Profiles of our members

The Elite Network of Bavaria is brought to life by its members. We’d like to introduce a few of them as they describe their experiences and future plans.

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A young woman in a white blouse and jeans is smiling into the camera.

The Elite Network gave me the opportinity to pursue my passion and conduct research into the toxic influence AI has on the lives of marginalized people today – and, above all, how this can be changed.

Eva Gengler  •  International Doctorate Program

Eva Gengler is many things at once: a scientist, entrepreneur, artist – and a woman who is passionately committed to a more equitable digital future. Since 2021, she has been pursuing her PhD at the Inter­national Doctorate Program "Business and Human Rights" at FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg. At the same time, she is co-founder and managing director of enableYou Consulting GmbH, an organizational consulting firm that aims to guide companies toward self-organization. In her small but exquisite art label "Flavours of Colour," she markets her own art prints and finds creative balance – even if time for that is currently scarce.

Her research focuses on the inter­face between artificial intelli­gence and power. In her master's thesis, she already dealt with the use of AI in recruiting at Amazon – an area where algorithmic dis­crimination is particularly evident. As part of her doctoral thesis, which is nearly completed, she is inves­tigating why AI systems develop bias, even though they are generally considered neutral. Eva Gengler's research shows how existing unjust power structures are not only replicated by AI, but often reinforced – for example, when women's resumes are systematically disad­vantaged by AI in application processes or when visual AI models reproduce stereo­typical gender images. "Existing structures are thus automated by artificial intelligence," explains Eva Gengler. This is where she steps in with feminist AI: "The status quo is not fair and we have to change it. There is an activist element to this."

To achieve this change, Eva Gengler is working on AI gover­nance and testing ways to feed AI with feminist values, not only to make AI more fair, but also to change conventional power and social structures for the better. For example, she enthusiastically talks about new approaches to application processes in which AI is not used to select suitable applicants for a specific position, but rather in which there are no longer any job advertise­ments in the traditional sense. Instead, the aim is to develop a job plat­form where both applicants and companies create a profile and answer various questions. The platform then uses these profiles to find the right match between the person and the company. She finds support for her ideas on feminist AI not only in networks such as the feminist AI community, but also in the environ­ment of the International Doctoral Program.

Joining the Elite Network of Bavaria was a milestone for her. "The decision to enroll in this doctorate program was one of the best I've ever made," she says today. The funding not only gave her the freedom to pursue her passion, but also enabled her to make valuable contacts – both with renowned scientists and with other doctoral candidates: "The inter­nationality and inter­disciplinarity were a huge benefit for me, and the connections I made with people are very valuable to me."

In addition to her academic work, Eva Gengler is also an active keynote speaker and is increasingly dedicated to the education oft he public on AI. This commitment is reflected, among other things, in her nomination for the BRIGITTE Award 2025 in the Future Economy category, her award as BayFiD Role Model by the Bavarian Ministry of Digital Affairs (2024), and her inclusion in the portrait series "Bayerns Frauen – Jede anders stark" (Bavaria's Women – Each Strong in Her Own Way) by the Ministry of Social Affairs. In 2023, she received the Hermann Gutmann Prize for out­standing scientific achievements. Despite these awards, she does not consider herself part of the "elite" in the traditional sense. The term was initially quite strange to her, almost intimidating. But during her time at the Business and Human Rights Doctorate Program, her understanding has changed: For her, the Elite Network of Bavaria is not about exclusion, but rather an inspiring environ­ment with committed people who learn, research, and support each other.

What drives her is a deep-rooted sense of justice. "I see a lot of injustice," she says. Her work is permeated by the conviction that technology is not a neutral space—and that it is our responsibility to shape it in such a way that it does not further cement injustice. "Feminism provokes preople," she says confidently. But that is precisely the strength of her position: she questions the status quo and provides food for thought on how we as a society should deal with AI - a task she has also made a priority for her future career. Whether she will pursue this goal as a researcher at the university or whether she would prefer to work in a company, with the option of also being self-employed and active as an activist on the side, Eva Gengler has not yet decided.

Eva Gengler is a prime example of a new generation of female scientists who not only want to conduct research, but also want to shape the future – courageously, creatively, and with the clear goal of making the world a fairer place.

I've experienced for myself what it feels like to achieve something you wouldn't have dreamed of a few years ago. Now I want to support others in doing so.

Dr. Mario Teixeira Parente  •  Max Weber Program

Dr. Mario Teixeira Parente took part in the lounge con­versa­tion dur­ing the cele­bra­tion of the 20th anni­ver­sary of the Elite Net­work of Ba­varia: to the event video. He is an alum­nus of the Max We­ber Pro­gram and not only stud­ied at three Mu­nich uni­versi­ties, but also com­pleted this trifec­ta as a lec­turer at the age of just 35. In recent years, he has also been a men­tor for the Max We­ber Pro­gram. Today he tells us about his excit­ing career path.

