Networking Group for Women PhD Candidates at the University of Warsaw
The University of Warsaw conducts mentoring activities aimed at female doctoral students, a group requiring support during entry and adaptation to the academic environment. These activities aim to strengthen women’s participation in scientific research and counteract structural barriers that emerge in the early stages of academic careers.
The Networking Group for Women PhD Candidates is an initiative that connects female doctoral students from various disciplines and organizational units. Within its framework, participants can:
- meet with mentors,
- participate in workshops and thematic meetings,
- exchange experiences and inspiration with colleagues beginning their scientific careers.
The network aims to strengthen women’s participation in scientific research, support decisions regarding further development, and build a sense of belonging in the academic community. The meetings are primarily for the exchange of experiences and support. They do not involve tasks to be completed, nor are they just another project. The goal is to strengthen one another and provide an opportunity to discuss the experiences of being a doctoral student and a woman in the world of science. The network is aimed exclusively at women pursuing doctoral degrees – it was designed to address the specific needs of female doctoral students, who face different structural, organizational, and professional challenges than female and male students at earlier stages of their studies or male PhD students.
These activities are implemented within the framework of the university’s equality policies, including Gender Equality Plans, which envisage the development of mentoring programs and the monitoring of their availability and reach. This allows the university to better understand the needs of female doctoral students and create a space conducive to women’s scientific development.
The network aims to empower female doctoral students and equip them with knowledge about publication strategies, grant applications, and international travel, which will be useful in later stages of their academic careers. The network’s activities will enable the selection of ambassadors for equality in the doctoral student self-government. This initiative is undertaken in conjunction with the Career Development Strategy developed by the Office of Employee Affairs and in collaboration with individual units and doctoral schools.
Meeting Rules
- we choose the topics we want to discuss and choose who we want to invite,
- the network is horizontal, there’s no hierarchy – we’re on first-name terms,
- we build a safe space, share, and don’t judge,
- we meet periodically to maintain a rhythm – but attendance is not mandatory,
- we invite additional female doctoral student colleagues,
- due to the network’s accessibility for non-Polish speakers, correspondence can be in two languages, and we can switch to English during meetings.
Networking Breakfasts
The Gender Equality Plan adopted by the University of Warsaw and the IDUB strategy include activities to empower women in the early stages of their academic careers. One of these activities is “doctoral student networking” – periodic breakfast meetings with invited guests. This is a loose format, aimed at providing opportunities to get to know each other, exchange experiences and ideas, share problems, and jointly consider solutions.
Engaging female doctoral students in networks with academic staff and organizing lectures with invited speakers on women’s careers in science, both in Poland and globally (e.g., managers of international grants implemented at the University of Warsaw): organizing three “networking breakfasts” per academic year, to which female doctoral students and academic staff from various fields of science will be invited, combined with lectures by invited guests. This format will allow for less formal networking, sharing experiences, providing advice and substantive support, and also enabling the integration of female doctoral students from different faculties. This initiative is synergistic in nature – it will strengthen female doctoral students, integrate the academic community, and increase the external visibility of good university practices.
In addition to the “networking breakfasts,” female doctoral students will maintain regular contact via a mailing list managed in collaboration with the Equal opportunities chief specialist.
Contact details:
Network coordinator: dr hab. Julia Kubisa
Mailing group: networkingdoktorantki@uw.edu.pl
FB group: Sieć doktorantek/PhD candidates UW