dynaMENT: An entertaining and festive kick-off event to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the mentoring program

30 October 2025

Photo: UHH/CUI, Cordula Kropke

At the kick-off, the new participants (left) were welcomed and the old ones bid farewell. Unfortunately, not everyone was able to attend.

Photo: UHH/CUI, Cordula Kropke

Eileen Schwanold, the coordinator of dynaMENT, welcomed the guests and led them through the evening.

Photo: UHH/CUI, Cordula Kropke

The music program also focused on personal growth and the realization of dreams. Marita Moore was accompanied on the keyboard by Raimondo di Renzo.

Photo: UHH/CUI, Cordula Kropke

Calls from the past: Friederike Eikhoff established the dynaMENT program in 2015.

Photo: UHH/CUI, Cordula Kropke

Friederike Eickhoff and Anika Ostermaier-Grabow looked back on the past ten years together.

Photo: UHH/CUI, Cordula Kropke

As long as inequalities exist and mentoring transforms young people into change agents, such programs can be a solution, emphasized Anika Ostermaier-Grabow, current managing director of the Cluster of Excellence “CUI: Advanced Imaging of Matter.”

Photo: UHH/CUI, Cordula Kropke

The development of the mentees fills her with great joy, said Dr. Angelika Paschke-Kratzin, Equal Opportunity Commissioner at the University of Hamburg and dynaMENT patron, who also enjoyed the celebration.

Photo: UHH/CUI, Cordula Kropke

A lively and pleasant atmosphere was created by an interactive game with fun facts about mentoring.

This year, the dynaMENT program's kick-off event was all about celebrating its tenth anniversary. Previous participants were given a festive send-off, while new ones were welcomed. The numerous interactive formats ensured an exuberant overall atmosphere.

But is mentoring the solution to structural problems? Anika Ostermaier-Grabow and Friederike Eickhoff agree that, as long as inequalities persist within the scientific community, mentoring will remain a valuable way of turning young people into agents of change. Eickhoff established the dynaMENT program in 2015 and is now a team leader and career coach on the DESY project Coast (Career Orientation and Skills Training for Postdocs). Ostermaier-Grabow, who was her successor, is now the administrative director of the Cluster of Excellence, "CUI: Advanced Imaging of Matter". In a joint keynote speech, they presented the impressive development of the mentoring program for female scientists over the past ten years. They highlighted the significant milestones and achievements of the program, which were overseen by Julia Panzer from 2020 to 2022 and are currently coordinated by Eileen Schwanold.

“Hundreds of friendships were formed,” said the program’s patron Dr. Angelika Paschke-Kratzin, Equal Opportunity Commissioner of the University of Hamburg. “Thousands of times, our participants laughed, reflected, and sometimes even cried together. Plans were made, plans were changed, dreams were fulfilled, and the leaky pipeline was fought. Many of them discovered where they wanted to go in their careers. Others already knew and made it happen. Thinking about this brings me immense joy.”

In a video message, Prof. Dr. Norbert Ritter, the dean of the MIN faculty, emphasized the program’s impressive development and expressed his pride that dynaMENT is an integral part of the MIN faculty.

A key part of the kick-off program was thanking all the speakers and mentors whose tremendous commitment makes supporting the mentees possible. Without this dedicated support, a program like dynaMENT would not be feasible: Over a period of 12 months, the doctoral students are accompanied on their career path and receive confidential one-to-one counseling from a personal mentor, selected through an individual matching process. The second program line, dynaMENT advanced, which is designed for post-doctoral researchers, junior professors and junior research group leaders, runs for 24 months. At the end, all participants receive a certificate, which is presented at the kick-off event.