In our company schainundkuchenbrandt, we offer seminars, consultations and coachings both face-to-face and digital as well as learning videos aimed at academics of all levels (Phd students, postdocs, junior professors and professors) and professionals employed in university administration and science management. 

In so doing, we consider the demands and problems of the scientific profession, and the scientific system. Our goal at schainundkuchenbrandt is to help scientists to plan their careers in a more goal-oriented manner, in order to comply with the special demands that come with the professional field of science and above all, to be able to carry out their profession in the long term, with joy and satisfaction.

We offer our seminars in both German and English. In addition to classic face-to-face seminars, we also offer web seminars as well as flexible flipped-classroom formats with teaching videos and short group units. If you are interested in our seminars, please contact Dieta Kuchenbrandt.

First audition? – Applying for (junior-) professorship

The seminar is designed to provide you with information about the most important phases of the appointment procedure for W1 to W3 professorships in Germany as well as concrete advice for your applications. In a first step, the seminar will address the formal aspects of the appointment procedure. In a second step, all fundamental application documents will be discussed in detail. In the third part of the seminar, the expectations and requirements for the hearing in front of the appointment committee will be addressed. You will receive information and short demonstrations on how to structure your scientific talk and teaching demonstration. Additionally, the questions and topics that come up the most during appointment committee interviews will be presented.

For further information regarding the different seminar formats, please press here.

How to become a professor! – Academic career planning and development

The seminar is designed to, on the one hand, provide you with a framework to reflect on your own professional motivations. On the other hand, the seminar will provide you with the knowledge and orientation needed for planning and developing the next steps towards a long-term academic career in Germany. This includes questions like: Which long-term career options does the »job market academia« offer academics and what are the chances of getting a long-term position? What requirements and criteria should you fulfil for this career path? At what point are which tasks particularly important? How important is the habilitation? What time frame is appropriate? What are important milestones on the way to a professorship? Additionally, the seminar will give you the opportunity to take stock and reflect on your own academic profile as well as, ideally, derive the next important steps.

For further information regarding the different seminar formats, please press here.

I’m out of here! – Leaving academia

The seminar’s goal is to support you in coming up with ideas for professional alternatives to a career in academia. Therefore, the situation of PhD holders on the German job market will be portrayed. Using exercises for analysis and self-reflection, you will then be guided to explore your own interests and values. In a next step, strategies will be presented for researching career options and determining your own competences for the non-academic job market. After that, you will be given suggestions for the first application steps.

 For further information regarding the different seminar formats, please press here.

Self-competence & self-leadership

Working as a scientist requires a high degree of self-management: How do I set boundaries in my day-to-day work? How do I improve my self-organization? How do I ensure recreational breaks? In this subject area, we tailor individual seminars specifically to your concrete concerns. We will be happy to clarify your wishes and our ideas in this regard in a personal meeting.

Your contact person is Cécile Schain.

Interpersonal competence & leadership

We offer seminars on the topic »Interpersonal competence & leadership« that are specifically tailored to your concerns and needs. Here, for example, we focus on developing your personal understanding of leadership, selected leadership tools or the responsible use of power. Alternatively, we focus on communication in teams or conflict management in everyday working life. Diversity-sensitive communication or communicative strategies to prevent the abuse of power are also possible focal points.

 Your contact person is Cécile Schain.

Our approach in seminars and training sessions

Our approach in seminars and training sessions is characterized by the following basic principles and features:

Since 2020, we have been using learning videos in our portfolio for universities and research institutions as a way to engage with selected topics flexibly, timely, and autonomously. Via Tentary, we offer our expertise for direct access. The learning videos are available in both German and English.

If you are interested in our learning videos on behalf of an institution or a company, feel free to get in touch with us directly.

For further information about the videos, please press here.

First audition?
Applying for (junior) professorships

The video is designed to inform you about the different phases of the appointment procedure and to provide you with concrete advice for your applications. The video addresses the formal aspects of the appointment procedure, key application documents, expectations and requirements for the hearing in front of the appointment committee as well as important preparatory steps.

How to become a professor!
Academic career planning and development

The video is designed to provide you with the knowledge and orientation needed for planning and developing the next steps towards a long-term academic career in Germany. The video provides you with information about long-term options on the »job market academia«, the key requirements and milestones on the way to a professorship as well as information about the weighting of said requirements. Building on this, the video will give you the opportunity to take stock and reflect on your own academic profile as well as ideally derive the next important steps.

I’m out of here!
Leaving academia

The video is designed to support you in coming up with ideas for professional alternatives to a career in academia. The situation of PhD holders on the German job market will be portrayed in the video. You will then be guided to explore your own interests and values. In a next step, strategies will be presented for researching career options and determining your own competences for the non-academic job market. After that, you will be given suggestions for the first application steps.

