The language enthusiast is convinced that she received the offer primarily because of the many additional qualifications she gradually acquired at the Potsdam Graduate School (PoGS) at the University of Potsdam. The deciding factor was that she had recently completed a one-year continuing education program in science communication there: specifically, seven workshops, including media training at the Film University Babelsberg, where she wrote the storyboard for a video and shot it herself. At the end of the program, she had to present her own project. Finzel chose an information campaign on “Linguistic Fun Facts”, i.e., entertaining facts about language and language use.
“I was hired on the spot,” the linguist says happily. In her new job, she now actually has a lot to do with external science communication: “For example, I have to explain in simple terms what the NUM Study Network is. Or convey to patients what we’re researching and why clinical trials are important and relevant.”
Actually, the Baden native had primarily wanted to do research herself. A good instructor unexpectedly sparked her enthusiasm for linguistics. “I enjoyed writing my master’s thesis so much that I absolutely wanted to continue and pursue a Ph.D.” Even back then, she had become aware of the offerings at the PoGS and attended a course to prepare for her dissertation: “The writing workshop really helped me structure my topic at the beginning.” That’s why she’s a big fan of the PoGS: “Ph.D. students and postdocs are otherwise often left very much on their own.”
Immediately after Finzel started her doctoral studies, she was asked if she wanted to teach a seminar. “That was cool, and I was up for it. But suddenly you’re standing in front of 30 students and you’re not prepared for it.” The young researcher was lucky and was able to complete the “International Teaching Professionals” training program while teaching her first course. There, she learned practical basics such as e-teaching and e-learning, competency-based exams, and intercultural competence. “You also reflect on your role as a teacher. What do I have to do when I’m responsible for designing the seminar? What kind of teacher do I want to be—or am I?” Without this support, she would have been lost. “After the training, the dam was broken. I taught a lot afterward and enjoyed it. And you just keep getting better over time.”
Nevertheless, she didn’t find the path to a professorship appealing. There was no guarantee that she would eventually reach that career goal. Moreover, in the humanities, there is a shortage of positions that allow enough time for research. “And fixed-term contracts are the norm.” In science-related fields, on the other hand, there are more permanent positions.
The fact that things worked out with the new job is also a result of additional qualifications she earned at PoGS. For example, she completed a course on applying for third-party funding: “Luckily, the course was online, because I was heavily pregnant.” She also attended a one-year advanced training program in research management. “I can really put that to good use now in the coordination team of a nationwide research infrastructure. Unlike before, I’m now working in the medical field on projects worth millions and with a real impact on national clinical research.”
“If I had ‘just’ taught for years and not done all this continuing education, the job market wouldn’t exactly have scrambled to get me,” Finzel notes with a smile. The fact that she now has to familiarize herself with entirely new topics like clinical research doesn’t scare her at all. On the contrary: “It’s helpful for my job that I don’t know everything. I have to be able to explain clinical trials in a way that everyone understands what’s going on.”
More information on the Potsdam Graduate School (PoGS): https://www.uni-potsdam.de/en/pogs/connect/20-jahre-pogs
This article appeared in the university magazine Portal - Eins 2026 „Inklusion“.