FYORD is a joint program of GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel and Kiel University (Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel). It supports early career researchers – from Master’s students and PhD candidates to postdoctoral researchers – in taking the next step in their marine science careers.
For postdocs at GEOMAR, FYORD offers a wide range of training opportunities, workshops, networking formats, and individual career support (including travel and event grants). Participation in the program requires registration and is open to all postdocs at GEOMAR.
Current events and funding opportunities are regularly announced in the monthly FYORD newsletter and on the website.
In addition to courses offered by the GEOMAR Early Career Support and FYORD, researchers have access to a wide range of training and professional development opportunities at Kiel University (CAU).
As a researcher at GEOMAR, you benefit from free access to CAU’s comprehensive training programme, which includes a broad selection of online, hybrid, and in-person courses designed to support your academic and professional development.
Highly recommended for early-career researchers: Nature Masterclasses – an on-demand platform offering over 100 hours of practical content across 22 modules. These expert-led courses cover key topics such as publication strategies, peer review, third-party funding acquisition, and much more.
You can find detailed information and access to all training and development opportunities for GEOMAR employees on the intranet.
The Early-Career Support at GEOMAR offers:
- Information and networking opportunities
- Individual advice and targeted referral on career-related topics
- Workshops and qualification
- German language courses for international staff
- Close collaboration with FYORD
Feel free to contact us regarding your specific needs and topics!
At GEOMAR we provide support in all aspects of research funding: to identify the appropriate funding instruments for project ideas, determine the resources required, put together a tailored application, and in successful applications facilitate project implementation. We inform about new developments and publications on calls for funding, and carry out seminars on funding instruments and programmes with in-house or external speakers. In carrying out our assignment we are in close cooperation with national and international contact points and networks, as well as the Helmholtz Office in Brussels.
Information about main ongoing GEOMAR projects with third-party funding is available in our project data base.
LINK to the intranet: Information for GEOMAR colleagues.
To safeguard and boost innovation activities and thus maintain the competetiveness of the increasingly science-based German national economy, it is crucial to facilitate an efficient cooperation between scientific institutions and commercial enterprises.
As a site of cutting-edge research, GEOMAR has a high innovative potential. GEOMAR technology transfer addresses the tasks of identifying potential pieces of innovation, securing them and accompanying commercial application. We serve as a central point of contact for science as well as industry. Industry partners will be supported in getting access to the latest scientific results.
We offer
- advice concerning funding programmes
- assistance in finding partners and initiating projects for cooperation
- technology marketing
- support in securing intellectual property and
- support in the search for license partners
The Women‘s Executive Board aims at fostering a modern equal opportunity-oriented culture at GEOMAR through equal participation of men and women at all levels and would also like to promote and encourage qualified and motivated women to stay in science.
This will be achieved through the following:
The creation of equal opportunities for women and man is seen as a basic condition for successful talent management by the Helmholtz Association. Only a fair selection process of the best candidates will keep research in Germany internationally competitive and fit for the future.
HIDA – Helmholtz Information & Data Science Academy – is Germany's largest postgraduate education network in information and data sciences.
The HIDA event calendar offers information about events in the field of Information & Data Science organized by HIDA, by Helmholtz Centers and by our partners.
Enabling Open Science practices in Helmholtz!
In order to promote the Open Science idea at the Helmholtz centers, active contact is maintained with scientists as well as the libraries, computer centers and management of the centers. Regular workshops, lectures, discussions and publications provide information on the opportunities and challenges of Open Science.
There is no doubt, climate change is menmade.
We therefore currently face an incredibly great challenge that we have brought upon ourselves, namely, curbing the causes of climate change as quickly and sustainably as possible while finding ways to adapt to a world experiencing massive transformations.
The Helmholtz Climate Initiative focuses on the two main clusters Net Zero 2050 (mitigation) and Adapting to Extreme Events (adaptation).
Media training is organised on a regular basis in order to train the competences for this. 2 Trainings and contents below. Get in contact if you are interested.