Welche Kosten kommen auf Sie zu?

You will have access to the educational video for three months starting with the purchase date. For further information about pricing and conditions, please press here. If you are interested in the learning videos on behalf of an institution or a company, feel free to contact us directly regarding information on pricing and conditions.

You are aiming for a long-term scientific career and are unsure what requirements you need to fulfill for this or what the next important steps in your career development should be? You are applying for a professorship and do not know exactly how the documents should be drafted or what is expected of you in the interview?

With our experience and expertise in and with the academic system, we are happy to advise you.

In a detailed and free telephone conversation we clarify your wishes and objectives and then discuss a possible approach together.

In consultations we treat all details and information from you confidentially. We are happy to advise and support you in our office in Leipzig. We have also had very good experiences with consultations via Zoom.

Please feel free to contact us. Your contact person is Dieta Kuchenbrandt.

Applying for professorships

We firstly support you in the preparation of your application documents. Here, we analyze and optimize together with you your CV, your cover letter as well as your research and teaching concepts, in particular with regard to the specific requirements of the announcement and the denomination of the professorship. Our experience has shown that the analysis and consultation process usually take between two and four hours. Secondly, we prepare you for the oral hearing. Here, we are happy to advise you for possible points of focus, pitfalls and how to deal with strengths and weaknesses in your profile. We offer you a trial run of the scientific presentation, the demonstration lecture and the appointment committee interview. We will optimize your self-presentation during an intensive feedback process. Here, you should expect a time frame of three to five hours.

Planning and optimizing academic careers

In the course of an academic career, many questions are raised:

• What is the sensible next step?
• Can I stay at my current chair after my graduation or when should I change at the latest?
• Does a habilitation in my field still make sense or what habilitation-equivalent achievements would I have to make?
• Should I plan to stay abroad?
• Where and in what format can I best acquire third-party funding?
• What is still missing in my academic profile?
• When can I start applying for a professorship?

The procedure in career counseling can vary depending on your concerns and questions. However, the consultation usually includes a joint analysis of your current academic profile based on your CV and the joint discussion of the sensible next steps. Of course, we always take your personal and family situation into account. The consultation can also serve to provide you with an overview of the requirements you will face during your postdoctoral period on the way to a professorship.

What are the costs?

For private clients, we charge 145.00 Euro (including 19% VAT) for a consultation hour (60 min). If we are commissioned by institutions and companies, we charge 165.00 Euro (excl. VAT) per consultation hour.

Coaching is a psychological form of consulting that supports you in finding solutions for professional and personal challenges. For this purpose, we use consulting and intervention methods from different psychological disciplines that have proven effective both scientifically and in practice.

With which concerns do clients come to us for coaching?

Clients come to us with a variety of issues, for example:

• I am having trouble completing my PhD on time and coping with the pressure.
• I don’t feel confident and I often feel insecure.
• I am starting my first professorship and would like to prepare for the managerial functions and leadership responsibilities.
• I have difficulties working efficiently and without interruptions in the office and with structuring myself and my work.
• I have a permanent conflict with my supervisor.
• I have difficulties regarding my work-life-balance.
• I have difficulties making up my mind: Do I want to keep pursuing an academic career or do I want to do something completely different?

How and where do we work in coaching?

At the beginning of each coaching process, we emphasize a differentiated clarification of goals, as coaching goals often do not automatically result from the reason that led to take up coaching. This is comparable to planning a journey: The feeling ‘I strongly need a change of scene’ does not identify a specific country or place you wish to visit.

When the goals are set, we clarify what you need from the coaching process with regard to reaching these goals. To support you in achieving your goals, we use various techniques and methods, such as perspective changes, visualizations, questioning techniques, simulations, exercises between sessions, knowledge input and expert advice.

The duration and approach of a coaching process can be very different – depending on the specific concerns and goals. Sometimes a two-hour consultation already brings the desired insight or solution. Sometimes the coaching process comprises six to eight sessions, usually lasting two hours. We agree on the scope and approach in advance. In a detailed and free telephone conversation we clarify your wishes and objectives and then discuss a possible approach together. In coaching we treat all details and information from you confidentially. We are happy to advise and support you in our offices in Düsseldorf (Cécile Schain) and Leipzig (Dieta Kuchenbrandt). We have also had very good experiences with coachings via Zoom.

What are the costs?

For private clients, we charge 145.00 Euro (including 19% VAT) for a consultation hour (60 min). If we are commissioned by institutions and companies, we charge 165.00 Euro (excl. VAT) per consultation hour.

Please feel free to contact us:
Cécile Schain & Dieta Kuchenbrandt