“This programme really has an impact on people”

It was an evening full of interesting conversations and fresh ideas: in mid-September, current and former participants in the “MOMENTUM Women’s Leadership Journey” programme run by the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Münster got together for their first alumni meeting. The programme supports female scientists in developing their personal leadership style. Individual coaching sessions and interactive group workshops give participants the chance to critically reflect on and better understand their own leadership skills, spend several months experimenting with different approaches and methods and embark on a journey of personal development.

 “As a colleague said at the time, commenting on the changes she had noticed in me: that programme really has an impact on people”, recalls bioscientist Dr Nadine Ludwig. “Not only do you think a great deal about yourself, you also get a lot of very useful insights and feedback from your peers – I’ve become braver thanks to the training programme,” she says, adding that it prompted her to change jobs and take over as deputy research lab manager at University Hospital Münster’s Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery. “At the start of the programme you are thrown together with a whole bunch of women you don’t know – and then you quickly grow into a really strong unit,” explains Dr Dilvin Semo, a resident physician and scientist in cardiology. “Thanks to the instructors and the group you’re in a safe space, and we participants also coached each other a lot and still meet up to this day – I’d recommend the programme to anyone,” she emphasises.

The MOMENTUM programme aims to empower female medical professionals and scientists during key stages of their professional development in which they set the course for an academic career. “Though the proportion of women in leadership positions in science has been gradually rising in recent decades, we are still losing an alarming number of highly talented women during the qualification process,” explains Professor Petra Scheutzel, the Faculty of Medicine’s equal opportunities representative. The goal of the programme is to help plug this “leaky pipeline” by encouraging participants to collectively improve the working environment for future generations. A follow-up programme that will allow participants to build on their experiences and expand their networks is currently entering its pilot phase.

Five cohorts with a total of 73 female scientists have already taken part in the MOMENTUM programme. Applications are invited once a year, the closing date being 31 January. The programme takes place in either German or English, depending on the composition of the group, and is open to female medical professionals and scientists from the Faculty of Medicine and various research networks and career programmes that help invigorate and fund MOMENTUM. These include the Reproduction.MS network, the Collaborative Research Centre 1450 inSight, the Interdisciplinary Centre for Clinical Research, the Clinician Scientist CareerS programme and the Medical Scientist Programme InFlame. Anyone interested in applying should contact these networks or the Faculty of Medicine’s equal opportunities representative. The programme was developed in cooperation with the I2A Network for organisational and leadership development and is led by their instructor Maren Telsemeyer.

Author: Doris Niederhoff

Translation: Chris Cave

Further information

• Equal opportunities, diversity and further information about the MOMENTUM programme at the Faculty of Medicine in Münster (in German)
• Video with insights from MOMENTUM participants (in German)