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Hamburg Research Academy

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Setting Boundaries in Academia: Strategic Nos for Your Career

This workshop is designed for early career researchers who want to take more strategic control of their academic careers by learning how to set healthy boundaries.

In today’s competitive academic environment, many researchers struggle with saying no to requests and opportunities. This often leads to scattered focus, burnout, and slower career progress.

The academic world presents unique challenges for boundary-setting:

  • Unclear hierarchies and dependency relationships

  • Pressure to constantly prove oneself

  • Fear that declining opportunities might harm future prospects

  • Lack of clarity about personal goals and values, making it difficult to separate essential from non-essential commitments

This workshop takes a structured, problem-solving approach. Together, we will:

  • Create clarity around personal priorities and goals as a foundation for strategic decision-making

  • Explore the internal barriers that make boundary-setting difficult

  • Practice practical approaches for implementing boundaries effectively in academic contexts

Through a mix of individual reflection, peer exchange, and hands-on exercises, participants will gain the clarity and confidence needed to make strategic choices about their time and energy.

By the end of the workshop, you will leave with:

  • Concrete tools you can apply in your daily academic life

  • Greater confidence in setting boundaries

  • A clearer sense of how healthy boundaries can accelerate rather than hinder your career development

Details

Date:
Thu, 9 October 2025, 01:00 PM - 05:00 PM, online

Requirements for participation:

  • Attendance: Participation is only possible, if you can guarantee an uninterrupted attendance.
  • Attention: Online events require the same undivided attention as face-to-face events. Please refrain from parallel activities.
  • Interaction: In general HRA events are interactive and require your active participation.
  • Visibility: Please turn on your camera, if possible. Especially in our workshops, this is essential for a productive working environment.

Career Stage:
Postdoctoral Phase

Language:
English

Organizer:
Hamburg Research Academy

Trainer:

As a trainer and coach for scientists, Dr. Julia Schmidt specializes in guiding (international) researchers on their path through the German academic system. Her approach combines emotional and mental coaching with intercultural aspects and practical strategies specifically tailored to the challenges working in a new academic environment with an unfamiliar set of (often unspoken) rules. Through customized coaching and workshops, she helps scientists not only enhance their intercultural skills but also develop their personal resilience and mental strength. This enables participants to meet the diverse demands of their research careers with increased effectiveness and mental balance. Dr. Julia Schmidt studied Ethnology and earned her doctorate in Intercultural German Studies/Sociolinguistics from the University of Göttingen. Since 2014, she has been supporting young scientists in their academic careers, initially at various universities and research institutions (e.g., University of Tübingen, Forschungszentrum Jülich), and since 2022, as an independent trainer and coach.

Maximum number of participants:
12

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