On 30 October 2025, the CC met in a mini-event: a career development and mentorship workshop aimed at late-stage early career researchers. David Kaufmann (ETH) and Hanna Hilbrandt (UZH), both recently tenured, shared their perspectives on the academic career path. They shared their experiences in ways that were sensitive, open, and extremely useful.
Like all things CC, there was plenty of time for human connection and networking. We opened the morning with wide open spaces to share beyond “name, career stage, institutional affiliation, what I work on”. Instead, we had the chance to dive into some of the what drives us both inside and outside the academy. That led to some surprising discoveries – and sparked our next CC mini-event, a double book launch for two of the participants (stay tuned).
For the mentorship part of the day, we shifted into short inputs by the recently tenured professors. David Kaufmann shared his career trajectory and explained what he aimed for, what happened, the plans and the challenges. While sharing her own experiences, Hanna Hilbrandt focused on why and how to say no (and when not to!). This was followed by open discussion where the participants explained where they are in their careers and explored the particular challenges faced by that unique position of being a late-stage early-career scholar.
It was a fruitful event, friendly, open, useful, and fun. In my mind, that’s the heart of the CC. Join us next time!