Blickpunkte
Equality at the Faculty of Sociology
Welcome to BLICKPUNKTE - the peer group mentoring programme for female, inter* and non-binary students at the Faculty of Sociology
It is not always easy to make decisions about your future during your studies. It can be helpful to think about your future career while you are still studying, especially for degree programmes with a wide range of appointments. BLICKPUNKTE aims to make it easier for participants* to gain an insight into science as a career field and offer them a framework in which they can let their gaze wander. They are given the opportunity to find out about doctorate/Phd studies and paths into science at an early stage. At the same time, it serves as a fixed meeting point with other female* students and academic staff from the Faculty, where appointment-, career- and everyday life-related questions can be discussed.
BLICKPUNKTE is an equal opportunities measure to implement the Faculty of Sociology's equal opportunities plan. The aim is to support students who are disadvantaged and discriminated against due to their gender in an androcentrically structured institution. This affects women, inter* and non-binary students. The programme is aimed at this group of people.
BLICKPUNKTE offers an exchange with...
... a self-organising small group in which everyday study situations can be discussed and reflected upon and new goals for the semester can be formulated. At the same time, these meetings serve as preparation for discussions with the mentors* and other programme events.
... young female* academics who report informally and without hierarchy on their careers and experiences in the academic world.
... staff , people from academic/science-related professional practice, to show career opportunities outside the university and to network.
This gives the participants* the opportunity to specifically consider university and science as a career option during their studies: "Do I want to do a doctorate? And what does that even mean?"
The aims of BLICKPUNKTE are ...
... a successful study programme
... Providing space for organisation and reflection
... Networking with other students, doctoral candidates and staff, people from science-related professional practice
Peer group mentoring programme - what does that actually mean?
- Mentoring
Mentoring refers to the relationship between a professionally experienced person (mentor) and a less professionally experienced person (mentee) with the aim of promoting the personal development of the mentee. The mentor's experience reports are perceived as helpful and enlightening. A mentoring relationship is non-hierarchical, confidential and voluntary (cf. Brocke et al. 2017, p. 92).
- Gruppenmentoring
- Peer-Mentoring
Peer mentoring involves a defined small group exchanging ideas and supporting each other in "regular, structured working meetings on appointment, career and everyday issues". "Positive effects arise from the exchange at a common qualification level and through the interplay of individual perspectives, backgrounds of experience and, where applicable, different specialist cultures. Dealing with each other in an appreciative and non-competitive manner is of great importance." (Brocke et al. 2017, p. 92)
- Literature
Literature: Brocke P. S., Brüschke G. V., Ogawa-Müller Y., Gaede I. (2017): Mentoring formats: Peer and group mentoring. Together instead of alone through everyday academic life. In: Petersen R., Budde M., Brocke P. S., Doebert G., Rudack H., Wolf H. (Eds.): Praxishandbuch Mentoring in der Wissenschaft, Wiesbaden: Springer VS, 91-104.
Programme modules
Blickpunkte is structured by five different programme modules. By combining the different elements, the participants are not only able to exchange ideas with like-minded peers, but also with female* employees from their own Faculty and with women* from non-university professional practice. The framework programme serves to structure and give meaning to the other programme modules. For this reason, participation in the workshops is a prerequisitefor further participationin the programme. The individual programme contents are listed in more detail here.
- Supporting programme
The framework programme consists of
- an individual introductory meeting with the programme coordinator in order to better tailor the future programme content to the participants
- a final discussion at the end of the programme to reflect on and evaluate the programme
- three different workshops:
- a kick-off workshop to get to know each other, plan the programme and set objectives
- a gender workshop to better understand the relevance of the category "gender" alongside other social categories and to better categorise gender-specific experiences in everyday university life
- a final workshop for joint reflection
- Peermentoring
- Gruppenmentoring
At the group mentoring meetings, a mentor from the academic mid-level fac ulty of Sociology meets with a small group of 4-6 mentees assigned to her and passes on her experience to the mentees. The meetings take place at three different times and are intended to give the participants* an initial insight into the structures, informal rules of the game and individual career paths within the academic world .
- Discussion rounds with women* from science-related professional practice
As part of the fourth module, we invite two staff, people from academic/science-related professional practice to a round table discussion to show the participants alternative career opportunities and non-academic career paths. These staff, people can come from social science research institutes, the publishing industry, NGOs or consulting organisations, for example.
- Interdisciplinary exchange
In order to create networking opportunities with students from other Faculties and broaden their own disciplinary horizons, the programme is supplemented by a fifth module. As part of a cooperation workshop, the mentees meet with participants* from the Blickpunkte programme of the Faculty of History, Philosophy and Theology. In addition to the interdisciplinary exchange of experiences and insights into other academic cultures, the mentees have the opportunity to reflect together on gender-specific experiences and worlds of experience.