Individual career coaching
yDiv offers external one-to-one coachings to promote your individual career development and get a fresh and external perspective on your career plans and work situation.
The coaches provide support in specific and individual career questions, e.g. career in and outside academia, competence analysis, working abroad, feedback on application documents, self-management or supervision and leadership. Specific topics and goals of the coaching will be set together with the coach. The meetings take place online.
How it works
Choose a coach who suits your needs best from the list below.
Contact the yDiv coordination (ydiv@idiv.de) to register for the programme and name the coach.
yDiv will inform the coach about your registration and the coach will contact you to make an online appointment.
The first session takes 30 minutes and focuses on getting to know each other and setting the topics and goals for the coaching. However, if any problems or doubts occur during your coaching, please contact yDiv.
You arrange further meetings with the coach individually (up to 4 hours in total funded by yDiv).
If you want to continue with the coaching beyond that, you can book further meetings with your coach on a self-pay basis (own arrangement). In justified cases, yDiv may continue paying to a certain extend. Contact yDiv for more information.
Coaches

Dr Alexander Egeling
Field of Expertise
- Individual strengths
- Networking
- Self-marketing
- Work-Life Balance
- Time and project management
- Conflict management
Background
Alexander Egeling studied and worked at universities as well as in the industry abroad, e.g. in Germany, Australia, and Canada. He is a certified professional coach and has over 10 years of experience working with young professionals, especially from the academic sector. Website (in German only)
Remarks
Coaching in German and English

Dr Dorothee Kaiser
Field of expertise
- Career Coaching inside and outside of Academia
- Leadership in Science
- Women in Leadership
- Leading diverse and international teams
- Team Building and Team Management
- Work-Life-Balance
- Conflict Management
- Self and Time Management
Background
Dorothee Kaiser is a multilingual and certified Business and Career coach who supports executives and leaders in corporate and academic contexts. Combining her long experience abroad with her academic background as a linguist, she works playfully and effectively with her clients on leadership and career challenges with a strong focus on solution and activating resources. She develops new perspectives with creative methods and uses different tools and approaches depending on the individual needs of the client. Results of her work are more clarity in the leadership role, a stronger self-confidence and more transparency in processes and structures. Besides her work as coach and facilitator, she teaches Intercultural Management at ESB Business School, Reutlingen University. Website
Remarks
Coaching in German, English, Spanish and French

Dr Iris Köhler
Field of expertise
- Career paths in science and outside
- Career exploration
- Networking and positioning
- Competence-based career counseling including analysis of competences based on the scientifically evaluated Kompetenzenbilanz® method
- Life goals and values
- Feedback on application documents
Background
Iris Köhler is a certified career coach and trainer and experienced scientist. She studied agricultural sciences at the Technical University of Munich and received her doctorate there in 2013. After a postdoctoral stay in the United States (2014–2016), she switched to science management and coordinated the graduate school of the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research in Leipzig (2017–2019). In 2018, she founded her own coaching and training company “The Scientist Coach”. She knows the challenges that doctoral researchers are facing when it comes to career planning and enjoys helping them to develop their own career path - in or outside academia. Website
Remarks
Coaching in German and English

Dr Katia Vlachos
Field of expertise
- Compatibility of career and family
- Career abroad
- Settling-in phase and dealing with challenges
- Life goals and values
- Self-presentation
- Career outside of academia
- Mobile and digital working
Background
Katia Vlachos is a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach, supporting her globally mobile clients as they navigate transitions, including international moves, career change, reinvention and identity issues, and design a thriving life abroad. Katia is also the author of A Great Move: Surviving and Thriving in Your Expat Assignment (LID Publishing, 2018). She’s a researcher and policy analyst by training, with a Master’s from the Harvard Kennedy School and a Ph.D. from the RAND Corporation. A Greek by birth, and an expat for the past 25 years, she has lived in 8 cities, 7 countries and 3 continents – so far.Website
Remarks
Coaching in English

Dr Matthias Schwarzkopf
Field of expertise
- Planning a career in science
- Job search and planning of non-scientific careers
- Positioning
- Applications for jobs
- Feedback on application documents
- Compatibility of work and family life
- Strengths/weaknesses analysis
Background
Specialising in the field of universities and public service, Matthias Schwarzkopf offers further education and coaching especially for professors and managers at universities, for young scientists and for students. He offers all topics that are necessary for a career in science and work in the university sector. Since 2015, he has been exclusively working as a freelance coach, trainer and moderator. Website
Remarks
Coaching in German and English

Ulrike Krumrey
Postdoctoral Programme Coordinator
Room: A.00.19
Phone: +49 341 9733267
Email: ulrike.krumrey@idiv.de

Dr Nicole Sachmerda-Schulz
Graduate School Coordinator
Room: A.00.19
Phone: +49 341 9733125
Email: nicole.sachmerda-schulz@idiv.de