Could you please briefly introduce yourself and tell us what you are working on and researching?

I re­cently start­ed my job at the start-up En­trix, which fo­cuses on the intel­ligent man­age­ment of sus­taina­ble ener­gy. Be­fore that, I was a lec­turer at Mu­nich Uni­versi­ty of Ap­plied Sci­ences and then held a sub­stitute pro­fes­sor­ship for Com­puta­tional Sta­tistics and Data Sci­ence at LMU. My work lies at the inter­face of ap­plied math­emat­ics and statis­tics, where I de­velop effi­cient meth­ods for deal­ing with data, e.g. through ma­chine learn­ing. A con­crete ex­ample is the AINX pro­ject, in which I worked on the Mu­nich II re­search re­actor for For­schungszentrum Jülich and in which we de­veloped an algo­rithm that takes over cer­tain work steps in the exe­cution of a neu­tron scat­tering ex­peri­ment by mak­ing deci­sions in­stead of a hu­man.

Your field of research is absolutely at the cutting edge. How did you get into this field? Does it have anything to do with your rather unconventional educational background?

It was actu­ally my voca­tional train­ing as an IT spe­cialist that sparked my inter­est in theo­reti­cal is­sues. I first went to sec­ondary school, then con­tinued with tech­nical sec­ondary school and then start­ed my voca­tional train­ing. After that, I was so en­thusi­astic that I really want­ed to con­tinue learn­ing and de­cided to study for a Bach­elor's de­gree at Mu­nich Uni­versi­ty of Ap­plied Sci­ences. I ben­efited great­ly from my IT spe­cialist train­ing and was also se­lected for the Max We­ber Pro­gram be­cause of my good grades. I then com­pleted my Mas­ter's de­gree at LMU and final­ly com­pleted a doc­torate at the Tech­nical Uni­versi­ty of Mu­nich. I also gained my first teach­ing expe­rience there as a re­search as­sis­tant.

What role did the Elite Network and the Max Weber Program in particular play in your development?

It has to be said, with­out the finan­cial sup­port, my edu­cation would have ended after my Bach­elor's de­gree. Thanks to the scholar­ship, I was then able to com­plete my Mas­ter's de­gree at LMU. But I also bene­fited enormous­ly in terms of per­sonal de­velopment. The Elite Net­work - and I am an ex­ample of this - gives young peo­ple the chance to em­bark on an edu­cational path that al­lows them to ma­ture as a per­son. Edu­cati­on, inde­pen­dent think­ing and the power of judgment are ac­quired in the intel­lectu­al envi­ron­ments pro­vided there. The sum­mer acad­emies, for ex­am­ple, were a won­derful op­por­tunity to ex­change ide­as with other moti­vated and ambi­tious stu­dents and also to change my per­spec­tive. This en­couraged me to en­gage with philo­soph­ical, or gen­erally intel­lectu­al, top­ics. Not to men­tion the friendships that are formed in the pro­cess. I am very grate­ful for the sup­port and op­por­tuni­ties I have re­ceived. My in­volvement as a men­tor in the Max We­ber Pro­gram is the result of this stroke of luck.

What is the focus of your work as a mentor?

It was very im­portant for me to have pro­fes­sors as con­tact per­sons. I also want to make this pos­sible for my stu­dents, who often ask me for on­e-to-one meet­ings. Ulti­mate­ly, I am committed to the ideals of hu­man­istic edu­cati­on: young peo­ple should be sup­port­ed on their path to inde­pendence, should learn to work out solu­tions them­selves, de­velop judgment and be­come a ma­ture per­son. There is enormous po­ten­tial in stu­dents, and I want to help pre­pare the ground for this po­ten­tial to un­fold. My long-term goal is there­fore clear­ly to work as a uni­versi­ty lec­turer. For me, the em­phasis is really on teach­ing and work­ing with young peo­ple. I have expe­rienced for my­self what it feels like to de­velop and achieve some­thing that you would never have dreamed of a few years ago. I now want to sup­port others in this.

Short­ly after we con­duct­ed the inter­view, we re­ceived the good news that Mario Teixeira Parente has now been of­fered a pro­fes­sor­ship in math­emat­ics at Pforzheim Uni­versi­ty. The Elite Net­work of Ba­varia con­gratu­lates him warmly and wish­es him con­tinued suc­cess in this posi­tion!

A young man standing in front of castle Neuschwanstein

This net­work has pro­vided me with inval­uable re­sources and the op­por­tunity to col­la­borate with a di­verse com­muni­ty of tal­ented stu­dents and lead­ing ex­perts.

