New Leadership

EAF Berlin presented a new leadership approach at the annual conference of the Helmholtz Association's Leadership Academy.

On June 17, 2021, EAF Berlin, together with the Helmholtz Association's Leadership Academy, hosted the 2021 Virtual Leadership Lab. The focus was on "Inclusive Leadership" as a new leadership approach to promote diversity and equal opportunity.

In their opening keynote, Kathrin Mahler Walther, Executive Director of EAF Berlin, and Andrea Krönke, Head of the EAF Berlin Academy, discussed the potential of inclusive leadership for management in scientific organizations. They introduced key areas of action and explained what leaders can do in practice to foster a culture where all employees feel they belong and can be their authentic selves. Further keynotes and expert forums, featuring speakers such as Robert Franken, Dr. des. Lorenz Narku Laing, Jessica Gedamu, Prof. Lorenz Adrian, Sosan Azad, Dr. Andrés Nader, Dr. Isabell Lisberg-Haag, and Dr. Ann-Kristin Kolwes, shed light on various facets of diversity within the scientific context.

The Leadership Lab is the annual networking conference for all graduates and participants of the Helmholtz Academy programs. The Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres is Germany's largest organization for the promotion and funding of research. Through a comprehensive strategy, it aims to identify talent early and continuously support their development. A central element of this is the Helmholtz Leadership Academy. Since its inception, it has pursued an inclusive strategy: its offerings are aimed at everyone in scientific and administrative leadership roles within the Helmholtz Association, as well as members of partner organizations and universities.

EAF Berlin has been a partner of the Helmholtz Association since 2018 and manages the Helmholtz Advance mentoring program on their behalf. The program focuses on providing individual support during critical career decision-making phases, tailored to the needs of postdocs and staff in administration and infrastructure. Additionally, the program aims to foster engagement with and awareness of diversity issues. We are delighted that the Helmholtz Association commissioned us to design and conduct the 2021 Leadership Lab on Inclusive Leadership, allowing us to deepen our collaboration in the context of promoting diversity.