

Our Annual General Meeting in Würzburg this year was a two-day event filled with great experiences and networking opportunities. On Friday, after arriving and checking in, we attended two interesting workshops. Firstly, we had an internal presentation and a long discussion about the role of science in our current society, and the involvement of doctoral researchers in increasingly complex systems. Secondly, Caterina Melai, a wonderful guest speaker, spoke about the approach of peer-to-peer coffee breaks to strengthening mental health within our academic society.
The second day, the official AGM, was packed with important discussions and decisions. The outgoing executive council presented their activities over the last year, after which the new council was elected. Also, two new member representatives joined our federal association. Rest assured that, as soon as our office finds the time, we will sort through the images and prepare a more detailed blog post about the great weekend in Würzburg.

But the AGM 2025 is still voting

We were happy to see so many of you in Würzburg and online during the hybrid AGM. Sadly, however, we did not reach the quorum required to make decisions. Until 21 December at 23:59, every member who has not yet voted has the chance to vote in our delayed option, as you were all informed. Also we have still some open positions in the AGM (Secretary, Programmatic, IT,…) feel free to reach out to us and add your experience to the executive council.

Mental health in academia

The mental health of researchers is a recurring topic of discussion, as it is among younger generations in general. We are aware of numerous surveys and research papers on this topic, both large and small. But we are interested in your perspectives! How do you cope with stressful situations? At what times during your working day do you feel your mental health suffering? Get in touch if you have some great advice to share or if you think there are things that need to change in the academic system.

First plans for the „Hochschulaktionstag“ in January

In October, a kick-off meeting was held about the ‚Hochschulaktionstag‘ in 2026. This nationwide protest, organised by unions and student associations, is against austerity measures in science, education, and health. For doctoral researchers, it provides a valuable opportunity to campaign for fair working conditions and to establish connections with academic and union networks. A large coalition of interest groups, including unions, organise activities, and local campus alliances are formed at nearly every university. This will be the second time since the highly successful Hochschulaktionstag in 2023.

nature: Supportive supervisors have more satisfied doctoral researchers

Based on Nature’s 2025 global PhD survey of over 3,700 students, it is emphasised that good supervision is often overlooked yet essential, despite the fact that funding, workload and collegial teams are important. Supervisors who invest time in their students, demonstrate empathy and provide mentoring improve their students’ well-being and strengthen their own research outcomes. We agree with the editorial that fostering positive supervisory relationships creates doctoral researchers who are more satisfied, resilient, and productive. Let us all strive to make academic work happier!