Jingkang Zhao  •  Elite Graduate Program

A passion for the brain

“I have al­ways been fasci­nated by the com­plexi­ty of the hu­man brain, a cu­riosity origi­nally sparked by my broth­er's strug­gle with an intel­lectu­al disa­bil­ity”, ex­plains Jing­kang Zhao, when we asked him about his moti­va­tion. The alum­ni of the Elite Grad­uate Pro­gram Neu­roen­gi­neer­ing is cur­rently work­ing on his PhD in neu­rosci­ence at the LMU Uni­versi­ty Hos­pital in Mu­nich.

But let’s start from the be­gin­ning: The pas­sionate young scien­tist came the long way from Japan to con­tinue his stud­ies in Ba­varia. After grad­uating with a bach­elor’s de­gree in bio­medi­cal engi­neer­ing from Niiga­ta Uni­versi­ty, he had stum­bled upon TUM’s Elite Grad­uate Pro­gram Neu­roen­gi­neer­ing in a Google search. The pro­gram’s unique con­cept of com­bining engi­neer­ing and neu­rosci­ence im­medi­ately in­trigued him and he de­cided to apply. Ini­tially un­sure whether he would feel at home in Mu­nich, Jing­kang Zhao quick­ly found a com­muni­ty in the pro­gram that only ac­cepts 20-30 new stu­dents each year: He and his classmates not only cele­brate birth­day and Christmas par­ties to­geth­er, but also in­spire each other with their dif­ferent aca­demic back­grounds and their scien­tific bril­liance. As the stu­dents’ back­grounds are inter­na­tional, Jing­kang Zhao looks for­ward to hav­ing a com­muni­ty of friends all around the world even later in life.

Support by the Elite Network of Bavaria

The men­toring pro­gram or­gan­ised by the Neu­roen­gi­neer­ing pro­gram has had a sig­nifi­cant im­pact on Jing­kang Zhao’s aca­demic and pro­fes­sional ca­reer. He bene­fited great­ly from his men­tor Dr. Afra Wohlschlä­ger, an expert in the analy­sis of neu­roim­aging data: “She not only guid­ed me through my stud­ies and career plan­ning, but also gave me inval­uable ad­vice on com­plet­ing my mas­ter's thesis and secur­ing a PhD posi­tion. Her input helped to refine my re­search focus and sharpen my aca­demic pro­file.”

Also, the gen­eral sup­port of the Elite Net­work has played a cru­cial role in Jing­kang Zhao’s de­velopment. “This net­work has pro­vided me with inval­uable re­sources and the op­por­tunity to col­la­borate with a di­verse com­muni­ty of tal­ented stu­dents and lead­ing ex­perts from a va­riety of disci­plines worldwide.” Due to the finan­cial sup­port he re­ceived he was able to par­tici­pate in inter­na­tional con­fer­ences, a sum­mer school, and a prac­tical course. “These ex­peri­ences not only broadened my pro­fes­sional net­work, but also sharpened my skills in pre­sent­ing and com­muni­cating in the scien­tific com­muni­ty.”

Cutting-edge research

Dur­ing his aca­demic career in the Neu­roen­gi­neer­ing pro­gram, Jing­kang Zhao was able to im­merse him­self not only in the meth­ods used to study brain func­tion, but also in their appli­cati­ons in clini­cal and indus­trial prac­tice. Here he iden­tified a com­muni­cation gap be­tween neu­rosci­entists and engi­neers that limits joint inno­va­tion. “This chal­lenge moti­vates me to act as an in­ter­medi­ary be­tween these two key fields and facili­tate a syn­ergis­tic ex­change of knowledge that can accel­erate pro­gress in the un­der­stand­ing and treatment of neu­rolog­ical dis­eas­es.”

Dur­ing his mas­ter’s thesis, Jing­kang Zhao fo­cused on the ener­gy effi­cien­cy of the hu­man brain as op­posed to the high ener­gy con­sump­tion of artifi­cial intel­li­gence. So-called ‘neu­ro­morphic com­puting’ aims to mim­ic the supe­rior func­tions of the brain, seek­ing appli­cati­ons in areas such as self-driving sys­tems. For his doc­torate his re­search fo­cuses on medi­cal image analy­sis of neu­ronal ac­tivi­ties, using artifi­cial intel­li­gence to iden­tify and classi­fy the fea­tures of vari­ous neu­ronal dis­eases to facili­tate diag­nosis and re­duce the risk of mis­classi­fica­tion.

Plans for his academic career

Jing­kang Zhao’s plan for the future is to work on mod­elling neu­ronal func­tion and dys­func­tion. Through the use of ad­vanced com­puta­tional mod­els, he hopes to un­cover the un­derly­ing mechanisms that gov­ern neu­ronal be­hav­iour in health and dis­ease.

