“Women, if we do nothing today, tomorrow we will live like yesterday": Prof. Dr. Claudia Kocian-Dirr opened the event with this quote from the artist and GDR regime critic Annemirl Baur and put the participants - female students and alumnae, mentors, professors, employees and network partners from the region - in the mood for the motto ‘DARE TO GROW’. A good 40 years later, the HNU representative for equal opportunities for women in science and the arts explained, this phrase has lost none of its relevance. Although much has already been achieved at HNU in this respect, it is still important to remain active: “Over the past three decades, we have been able to provide valuable impetus at the university and in the region and make an important contribution for women with our activities and initiatives - and we will continue to do so in the future”.
“Even more important than courage is the desire to do what you do”
The expert in business informatics then handed over the floor to an “expert on growth”: As one of Germany's outstanding keynote speakers, Sabine Asgodom has been inspiring companies and people of all ages with her charismatic presentation style for decades. In her partly interactive keynote speech at HNU, Asgodom used her own life story to deliver powerful messages with a great deal of humor: “It's less about courage and more about desire - the desire for the freedom to do what you really want,” explained the speaker, encouraging participants to take self-determination and personal responsibility. Modesty and self-doubt don't get women anywhere, but fearlessness and perseverance do. “Forge alliances and look for allies,” Sabine Asgodom recommended to the enthusiastic audience at the end of her speech. “We can learn so much from each other if we treat each other with interest and goodwill.”
Successful women from politics and science in Neu-Ulm gave personal advice
The high-calibre fishbowl discussion showed that the projects of the equal opportunities team have an impact far beyond the university: Neu-Ulm District Administrator Eva Treu and Lord Mayor Katrin Albsteiger, together with HNU President Prof. Dr. Uta M. Feser and Sabine Asgodom, delved deep into the topic of female career paths. Prof. Dr. Claudia Kocian-Dirr moderated the discussions and compiled possible success factors for the participants, who also had their say and actively shaped the discussion. The four panelists shared open, honest insights into their professional and private experiences, answered very personal questions and gave valuable, tangible advice on pressing questions: What to do in difficult career moments? How can career and family really be reconciled? What helps in terms of networking and against perfectionism? Only the schedule finally put an end to the program - if it had been up to the participants, the lively discussion could probably have continued even longer.
In-depth exchange in meet-ups
The participants were allowed to organize the rest of the evening as they wished: In several rooms, mentors and alumni of BayernMentoring as well as academic staff were available as contact persons for various topics - from female entrepreneurship and networking to female leadership skills. After a brief input on the respective topic, this format offered plenty of opportunities for in-depth discussions. Here too, it was only the clock that determined that this would end at some point, and numerous discussions were continued at the end of the event.
“Expectations far exceeded": enthusiastic feedback from the participants
The event was rounded off by a get-together with finger food and live music. Long after the official end, the participants took the opportunity to make new contacts and exchange their impressions and the diverse impulses of the past hours. The feedback on “DARE TO GROW” was correspondingly enthusiastic: “The event far exceeded my expectations,” said one participant. “It was incredibly inspiring to listen to so many impressive women with very different life and career paths. I took away a lot of valuable impulses and practical advice.”
The event was organized by Prof. Dr. Claudia Kocian-Dirr, Pia Drechsel, Dr. habil. Felicitas Meifert-Menhard and Magdalena Fremdling (team of the HNU Representative for Gender Equality in Science and Art) in cooperation with the EXISTWomen program.
Contact
Prof. Dr. Claudia Kocian-Dirr