Basic media training (two full days)
This training is a workshop on two consecutive days (each full day). Participants will learn which aspects of climate research are particularly interesting for different media from print, radio, TV and how they can help to ensure that topics are presented in a way that is appropriate for the media and yet correct. This includes questions such as: How can I write or formulate in a generally understandable way? How do I get to the heart of a message? How do editors select their topics? What rights do I have when dealing with the media? The trainer also gives tricks for dealing with the microphone and in front of the camera. The basic media training is compact and with different theoretical and practical exercises on site a very good basis for dealing with journalists.
Online moderation of Meetings and Conversation Formats (2 mornings)
Meetings without a clear focus, stakeholder events with limited insight. What's already problematic in real meetings can get worse online. On two consecutive mornings, we will provide professional tips on how to make online facilitation effective.We will introduce various tools, and each participant will also moderate themselves - either a session or one of two role-plays. Participants can practice what they have learned and receive feedback on their moderation. Contents: The moderator's attitude, role clarification, moderation cycle, tools for online moderation, dealing with difficult moderation situations, tips for moderating large groups.
The Continuing Professional Development Center at CAU offers a comprehensive range of courses for personal continuing education. The courses are free of charge for CAU employees. External persons (also GEOMAR employees) can participate in the courses for a fee. Please contact us in advance regarding possible cost coverage.
Click here to go directly to the course booking portal.
How do people become professors in Germany? How can I discover what options there are in other sectors? Is my application portfolio ok? We’ll help you find the answers. You will benefit from our independent expertise and our cross-sectoral network.
We advise, connect, promote and fund. For empowered researchers.
HIFIS Helmholtz Federated IT Services
Workshops provided by HIFIS Software that teach foundational software engineering skills.
For all GEOMAR employees whose native language is not German, the Staff Unit Early Career Support and Personnel Development offers two hours every week to improve your German language skills in a targeted and practical way.
The focus is not on a traditional language course, but on a lively exchange with each other: you talk about everyday situations, practise typical scenarios and gain more confidence for living and working in Germany. This makes learning German directly applicable - and more fun at the same time.
You also have the opportunity to get to know other international colleagues and network.
Two course levels are available:
Wednesdays, 11:00–12:00 | Beginner Level
Thursdays, 11:00–12:00 | Advanced Level
Location: Conference area in building 5, tower 2, floor 1
Registration: via email to lwestphal(at)geomar.de
The German lessons are led by Sabine Vogt, who worked as a teacher in Kiel for many years and supports you with her extensive experience.
You can join at any time – just come along! No previous knowledge is necessary.
If you would like to take part, please write a short email to Lena Westphal (lwestphal@geomar.de) so that you can receive all further information.
Additional learning resources
GEOMAR provides access to Babbel licenses for self-study German learning.
Voices of participants:
"I learned a lot having a lot of fun."
"The topic of the conversations were very good and it was useful. Let’s say, normal conversations that we could use on a daily basis. Not just like the ones in other german courses."
"I like that Sabine teach us practical phrases that we can practice right away: like going to the shop, asking for a coffee, telling your name and what you do."
Deutsche Welle has an online portal with German courses at different levels and for different languages. To improve listening comprehension, there is current news with subtitles, reports and idioms in German. There is even an easy-to-understand telenovela.
The Goethe Institute also offers German online courses.
The Förde-vhs in Kiel offers certified German courses as intensive or evening courses.
Germany’s largest independent research funding organisation offers funding opportunities for all career stages between doctorate and professorship. Join the online talk and get to know the DFG and its funding portfolio for postdocs.
They offer an overview of all funding instruments for the time after your PhD as well as specific focus talks on the Walter Benjamin Programme, the Emmy Noether Programme and the Heisenberg Programme. They will also provide advice on how to prepare your proposal for the review process and answer your questions. PhD candidates and postdocs of all disciplines are welcome to join!
Upcoming talks in the Prospects Series:
