Career Day – Discover Your Future Beyond Academia
18 September 2026 | 1 pm | Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Potsdam-Golm
We, the organizing committee of the Career Day “Discover your Future Beyond Academia”, are happy to invite plant biologists (bioinformaticians as well as wet-lab scientists) to our event taking place on the 18th of September at the Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology in Golm, Potsdam. The Career Day is organised by members of CRC 1644 and specifically aimed at early career researchers — PhD students and postdocs as well as graduates working in plant biology.
We probably all know more or less about career possibilities in academia. But for many of us, options beyond academia have remained unclear. During our Career Day, we want to shed more light into the following questions:
- What skills do I need to obtain a position with a certain employer?
- What kind of jobs does a certain employer offer?
- Where does the employer have their locations within DE/ Europe?
- How can I stand out from the big pool of applicants?
During our Career Day, we invite representatives from companies, start-ups, NGOs, German governmental employers, and scientific journals to give you answers to these questions and more. A list of attending employers will be accessible on this website soon as well as a detailed program.
We look forward to welcoming you to Potsdam!
Where & When
18 September 2026 - 1:00 pm
Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology
Potsdam Science Park, Am Mühlenberg 1, 14476 Potsdam-Golm
(a short walk from the University of Potsdam's Golm campus)
By public transport:
- Bus 605 or 695 to “Science Park, West”, then walk 5 minutes to the MPI.
- RB20, RB21, RB22, RB23 to "Golm, Bahnhof", then walk approx. 10 minutes to the MPI.
Directions
Outline of the event
The event starts at 1 pm with short presentations, in which each representative introduces their organization and the kinds of roles and opportunities they offer. Following the talks, representatives will be available at individual booths for informal conversations, questions, and networking from around 3 pm till 6 pm.
Preliminary Programme
| Time | Talk |
|---|---|
| 13:00 | Welcome & Introduction to the Career Day |
| 13:05 - 13:20 | Dr. Maria Grazia Annunziata, Knowledge & Technology Transfer Officer Potsdam Science Park, Standortmanagement Golm GmbH |
| 13:20- 13:45 | Dr. Saurabh Joshi, Molecular Biologist 3PaTec |
| 13:45- 13:55 | Dr. Lisa Heinke, Senior Editor Springer Nature |
| 13:55- 14:05 | Dr. Heike Sprenger, Scientific Staff Federal Office for Risk Assessment/Bundesamt für Risikobewertung (BfR) |
| 14:05- 14:15 | Dr. Nevena Petrovic, Genetic Analysis Sales Specialist Thermo Fisher |
| 14:15- 14:25 | Olya Vvedenskaya, MD, PhD, Sr Communications manager Lipotype |
| 14:25 – 14:35 | Dr. Federico Apelt, Senior Data Scientist KWS Saat |
| 15:00 – 18:00 | Discussions at company booths |
Registration
Registration is free and open to attendees as well as to companies, NGOs, governmental employers, and scientific journals wishing to participate. Please note that places are limited.
Further Information
Food options
For food options, there is the Max-Planck canteen conveniently located in the same building, while a REWE supermarket is just a 10-minutes walk away. Unfortunately, due to budget constraints, catering will not be provided.
Participating Employers
- Career Day Flyer (PDF, 2 MB)