As a lover of Ger­man cul­ture – espe­cially cas­tles as de­picted in Japa­nese anime games –, Jing­kang Zhao wants to con­tinue his aca­demic career in Ger­many for many years to come. He likes the open and di­verse work cul­ture he has expe­rienced in Ba­varia and the aca­demic op­por­tuni­ties avail­able to him. He espe­cially ap­preci­ates the sup­port he has re­ceived from the Elite Net­work of Ba­varia and would like to give some­thing back by con­trib­uting his tal­ents and his skills.

A woman is tanding on a stage behind a speaker's desk.

A cool idea from university becomes a successful start-up!

Dr. Melanie Langermeier  •  Elite Graduate Program

The start-up qbi­lon has set itself the goal of mak­ing the IT archi­tec­ture of com­pa­nies visi­ble on the basis of cur­rent data in order to en­sure their com­peti­tive­ness through tai­lor-made solu­tions. Fol­low­ing start-up fund­ing from the Fed­eral Min­istry of Eco­nom­ics, the com­pany was sold to Paessler AG in 2023. The brains be­hind the idea of 'ar­chitecture min­ing' is Dr. Melanie Langermei­er, grad­uate of the Elite Grad­uate Pro­gramm “Software Engi­neer­ing” at the Uni­versi­ty of Augsburg and CPO of qbi­lon

Elite Graduate Program “Software Engineering”

After com­plet­ing her Bach­elor's de­gree in Busi­ness In­for­mat­ics, Melanie Langermei­er joined the Elite Grad­uate Pro­gram in Soft­ware Engi­neer­ing more or less by chance. To­day, she em­phasizes: “I par­ticu­larly bene­fited from the close men­toring rela­tion­ship and the team spirit on the Elite Grad­uate Pro­gram. I felt that I was in good hands in the small co­hort and learned a lot pro­fes­sionally - and we also had a lot of fun!" Fur­ther­more, she bene­fited from the soft skill and team-building semi­nars as well as the con­tacts in the busi­ness world that the course of­fers.

Mentoring as key faktor

Melanie Langermei­er iden­tifies the excel­lent men­toring as one of the major ad­van­tages of the Elite Grad­uate Pro­gram: “The sup­port from my future doc­toral su­pervi­sor Prof. Bern­hard Bauer in par­ticu­lar made a ma­jor dif­fer­ence to my ca­reer.” Prof. Bau­er's net­work made it pos­sible for her to write her mas­ter's thesis in Oslo and his per­sonal com­mit­ment moti­vated her to pur­sue a doc­torate, dur­ing which the idea and first proto­types of 'Ar­chitecture Min­ing' were de­veloped. Melanie Langermei­er ven­tured into the prac­tical im­ple­men­tation of her idea by founding a start-up to­gether with three col­leagues, also being aware of her strong men­tor and his sup­port.

From the idea to founding a start-up

“We were really facing a lot of chal­leng­es. It was a bit of a rollercoast­er ride at the be­gin­ning,” re­calls Melanie Langermei­er. But what moti­vated her through all the diffi­cul­ties was the har­mo­nious col­la­bora­tion with her team and the op­por­tunity to im­ple­ment her ideas. She finds the direct feed­back she re­ceives from cus­tomers, to whom she can pro­vide tai­lor-made solu­tions to prob­lems, par­ticu­larly re­ward­ing. “You come out of uni­versi­ty with a cool idea, but you don't know if any­one can really use it.” That was exact­ly the case for Melanie Langermei­er. Now she can ob­serve in real time how the 'cool idea from uni­versi­ty' finds a prac­tical im­ple­men­tation in reali­ty and meets an actual need. She is also pleased that she now works with many wom­en in her com­pany. “In my field, I was rather exotic as a wom­an at uni­versi­ty, but that was never a prob­lem for me.”

To­day, she ad­vises young founders not to be dis­couraged by set­backs and to trust in their own abili­ties.

Porträt Jasmin Katharina Stein, geb. Shokoui

In the Elite Network of Bavaria, I have found the intellectual environment that I have always wanted.

Jasmin Katharina Stein, geb. Shokoui  •  Max Weber Program, Elite Graduate Program

As an alumna of the Elite Graduate Program RESET (Responsibility in Science, Engineering and Technology) and the Max Weber Program, Jasmin Katharina Stein (née Shokoui) is connected to the Elite Network in many ways. She not only benefited from the academic and financial support, but also made great use of the additional opportunities for personal development.

Ms. Stein, what are you currently working on?

