Self-Leadership for Women Scientists
How self-awareness, self-confidence and self-efficacy can help you to achieve your goals.
Why this course is for you
This professional development course focuses on self-leadership – a process that helps individuals understand themselves and their goals better, leading to improved decision-making and communication in both personal and professional spheres.
While the principles of self-leadership are valuable for all scientists, this program is specifically designed for women in senior postdoc and group leader positions, acknowledging the unique challenges they face in leadership roles.
The course aims to provide targeted support, tools, and advice to help women scientists navigate their leadership responsibilities and maximise their potential.
Course schedule
The workshop, both online and in-person, consists of two and a half days:
- Daily: 09:00 -17:30 (CET/ CEST)
- Last day: 09:00 -12:30 (CET/ CEST)
The format of the workshop is highly interactive and practical. It involves case studies, role play, group work and discussion sessions. You will be actively involved in the course, discussing your own life and leadership experiences and self-reflecting in a guided process. You will be taught leadership and self-focused techniques that can be readily used in daily life to enhance your leadership, success and satisfaction.
Physical course
Our in-person courses are designed to create a relaxed, engaging environment where you can step away from your day-to-day work and focus on learning with others.
Sessions are highly interactive, with plenty of small-group discussion, practical exercises and opportunities to learn from the experiences of other participants. Our trainers make extensive use of flipcharts and live drawing rather than relying on slides, allowing ideas and models to develop visually as the discussion unfolds.
The course takes place at Hotel Villa Toskana near Heidelberg, Germany: a secluded, Italian-themed conference hotel designed specifically for workshops and meetings, with dedicated training spaces and plenty of room to continue conversations during breaks.
The hotel is around 15 minutes by tram from Heidelberg main station. You can read our guidance on travelling to the venue here, or see more photos of the venue here. Hotel image courtesy of Hotel Villa Toskana.
Live and interactive online
Our in-person courses are designed to create a relaxed, engaging environment where you can step away from your day-to-day work and focus on learning with others.
Sessions are highly interactive, with plenty of small-group discussion, practical exercises and opportunities to learn from the experiences of other participants. Our trainers make extensive use of flipcharts and live drawing rather than relying on slides, allowing ideas and models to develop visually as the discussion unfolds.
The course takes place at Hotel Villa Toskana near Heidelberg, Germany: a secluded, Italian-themed conference hotel designed specifically for workshops and meetings, with dedicated training spaces and plenty of room to continue conversations during breaks.
The hotel is around 15 minutes by tram from Heidelberg main station. You can read our guidance on travelling to the venue here, or see more photos of the venue here. Hotel image courtesy of Hotel Villa Toskana.
Online course
Our online courses are designed to be engaging, interactive and comfortable to participate in.
Rather than simply transferring a classroom course to a screen, we have designed the experience specifically for online learning. You’ll spend plenty of time discussing ideas and working with others in small groups, with regular breaks to help you stay focused and comfortable throughout the day.
Theory is brought to life through carefully designed visual presentations and live drawing on a tablet, helping to make complex ideas clear, memorable and engaging. Our trainers create a relaxed and supportive environment where you can ask questions, contribute to discussions and learn from the experiences of other participants.
What you will learn
Topics Covered
Self-awareness| Communication | Emotional intelligence| Personal growth
The session focuses on strengthening self-confidence by fostering belief in yourself, learning to act rather than react to emotions, building on your achievements, and identifying ways to improve your self-confidence. In the afternoon, the focus shifts to enhancing self-efficacy, helping you clarify your next steps toward your goals, manage stress and pressure, maintain work-life balance, and leverage the power of positive feedback.
Topics Covered
Self-confidence | Stress management | Feedback | Work-life balance
The session explores strategies, case studies, and coaching to deepen your understanding of biases and stereotypes, examine how your self-leadership impacts your leadership, and engage with case studies shared by participants.
Topics Covered
Bias | Coaching | Delegation | Personal growth
After taking this course, I am well equipped to lead my research team. I am a better supervisor, capable of delegating tasks, solving conflicts, and managing my employees.
Anna Starnawska | Assistant Professor
Aarhus University
Self-Leadership for Scientists
Live Online Training
Explore your leadership in a dynamic digital setting
What’s included
- Two and a half days of training
- Course Materials
- Dynamic digital experience
In Person
2.5 days in Germany that will change your life!
What´s included
- Two and a half days of training
- 3 nights of accommodation
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Course Materials
Our Training Team – Empowering Leaders in Science
Melissa Davies is one of our associated expert trainers. She has over 30 years of experience in negotiation, partnership building, and conflict management.
She and her training team specialises in areas such as organisational development, self-leadership, capacity building, and project management. They ensure that each course is dynamic, practical, and tailored to equip participants with the skills and tools needed to thrive as leaders in the life sciences.
For each course, we provide two trainers to balance their expertise and diversity to ensure that you receive the widest range of expertise, experience and insight possible from your training team.
