We are delighted to reflect on our first extensive career event “Life after PhD” last week. 

Our first day opened with a series of expert-led talks on career planning inside and outside academia:

Career Advice: Outside of Academia, delivered by Janina Velme (Federal Employment Agency), giving valuable insights into the job market and application strategies. Dr Anette Kremer (Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship) presented options on self-employment and politikneugedacht founder León Eberhardt talked about his founding experiences. 

Career Advice: Staying in Academia, Dr Antonia Widmer-Leitz and Dr Martin Rehfeldt (Graduate Centre Trimberg Research Academy) offered strategic insights on academic career paths and third‑party funding.

Navigating Future Challenges of Working in Social Science, allowed our guests Dr Emilia Kmiotek-Meier (University of Cologne), Prof Dr Carsten Schwemmer (LMU Munich) and Dr Pascal Heß (IAB) to discuss different perspectives on AI and a changing social science landscape, moderated by Dr Simon Scheller.

The second day was dedicated to first-hand experiences from our BAGSS Alumni Network, who generously shared their career trajectories across academia, research institutes, and applied practice with our current members:

Panel 1 – University Careers: In our first panel BAGSS alumni Dr Levan Kakhishvili (ETH Zurich), Dr Johanna Sophie Quis (University of Hannover) and Dr Alina Felder-Stindt (Universitat Pompeu Fabra Barcelona) offered insights into their careers in academia.
Moderation: Micaela Großmann

Panel 2 – Research Institutes: Our second panel included three BAGSS alumni now working in research institutes: Dr Zahra Kamal (Centre for Evaluation and Development & University of Mannheim), Dr Isabel W. (Berlin School of Economics and Law) and Dr Saikat Ghosh (Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories).
Moderation: Melanie Hochmuth

Panel 3 – From Research to Practice: Our last panel of the day focused on career paths outside of academia. BAGSS alumni Dr Pia Akkaya (Disctrict Youth Association Pinneberg), Dr Linda Maria Spielmann (Genossenschaftsverband Bayern) and Dr. Tobias Henson Rausch (DLR Projektträger) shared their experiences after leaving academia.
Moderation: Julia Hufnagl

The afternoon continued with a vibrant Poster Session showcasing current projects of BAGSS doctoral students. The event series concluded with the Roundtable on “Unofficial Biographies” with members of our External Academic Advisory Council Professor Carola Grunschel (University of Münster), Professor Thomas Bräuninger (University of Mannheim), Professor Stefani Scherer (University of Trento) and Professor Moris Triventi (University of Milan) moderated by BAGSS postdoctoral member Dr Stefan Hee.

We extend our sincere gratitude to all speakers, alumni, partners, moderators, council members and participants who contributed to this Life after PhD Event with their expertise and commitment.