I am currently at the beginning of a PhD in Science, Technology and Society Studies on the topic of responsibility and innovation dynamics in the field of quantum computing. This field is particularly attractive due to its current rapid development. Many things that were previously inconceivable are now feasible and companies are sensitized to this 'AI of tomorrow'. Technological developments have a strong influence on social coexistence within society. For example, I examine why some people are more receptive to new technological developments than others and what impact these different attitudes towards technology have on society. I would describe the second dimension of my work as responsibility: How can future technology development be shaped responsibly?

You completed your Master's degree in the Elite Graduate Program "Responsibility in Science, Engineering and Technology (RESET)". Why did you choose this course and what was special about it compared to a regular one?

At first, I found the term " Elite Graduate Program" intimidating and I didn't know whether I could actually trust my abilities. Now I am very glad that I had the courage to apply. The RESET program not only inspired me in terms of the subject matter, but also contributed to my development thanks to the close relationship between the lecturers and students. Without this academic, organisational and personal guidance, my path would certainly have been different! This type of mentoring is particularly valuable for young people like me who don't come from an academic background. Events such as a team-building weekend have brought us even closer together as a group. Through the Elite Graduate Program, I was also recommended for the Max Weber Program, which opened up even more opportunities for me.

Can you explain this in more detail? What opportunities were offered to you through the Elite Network?

Thanks to the support of the Elite Network, I was able to complete an internship in Copenhagen and take part in an Italian language course in Florence. Not only did I discover new languages, different societies and cultures, but I also made friends for life. I also remember very well a conference at the Akademie für Politische Bildung in Tutzing on the subject of "Power", which was intellectually very stimulating. Finally, I rediscovered my love of playing the violin by taking part in the music academy. In the Elite Network of Bavaria, I found the intellectual environment that I had always wanted.

You have been active in many ways for the Elite Network of Bavaria, for example as a "Weberin vor Ort". What drives you?

Through my involvement, I wanted to give something back. As a "Weberin vor Ort", I organised various events for other members of the Max Weber Program in Munich - everything from a philosophy evening to yoga session. I got to know so many inspiring individuals in the Elite Network and then wanted to bring people with similar interests together to initiate collaborations or friendships. It also taught me how to coordinate large groups and take responsibility for them.

What advice would you give to young people who are considering applying for a program of the Elite Network?

Just try it, even if you have reservations about it. Seize this unique opportunity!

A man in a white shirt is smiling into the camera.

I am convinced that I can contribute to making processes in the modern working world both more humane and more effective.

Thomas Maier  •  Elite Graduate Program

Thomas Maier is an alumnus of the former Elite Graduate Program Elite Honors in Business, Economics, and Information Systems at the University of Regensburg. After two failed start-ups, he founded the digitalisation consultancy Purple Bird Technology GmbH, which now serves clients world­wide from its two offices in Munich and Dubai. Here he provides insights into his exciting career.

Mr Maier, could you please briefly tell us what you are currently working on? How would you describe your day-to-day role as managing director?

I am currently focusing on three areas: Firstly, I work on projects together with my employees. I coach my colleagues on difficult issues and also take on tasks myself when it comes to implementing IT projects. This usually involves negotiations, stakeholder management, and dealing with new technical issues. The second area is the strategic development of the company. I consider how we can support our customers in utilising AI in their business processes in order to increase efficiency or effectiveness - or to enable completely new business models. Inter­nationalisation is another important topic. Expanding the Dubai location and establishing another offshore location are projects that keep me busy on a day-to-day basis. The third topic is sales. Even in challenging economic times, our ambition is not only to survive as a company, but also to grow considerably against the trend. This is where I come in, as customers value the personal collaboration they have with the managing director of a smaller consultancy. That's also something I really enjoy.

What drives you?

There are two important factors. Firstly, the opportunity to improve things. Nothing is ever perfect; there is always room for improvement. I can't leave some­thing as it is if I see potential for improvement, despite all the advantages and disadvantages that this character­istic brings. The second issue is helping people. I believe that many people suffer from the pressures of project work. Dead­lines, budget restrictions and conflicts of interest cause this pressure. My dream would be to play a small part in ensuring that projects are managed differently in the future. Rather than acting as a "coach", I have decided that it is better to lead by example and demonstrate to our customers that projects can managed in a more humane and more rational way.

Your career had many twists and turns. How important were these for your personal growth?

Life often holds surprises that can ruin all plans, but it can also present opportunities. I experienced this first-hand during my studies when a family member became dependent on care and I couldn't go out partying all night like my fellow students, but had to help out at home instead. In general, I have always been a curious person who is not afraid to take risks, and it was this that led me to found my first two start-ups. After they failed, I wasn't discouraged and took the plunge with Purple Bird, my third start-up. Setbacks and failure are part of life and you can grow personally from them.

