Equal Opportunities: The Dorothea-Erxleben-Program
The declared objective of the Cluster of Excellence PMI is to promote equal opportunities between women and men in research and in hospitals.
The Dorothea-Erxleben-Program for Gender Equality covers a large number of structural measures aimed at creating equal opportunities at all levels. These include, among others, bridging financing for highly qualified scientists between funding programs, start-up funds following parental leave and the PMI Research Assistant System for support during pregnancy or parental leave. Doctoral researchers, postdocs and leaders of young researcher groups can apply for funds to, for example, appoint a representative to lead the group temporarily or to fund technical assistance for necessary laboratory work.
Dorothea-Erxleben-Award
In order to promote female cluster scientists working in inflammation research, every three years the Cluster of Excellence PMI awards three prestigious Dorothea-Erxleben-Awards for female researchers, one with prize money of €100,000 and two with prize money of €50,000. The prizes are awarded exclusively to female scientists from the cluster in order to support their excellent research activities and therefore also enhance their qualification for further funding applications. The prize is named after Dorothea Christiane Erxleben, the first female doctor in Germany to complete her doctoral degree in the middle of the 18th century and who practised as a physician in Quedlinburg.
The next call for nominations is scheduled for 2020.
Equal opportunity commissioners of the host institutions
The hosts of the cluster actively support gender equality between women and men. Equal opportunity commissioners are the point of contact for matters concerning female scientists:
- Kiel University
- University of Lübeck
- University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology
- Research Center Borstel - Leibniz Lung Center
- Kiel Institute for the World Economy
- Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education (IPN)
- Muthesius University of Fine Arts and Design
Alongside the cluster’s own measures, the universities and other cluster locations offer various gender equality services. These include :
- Kiel University:
The mentoring program via:mento - At the University of Lübeck:
com.ment III für Ärztinnen und Zahnärztinnen - At the Research Center Borstel:
Leibniz-Mentoring - At the Max Planck Institute Plön:
Minerva FemmeNet of the Max Planck Society
