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Technical University of Munich

Doctoral Supervision at TUM

 

The Technical University of Munich strives to play a leading role in supporting and developing its personnel. One key element of the support the university provides for junior scholars and scientists is good supervision for doctoral candidates. TUM offers a number of qualification options to achieve this.

Doctoral Supervisor Training

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 offer also provides a platform for professional exchange. 

The jointly developed training is aimed specifically at professors, junior research group leaders and postdocs (with supervision responsibilities) at TUM, the two Max Planck Institutes for Biochemistry and Biological Intelligence and Helmholtz Munich. The training is useful for both experienced supervisors and postdocs who are starting to guide doctoral researchers on a day-to-day basis.

The structured program consists of eight modules taking place between February and April 2025. The kick-off as well as the conclusion of the training are designed in a face-to-face format, while the other six content modules take place online via zoom. The modules are linked by an exchange of experiences and practical applications.

The next training will take place from February to April 2026. Registration will open on November 3, 2025.

Please note that for the online modules in 2026 we will have 2 groups running in parallel. The first group will have the online sessions on Wednesdays, the second group on Thursdays.

 

Program outline

Date / TimeOrganizer / TrainerTopicContent / Learning Outcomes
February 26, 2026, 
1pm-6pm, in person at Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry		Dr. Monika Beer, Dr. Camila Hernández Frederick, Dr. Vera Kaulbarsch, Dr. Neele MeyerModule 1 | Kick-Off: Essentials of Supervision
  • Getting to know each other and clarification of expectations
  • Supervision timeline & formal aspects
  • Understanding my role as a supervisor
  • Team building & Get together
March 4/5, 2026, 
9am-1pm, online		Dr. Ulrike SchneebergModule 2 | Self-Awareness, Emotional Intelligence & Non-violent Communication
  • Introduction to the basics of Nonviolent Communication (NVC)
  • Understand and know how to manage own emotions in the workplace
  • Apply concepts of emotional intelligence to improve 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
March 11/12, 2026, 
9am-1pm, online		Dr. Martin Fladerer, Clarissa ZwargModule 3 | Basics Leadership: Giving and receiving Feedback, Clarification of Expectations
  • 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
March 18/19, 2026, 
9am-1pm, online		Dr. Martin Fladerer, Clarissa ZwargModule 4 | Recruitment & Onboarding
  • 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)
March 25/26, 2026, 
9am-1pm, online		Dr. Ulrike SchneebergModule 5 | Intercultural Communication
  • Learn about and get familiar with culture-specific dimensions of communication (Erin Meyer) to increase awareness of cultural dynamics to foster successful and productive relationships with supervised Doctoral Researchers
  • Reflect on and discuss own, other participants’ and/or exemplary critical incidents in the context of cross-cultural work experience to evaluate the effectiveness of the employed behaviours 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
April 14/15, 2026, 
9am-1pm, online		Judith BergnerModule 6 | Mental Health
  • Being a role model for staying mentally strong in a challenging work-environment
  • Self-calming strategies in stressful times
  • Knowing warning indicators for mental exhaustion
  • Supporting doctoral researchers in dealing with different stressors
  • Create a safe work environment in which people can flourish
April 22/23, 2026, 
9am-1pm, online		Dr. Ulrike SchneebergModule 7 | Leading Difficult Conversations / Focus on Negotiation
  • 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. Participants will get individual feedback from the actor in this module.
  • Focus on negotiation as a type of "difficult conversation", with insights from the Harvard Negotiation Model and Nonviolent Communication
  • Practice negotiation strategies in role plays and get feedback for improvement 
April 30, 2026, 
3pm-6pm, in person at TUM Graduate School

Dr. Monika Beer, Dr. Camila Hernández Frederick, Dr. Vera Kaulbarsch, Dr. Neele Meyer

 

Module 8 | Looking back & future vision as a supervisor

 

  • Reflection: My role as a supervisor after the training, Definition of milestones & implementation strategy to put theory intro practice
  • Networking Event & Award of Certificates

Ulrike Schneeberg, PhD is a 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 Fellow 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. Website 

Clarissa Zwarg is a research associate and doctoral candidate at the Chair of Research and Science Management at the TUM School of Management. She is part of the DFG-project “Does the place make the people? The role of leadership and work climate for moral and prosocial socialization in the workplace”. Website 

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.

TUM Supervisory Award

The Supervisory Award recognizes excellence in the support of next-generation academic talent since 2018 and is awarded by the Graduate Council of the Technical University of Munich (TUM), the body representing the university’s doctoral candidates. The Bund der Freunde der Technischen Universität München e.V. funds the 5,000 Euro prize money, which must be channeled to the benefit of the doctoral candidates.

Additional Offers

In order to support you professionally in your successful activities, you will also find a range of courses tailored specifically to your needs at other continuing education providers at TUM.

As part of your leadership position, you are confronted with a variety of challenges such as establishing and expanding your research unit, supervising doctoral students, and effectively leading teams. Faculty@TUM, the evidence-based continuing education program for professors offered by the TUM Institute for LifeLong Learning, supports you in mastering your interdisciplinary leadership tasks. 

In addition to Leadership & Mental Health or Coaching Basics, for example, there is also a compact course called Supervising Doctoral Candidates.

The TUM Tenure Track Academy is a cross-faculty platform to promote networking and integration of TUM Tenure Track Professors. Many of the seminars and workshops offered teach skills relevant to doctoral supervisors. In this context, inspiring key notes and impulse lectures, practice-oriented workshops and networking events are offered to support you in successfully shaping your tenure track phase. You will have the opportunity to choose the events that are right for you, to exchange ideas with colleagues and instigators from research and practice, and to expand your network at TUM.

Alongside excellent research, excellent teaching is a fundamental component of our university's profile. As a professor, your teaching makes a significant contribution to the training of young scientists. The TUM ProLehre | Medien und Didaktik team supports you with programs in the areas of university didactics, education technology and media production.

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