What role did the Elite Network play in your development?

After completing my Bachelor's degree at LMU Munich, I wanted to experience studying at a different university for my Master's. I believe that the ability to study at different institutions is one of the advantages of the Bachelor's/Master's system. The University of Regensburg was not actually on my list. However, by chance I stumbled across the Honors programs and I thought the concept was excellent, as it turned out to be. In the Elite Network, you work with a group of highly motivated students and attend many additional events. At the soft skills seminars, for example, you learn things that will help you throughout your life. Additionally, my time abroad in China would not have been as successful without the support of the ENB. But the biggest benefit for me was securing my first job. I got in touch with my first employer through an alumnus who had finished a year earlier, and joined them after graduating.

Academic work is rarely straightforward and a good network is worth gold, especially when it comes to discussing your own progress and failures.

Paula Engelke  •  Marianne-Plehn-Program

For Paula Engelke, the com­bi­nation of a doc­toral schol­arship and a posi­tion as part of the Mari­an­ne-Plehn-Pro­gram was a com­plete suc­cess. As a young moth­er of three chil­dren, how­ever, rec­oncil­ing her aca­demic work with caring for her chil­dren was a par­ticular chal­lenge.

How can fear actu­ally be 'un­learned'? Paula Engelke has ex­plored this ques­tion since she began her doc­torate at the Chair of Clini­cal Psy­chol­ogy and Psy­cho­thera­py at the Uni­versi­ty of Würzburg. The Studienstif­tung has sup­port­ed her with a doc­toral schol­arship since 2019. "Anx­iety disor­ders can lead to severe re­strictions in eve­ryday life. In so-called ex­po­sure-based meth­ods, pa­tients are re­peat­edly con­front­ed with a fear-inducing stimu­lus with­out the actual feared event occur­ring," ex­plains the schol­arship hold­er. " How­ever, even after the thera­py has been suc­cess­fully com­plet­ed, the fear re­turns again and again." Pau­la Engelke would like to un­der­stand the un­derly­ing mech­anisms of this pro­cess in great­er detail with her labor­ator­y-exper­imental re­search and thus con­trib­ute to an im­proved treat­ment of anxie­ty disor­ders.

Additional experience through her work in the research project

To­wards the end of 2020, Paula Engelke ap­plied for the MPP and start­ed her new posi­tion in a re­search pro­ject at her chair in March 2021. "This also al­lowed me to gain fur­ther expe­rience in su­pervising stu­dents. I was also able to gain many prac­tical im­pres­sions of eve­ryday thera­peutic prac­tice by at­tend­ing case dis­cussions," says the 30-ye­ar-old, look­ing back on her work until the be­gin­ning of 2024. It was also the stronger inte­gra­tion into an aca­demic envi­ron­ment that helped Paula Engelke with her doc­torate: "Aca­demic work is rarely straightforward and a good net­work is worth gold, espe­cially when it comes to dis­cuss­ing your own pro­gress and fail­ures."

Doing a PhD with children

Paula Engelke is not just pro­fes­sionally based in Würzburg, where she com­pleted her Bach­elor's and Mas­ter's de­grees. It is also the home of her family of five. Alt­hough she had al­ready expe­rienced the com­pati­bility of aca­demic work and care work dur­ing her stud­ies, she found doing a doc­torate with chil­dren chal­leng­ing: "The possi­bility of being able to work at any time occa­sionally made me feel guilty when I want­ed to spend time with my chil­dren or was re­spon­sible for care work."

How­ever, the indi­vidual struc­ture of the doc­toral schol­arship helped her to organ­ise her eve­ryday family life, which changed again with the birth of her third child in the sec­ond year of her doc­torate and the lack of exter­nal child­care due to the pan­dem­ic. "My posi­tion as an em­ploy­ee with social secu­rity cov­erage gave me more lee­way in plan­ning my paren­tal leave," says Paula Engelke. Net­work­ing with other par­ents work­ing on their doc­torates was also help­ful for the young psy­chologist, as simi­lar chal­lenges and ques­tions often arose de­spite dif­ferent disci­plines. "Even though my expe­rienc­es with the schol­arship and at my uni­versi­ty have been pre­domi­nantly posi­tive, many struc­tures in the aca­demic world have only just start­ed to sys­temat­ically factor in care re­spon­sibili­ties."

The schol­arship holder was there­fore par­ticu­larly pleased that it was possi­ble for chil­dren and care­givers to partic­ipate in the vari­ous events of the pro­gram with­out any prob­lems. "The MPP is a great addi­tion to the doc­toral schol­ar­ship, espe­cially be­cause of the great flexi­bility with regard to the loca­tion and de­sign of the posi­tion, and it was easy for me to com­bine my doc­torate with rais­ing my chil­dren."

