Leibniz Leadership Academy: Starting Leadership

The online programme for doctoral and postdoctoral researchers

The English-language programme is primarily aimed at those who are in their first leadership position and supervise students, doctoral researchers and laboratory staff or take on lateral leadership tasks. Participants in the other programmes can also use it for preparation, revision or as a reference.

The programme teaches the basics as well as well-established tools for leadership in science. The courses are successively made available on the Leibniz learning management system. After 70 per cent successful participation, users receive a certificate.

Users need to register with their Leibniz Institute e-mail address.

If you have any questions, please contact us at akademie(at)leibniz-gemeinschaft.de. For technical issues, please contact our partner academa: kontakt(at)academa.de.

Enrol in the courses.

The programme covers four courses.
factsheet 4-1-25 (pdf)

Course 1 'New to the Leadership Role'
Course 2 'Communication for Leaders'
Course 3 'Team and Personnel Development as a Leader'
Course 4 'Managing Conflicts, Crises, and Mental Health as a Leader' will follow by end of the year.

At a glance

Format: Each course comprises 15 learning units. A learning unit is made up of a video followed by 3 brief tests, recommended reading and further materials. The presentation slides are available for download.
Target group: Doctoral and postdoctoral researchers at Leibniz Institutes and other persons below group leader positions.
Programme language: English.
Location: The courses can be accessed on the Academa learning management system. Registration is only possible with a current e-mail address of a Leibniz Institute (you may need to check your spam folder for the confirmation code). Doctoral researchers who do not have an institute address should get in touch with us.
Cost: 'Starting Leadership' is a free programme.
In-person event: On 24 April, 2026, we will host an in-depth workshop for finishers. Further details will follow soon.

FAQ

The Leibniz Association considers leadership skills to be an important criterion for careers in science and in areas that support science. It therefore offers programmes for various management levels via the Leibniz Leadership Academy. To date, these have been aimed at directors, middle managers and junior research group leaders. Until now, however, there has been no corresponding programme for those who have already taken on leadership tasks below group leader positions. This is why the "Starting Leadership" programme is now available.
- It offers the opportunity to address the topic of leadership at an early stage. Junior leaders can familiarise themselves with leadership topics at a very low threshold.
- The programme is explicitly geared towards leadership situations in science, and thus directly addresses real-life situations.
- The institutes benefit from the fact that the topics “culture, people, organisations” are addressed at all management levels, thus creating a common understanding of leadership.
- The programme is free of charge and accessible for anyone employed at a Leibniz Institute.
- As all employees of the institute, including personnel managers, have access, the programme can be used as an internal career development tool within the institute.
- The time required is between 12 and 16 hours per course, which is reasonable. (Experience has shown that online formats are completed during idle times or at the edges of the day.
  This time investment pays off, especially in the early stages of a career, because knowing about and applying effective leadership enables you to work effectively - be it by avoiding conflicts, knowing about team development, self-management and resilience.
- The online course format accommodates the learning habits of younger people, who prefer to learn independently of time and place.
- Leadership competence is not a ‘soft skill’, but increasingly a required competence in science and science management. (This is why many universities and non-university research institutions already offer comparable programmes). By completing the programme, participants can provide initial proof that they have engaged in leadership tasks - which makes a positive difference for job applications not only in industry, but increasingly also in academia.
- Academa is a learning management system and a spin-off of the RWTH Aachen University, specialising in trainings for the public sector.
- The tutor, Dr Kerstin Mauth, is a expert coach with a focus on career development in academia.
- Working on your leadership skills is an important piece of information for your supervisor, so discuss further development opportunities with them, e.g. if you can apply for our “Developing Leadership” programme.
- We plan to raffle one-on-one sessions for up to five persons per year. “Finishers” will be automatically added to the ballot unless they tell us not to.
- Could you spare a minute to answer some feedback questions to help us improve?
- We welcome your ideas and suggestions for advancing the programme: akademie(at)leibniz-gemeinschaft.de