The workshop "Equality for early career researchers at Saxon universities" combined the promotion of early career researchers, equal opportunities and equality.
The new program for early career researchers at the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences was launched at the end of October 2025: "Young Scientists@HSZG". The aim is to strengthen researchers in the early stages of their careers - with guidance, visibility and practical tools for their path into science communication. At the end of March 2026, the follow-up workshop "Equality for early career researchers at Saxon universities" took place at CELSIUZ in Zittau as part of "YoungScientists@HSZG".
The German Rectors' Conference - the voluntary association of state and state-recognized universities in Germany - writes on its homepage: "In the German science system, women are underrepresented at higher qualification levels and in management positions. Although women make up half of first-year students, undergraduates and graduates, a disproportionately high number of women leave academia at the graduation/doctorate and doctorate/habilitation stages. They account for around 26 percent of professorships and 25 percent of university management positions. "
However, the topic of equality does not only include gender issues, but also aspects of inclusion, accessibility and diversity. The Free State of Saxony writes on the "Studying in Saxony" portal: "Diversity management at universities not only tolerates the individual differences of people, but also emphasizes them in an appreciative manner. Diversity should be used positively for the success of the university. Diversity at universities means, for example, expanding equal opportunities and strengthening equal opportunities officers, empowering women in the academic system, equal participation of students and employees with disabilities and chronic illnesses or striving for a good work-life balance and protection against discrimination."
The background information provided serves to contextualize the current workshop topic at the HSZG. The workshop "Gender Equality for Early Career Researchers" was designed as a transfer-oriented qualification and exchange format. It combined the promotion of early career researchers with a cross-university knowledge transfer on equal opportunities, diversity and equality in science. At the same time, the format offered the opportunity to feed findings from gender equality issues back into STEM-related (STEM = mathematics, computer science, natural sciences and technology) research and university contexts in a targeted manner, thus providing impetus for reflective, discrimination-sensitive scientific practice.
The aims of the workshop included developing central concepts of equality, diversity and privilege in the university context, reflecting on one's own positioning, roles and power relations in scientific work contexts and recognizing unconscious bias and its effects on scientific careers. At the same time, the 17 participants - ten from the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences, six from the Dresden University of Applied Sciences and one junior researcher from the Mittweida University of Applied Sciences - were to be sensitized to gender equality issues (especially in the STEM context). The overarching goal and task for the participants: "The workshop should encourage and enable them to transfer the importance of equality and intersectional discrimination to their own teaching and research practice and create the conditions for successful work in diverse teams," say workshop leaders Julia Ochmann and Bernadette Rohlf. The latter is a research assistant at the TRAWOS Institute (Institute for Transformation, Housing and Social Spatial Development) at the HSZG, while Julia Ochmann is a research assistant at the University Development and Communication Unit of the HSZG Rectorate.
Workshop participant Franziska Stauche, ESF+ scholarship holder (ESF+ = European Social Fund Plus, editor's note) and research assistant in the "NextGen" project funded by the BMFTR (Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space) at Mittweida University of Applied Sciences, says: "I already came into contact with some of the workshop's topics during my studies in social science diversity research. Nevertheless, the workshop showed me what changes I myself have experienced as an individual in terms of equal opportunities over time. The contact with the other participants made it clear to me that equal opportunities can also be understood very differently - and does not mean the same thing for every person. For my research, this means paying even more attention to the different dimensions of diversity. The workshop definitely encouraged me to continue on the path I have chosen. I am researching this topic myself in my doctorate and the workshop reminded me of the importance of the topic thanks to the practical insight it provided."
Workshop participant Tom Richter, research assistant at the Chair of High Voltage Engineering at the HSZG and junior researcher in the "Hybrid Plus" junior research group, sums up: "Above all, the workshop raised my awareness of the fact that equal opportunities are not an abstract goal for the Equal Opportunities Officer, but a daily task for us junior researchers too. I now question my own unconscious bias more actively and pay more attention to how structural inequalities affect academic communication and teamwork. I found the testimonials from colleagues who had already experienced discrimination in their studies or everyday working life particularly enlightening. This "worst of" sometimes left me speechless. All the more impressive, however, were the stories of people who have openly taken a stand against such behavior. That showed me how important it is not to accept discriminatory behavior, even if you sometimes have to move out of your comfort zone to do so."
Text: Frank Leberecht
Photos: Lucas Wenzel