Porträt Prof. Tobias Vogl

There is no such valuable guidance as that provided by a mentor who has already walked the path.

Prof. Dr. Tobias Vogl  •  Max Weber Program

Quantum technology - everyone has heard of it, but very few people have a concrete understanding of it. Prof. Dr. Tobias Vogl, alumnus of the Max Weber Program, is a professor at the Technical University of Munich in the field of quantum communication. He gave the Elite Network an insight into this exciting field and his career.

Professor Vogl, can you briefly introduce yourself and your research?

I have been Professor of Quantum Communication Systems Engineering at the Technical University of Munich since July 2023. Quantum communication is about encoding information from single light particles and using them as a means of communication. The benefit of this is that this information medium cannot be manipulated or intercepted - this is very important for encryption. Current encryption methods will no longer be secure in the foreseeable future, so quantum communication is a possible alternative in the future. Basic research has been conducted for 40 years, but the technical implementation is very complex. The light is to be transmitted by satellite. We are currently in the process of building a satellite that can be used for quantum communication with various locations around the world. There are still a few obstacles to overcome, from the energy supply of the components on the satellite to vibrations during the rocket launch - so it keeps being exciting!

What were the most important stages of your career and why did you choose Bavaria as a science location?

After studying at LMU Munich, I completed my doctorate in Canberra, Australia, where I was able to develop the basic technology for my research. After my doctorate, I led a junior research group in Jena and was awarded the € 400,000 "INNOspace Masters Award" from the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in 2021. However, my longer-term goal was always to return to Bavaria, partly for family reasons and partly because of the excellent conditions for quantum technology in and around Munich. The appointment to the professorship at TUM with initial funding from Munich Quantum Valley was completely unexpected for me and shows that quantum technology is no longer a curiosity from the laboratory, but can actually be applied. Fortunately, Bavaria has understood that it is important to be internationally competitive in this security-relevant field in order to avoid having to buy the technology from other countries and to create local value chains.

How did you become a member of the Elite Network of Bavaria and what did you gain by joining it?

I had heard from a fellow student about the university selection for the Max Weber Program. I asked a professor whether he would recommend me for funding and at the same time I was nominated by the examination board. I was very happy to be accepted and benefited greatly from the funding. For example, I was able to take part in a language course in England, which greatly improved my academic English. I also remember a soft skills seminar in Beilngries on scientific writing, which taught me great techniques to present my scientific findings in publications and talks, which I still use in my work today. After all, science is also about making topics accessible to the wider public and not just the scientific community.

Why and how are you involved in the Elite Network?

Mentoring under the Max Weber Program had a profound impact on me. Prof. Sausen from DLR Oberpfaffenhofen gave me valuable advice and allowed me a deep insight into his research areas. He also taught me what it means to work in research and what is important when planning a scientific career. There is no such valuable guidance as that provided by a mentor who has already walked the path. Based on this positive experience, I myself am involved in the Max Weber Program as a reviewer in the selection seminar and as a mentor. I would like to be the contact person for all possible questions relating to studies and research and not only impart content, but also pass on my personal experience.

Portrait: Aisha Abdul Quddus

I’ve been privileged to have great opportunities, and I want to pave the way for more girls and people of different ethnic groups to take up places in STEM.

Aisha Abdul Quddus  •  Elite Graduate Program

Aisha Abdul Quddus, a graduate of the Elite Graduate Program "Advanced Materials and Processes" (MAP), has a very vibrant and energetic personality. Since coming to Erlangen from Pakistan to join the MAP program, she has managed to bring people together and to inspire them with her academic brilliance and with her commitment to helping others.

Best possible study conditions

After completing her bachelor’s degree at the University of Qatar, Aisha  Abdul Quddus was interested in both chemistry and materials science. For her, the MAP Elite Graduate Program was “the best of both worlds”, giving her insights into many different topics with real-world applications, taught by excellent experts. She particularly appreciated the support she got from the dedicated MAP staff, from adjusting to life in Germany to organising stays abroad. Aisha received a one-year scholarship from MAP and the financial support helped her tremendously to focus on her studies. The workshops and seminars included in the program, as well as the alumni meetings, helped her to develop her soft skills and social network.

An outstanding student

During her studies, Aisha was involved in many community activities, both outside and within the MAP program, including focusing on the welfare and integration of international students. She helped them find accommodation, answered their questions and generally made them feel at home. Her commitment to others is driven by a desire to be the best version of herself, making the most use of her resources and skills. She wants to use her abundant energy to make a difference. In recognition of her achievements, Aisha was awarded the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) Prize in 2023. It honours international students at the FAU who have made a lasting impression during their studies in Germany through their outstanding academic achievements and their commitment to social or intercultural projects.

