German Research Foundation Announces 2025-26 Training Sessions

DFG (Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft) is offering multiple workshops for Ombuds over the next 14 months covering the basics of the Ombuds role, and skills including mediation and conflict management. The instructors will be Kirsten Hüttemann, Director of the Scientific Integrity Team, German Research Foundation, and Bonn Anke Kautz, a mediator, coach, and trainer in Berlin. 

The two-day basic workshops will be offered on the following dates: 

• 13-14 October 2025 in Siegburg 
• 23-24 March 2026 in Siegburg 
• 22-23 June 2026 in Berlin 
• 12-13 October 2026 in Berlin 
• 23-24 November 2025 in Siegburg 

DFG will also offer a follow-up workshop on 24-25 November 2025, in Berlin. 

Here is the full description of the workshops: 

Providing confidential advice on issues of good scientific practice and mediating in conflicts – these are your responsibilities as an ombudsperson. But what exactly does that mean, and how can you achieve this successfully? This workshop explores the challenges this role entails: being both a colleague and an ombudsperson, conducting open discussions, and remaining neutral in difficult situations. The workshop offers insight into the legal framework of ombudsman procedures and addresses the fundamentals and tools you can use in the fields of conflict management and mediation. Last but not least, it's about networking and sharing experiences in your work. 

Registration is now open for all dates. (DFG Workshops.) 

Related posts: German White Paper on Scientific Practices has Fostered University Ombuds Programs; Journal Article on Role of Scientific Ombuds; Seminar to Explain Role of German Scientific Ombuds.