As part of the “Excellence Initiative,” RWTH Aachen University has integrated a gender equality policy into the fundamental guidelines, agreements, and concepts of its institutional profile. Measures to promote gender equality are taken seriously at all participating institutions. The School of Medicine also ensures equal opportunities for women and men through various measures.

These include the so-called TANDEM programs, which are based on mentoring, continuing education, and networking modules and are embedded in a framework program for advancing academic careers. These TANDEM programs are aimed at medical students (TANDEMmed), medical and research staff in the early stages of their careers (TANDEMpeerMED), and research assistants on the path to a professorship (TANDEMplusMED). The latter program, in particular, is specifically tailored to female researchers. RWTH Aachen University is certified under the “Family-Friendly University Audit,” and its programs are aimed at female doctoral candidates, postdoctoral researchers, and project leaders, including, of course, female researchers with a migration background.

Within the SFB consortium, female researchers are represented in various phases of project preparation and scientific leadership, as well as in scientific partnerships, where they serve as project leaders. At the leadership level, Isabel Knaup and Heidi Noels are active members of the steering committee. In addition, 10 out of 14 projects (42.4%) are led by a female project leader.

These female researchers form an “Advisory and Mentoring Committee for Women” (≥ 3 members, on a rotating basis) to provide ad hoc or biannual guidance to female doctoral candidates pursuing an academic career and to serve as role models for them. The SFB also remains committed to increasing the proportion of female researchers and taking this into account in its recruitment efforts.