Her mission

Coming from a family of engineers, her interest in chemical engineering came naturally, but in her field  Aisha Abdul Quddus was usually the only woman on any team. Her dream is to advocate for bias-free workplaces for everyone and she aspires to be a female role model: “I’ve been privileged to have great opportunities, and I want to pave the way for more girls and people of different ethnic groups to take up places in STEM.”

After graduating from MAP in 2023, Aisha Abdul Quddus took her first steps in the corporate world. During her internships at Agfa in Antwerp and RWE in Essen, she discovered her passion for managing her own projects and developing real products for real customers. She feels that she still has so much left to learn and this is what drives her to meet new people, share her story, and take every opportunity to learn.

It feels good to spark new research projects with interesting results

Julian Wienand  •  Marianne-Plehn-Program

The Mari­anne-Plehn-Pro­gram ena­bled Julian Wienand to com­bine his exper­imental doc­toral thesis with work in a theo­retical re­search group at LMU Mu­nich. He feels very much at home in the city, and not just be­cause of the pro­fes­sional con­nec­tions. In the final phase of his doc­torate, he has not yet de­cided what to do next.

The topic of Julian Wienand's dis­serta­tion, which he began in July 2020, sounds ra­ther com­plex at first: quan­tum simu­lation exper­iments us­ing ul-tra­cold atoms in opti­cal lattic­es. He ex­plains his re­search as fol­lows: "We ma­nipu­late indi­vidual atoms trapped in a lattice of light with lasers and use them to study the fun­damental phys­ics of quan­tum many-body sys­tems". From the be­havior of the at­oms, con­clu­sions can be drawn about phe­nomena in solid-state phys­ics. "You can com­pare it to an air­plane model that is tested in a wind tun­nel. It's easier and safer than build­ing the plane and test­ing it in the open air".

Theory and experience

Dur­ing his stud­ies in Würzburg and Mu­nich, the 27-ye­ar-old be­came in­creas­ingly en­thusi­astic about exper­imental phys­ics. "I find it excit­ing to be able to see with my own eyes and help shape how an idea be­comes an exper­imental reali­ty," says Julian Wienand. De­velop­ing the tech­nolo­gy and work­ing on the per­fect exper­imental set-up make his day-to-day work in the lab varied and di­verse. How­ever, it was clear to Julian Wienand that his doc­toral pro­ject would not only re­quire tink­ering in the labor­atory, but also a com­pre­hen­sive theo­retical un­der­stand­ing of the un­derly­ing physi­cal sys­tems. As part of the Mari­anne Plehn Pro­gram, he was able to com­bine his exper­imental work with a posi­tion in an­other theo­retical re­search group. "This gave my doc­torate an addi­tional di­men­sion. In addi­tion to access to a great deal of theo­retical knowledge, this also in­cludes the op­por­tunity to pre­sent my work to a new audi­ence and gain new impe­tus in dis­cussions with theo­retical physi­cists," he re­ports.

Broad interests

Mu­nich was not only the right loca­tion for Julian Wienand be­cause of the aca­demic con­nec­tions, but also due to the wide range of leisure activi­ties and the rich cul­tural offer­ings. As he did dur­ing his stud­ies, he con­tinued to organ­ize hiking tours for other stu­dents. "Be­ing out in nature to­gether is inspir­ing, in­vites excit­ing con­versa­tions and cre­ates friendships," says the for­mer schol­arship hold­er. Addi­tional­ly, he also plays the dou­ble bass, most re­cently in the Mu­nich stu­dent or­ches­tra, and com­poses and ar­ranges his own piec­es. He also im­ple­ments small­er IT pro­jects. He is fasci­nated by being able to solve tasks more effi­cient­ly and better with just a few re­sources: "With a little know-how, al­most any­one can create beau­tiful and useful things out of noth­ing - with­out mate­rial re­sources, just with code and time.

And after the doctorate?

The final phase of his doc­torate also raised the ques­tion of the future for Julian Wienand. He in­creas­ingly doubted his origi­nal plan to stay in aca­demia in the long term: "It feels good to have con­tributed to my field through my work and to have sparked new re­search pro­jects through inter­esting re­sults," he says, "but in­stead of stay­ing in a niche area, I would prefer to be able to deal with a broader range of top­ics." He advis­es other doc­toral can­di­dates to con­sider alter­na­tives out­side of aca­demia at an early stage and to make tar­geted use of the events and net­work the pro­gram offers for this pur­pose. It is not yet clear where and how Julian Wienand will con­tinue: the moun­tains and the near­est opera house should not be too far away, how­ever.

Links

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Contact

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