The Femtec Career-Building Programme

Information Session in Summer Term 2022
N.N.

Application Period for Class 42 in Summer Term 2022
19th April – 15th May 2022

Assesment Center for KIT-Students
Wednesday, 22nd June 2022 (full-day)

Programme Duration Class 42
September 2022 until September 2023

Femtec was founded as a GmbH (limited liability company) in 2001 by the partners European Academy for Women in Politics and Business (EAF) and Technische Universität Berlin. The Femtec Network is a unique consortium which consists of excellent partners in business and science as well as talented STEM-students, graduates and the Femtec.Alumnae e.V. Alongside KIT, seven other leading Universities of Technology and twelve renowned companies work together in the Femtec Network – linked in view of shared goals: to attract women for specialist and management positions in business and sciences in order to foster diversity in both spheres.

The Femtec Career-Building Programme specifically prepares top female STEM students for entry into their respective professions. While taking your university courses, the Career-Building Programme teaches you crucial skills for your future career. The English-taught programme is designed for a duration of one year and starts each March and September. It focuses on three main fields:

• Career Development: Career-Building / Self-confidence & Assertiveness / Leading Myself and Others
• Innovation and Co-creation: Innovation Labs (with partner companies) / Creativity 
• Building Networks: Building Sustainable Networks / Femtec Network Meets / Field Trips

In three “Schools”, which build upon one another, it offers you intensive career training courses that help you shape your talents, inspiring discussions about career-relevant topics with other STEM-students as well as professionals from different positions and companies. You will learn about current leadership concepts and new approaches to deal with complex challenges and be part of an innovation project, in which you will work together with partners from industry, research and science to develop pioneering solutions for tomorrow’s challenges.

After successfully completing the programme, scholarship holders will be awarded a certificate and a diploma supplement, which entitles them up to 16 credit points. The whole scholarship aka the Career-Building Programme in total comprises 400 hours of workload, about 128 hours of them in workshops and tutorials in attendance.

The Career-Building Programme has been accredited by the FIBAA (Foundation of International Business Administration Accreditation) since December 2016. Femtec scholarship holders at KIT can accumulate their credits partially as curricular (e.g. as an equivalent for certain modules of choice; usually the credits of the Innovation Lab are picked for accumulating them as an equivalent)  or interdisciplinary qualifications towards their master programme at KIT.

If you are interested in adding your credits to your Transcript of Records as curricular credits, please contact the responsible office in your department for further advice. Please also contact the responsible person for your chosen module, in order to check if an equivalent is possible.

As for accumulating credits towards interdisciplinary qualifications (key qualifications = SQ / überfachliche Qualifikationen), please contact your Femtec coordinator at KIT. Then ZAK will enter your ECTS credits directly into the online system. Finally, you have to contact the Students Services Office in order to add these credits to your Transcript of Records.

Please note that adding credits as "Zusatzleistungen" (extracurricular credits) is not possible.

As a scholarship holder of the Femtec Career-Building Programme you can participate at all schools and on field trips and have individual career advice from the Femtec Network free of charge. You only need to pay the costs for traveling and accommodation. All schools take place in Berlin together with all other scholarship holders from the partner universities.* Accomodation during field trips will be organized and paid by Femtec itself.

As a scholarship holder from KIT, you can apply for a grant to contribute towards travel expenses, which currently covers 80 % of the total costs up to a maximum of 200 €.

The scholarship is an ideational programme. It is not to be understood as financial support towards the cost of your studies!

*Because of COVID-19-Pandemic all schools are organised online.

The application and selection process is divided into two steps: 

1. Written online application with a short video pitch (max. 100 seconds), in which you present yourself and your motivation for joining the Femtec Network and the Career-Building Programme.
2. After successful pre-selection you will be invited to an assessment centre (AC) in Karlsruhe. Here, you will spend a whole day carrying out various exercises, in which you will be assessed by a group of observers from your university and various partner companies from the Femtec Network. They will make a joint decision on whether you have passed or not. You will be informed about the result no later than the following day, and you can ask to be given more detailed feedback about your performance and results in the different exercises. 

Both online application and assessment centre are in English.

Please click here for detailed information on the online application and video pitch.
Before you apply, please first check whether you meet the application criteria and have time to attend the school dates and your respective assessment centre Karlsruhe (see "Current Information"). Here you can find the current school dates.

Requirements for a successful application:

• You are a master student in STEM-subjects at KIT or another Femtec partner university (study phase 1st and 2nd semester). Please note: The Femtec Career-Building Programme is aimed exclusively at women from the fields of computer science, engineering and natural sciences.
• You must be enrolled at university for at least another year to ensure that you can successfully complete the programme during your studies.
• You have at least B2 level English according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Please note: The language of instruction of the schools is English, therefore sufficient English language skills are absolutely necessary. A good command of German is preferable.
• You can ensure to attend the assessment centre and the schools.

The Femtec Career-Building Programme is right for you if:

• You would like to systematically plan your transition into a career or your career itself and you would like to improve key competences.
• You are looking to exchange ideas with promising female students from the STEM area.
• You are highly motivated, committed and willing to perform and you are pursuing a responsible position.
• You are solution and team oriented, you want to take on responsibility and shape the future.
• You want to contribute your talents and ideas to a renowned network.

The Femtec.Alumnae e.V. (short: FTA) is a network of and for scientists, engineers and experts from the STEM field. The association was founded in 2008 by graduates of the Femtec Career-Building Programme. Since then it has grown into a strong network of more than 900 women. Its main aim is to boost the career prospects of women – especially in technical or scientific fields – and to achieve a better work-life balance for both women and men. The professional development of the members is supported by seminars and workshops. The association also offers the opportunity for exchange and networking – throughout Germany and worldwide – and holds regular meetings at the headquarters of each regional group. 

The Karlsruhe meetings are attended by active Femtec scholarship holders of KIT and Femtec members from other partner universities, who are currently doing an internship or writing their master thesis in Karlsruhe, as well as Femtec Alumnae who have already start their careers at companies in the region. As a graduate / Alumnae of the Career-Building Programme you automatically get the chance to become a member of the Alumnae Association. As early as you start the Career-Building Programme you can join the regular meetings and by this means benefit from an in-depth exchange of experiences with other students and professionals.

The Karlsruhe group usually meets at the 10th of each month. Those who are interested in getting an invite can get in touch with the leaders of the regional group. Here you can see an overview of all regional groups and contacts.

For further information on the Femtec.Alumnae e.V., visit www.femtec-alumnae.org

Here you can download informational documents and get audio-visual impressions of the Career-Building Programme.

Infomational Documents

Flyer Career-Building-Programme (Class 41)

Short insight into the Career-Building Programme (from class 38)

FAQs for applicants and interested students (Effective: February 2021)

Application manual for platform Femtec Campus 

Admission and Examination Regulation (from class 38) (Effective: August 2020)

Media

„Von starken Frauen für starke Frauen“ 
Article in the online magazine clicKIT, published 3rd September 2020

Weiterbildung und Stipendien
Live interview on Campusradio Karlsruhe about the ideational scholarships Bronnbacher Stipendium, Femtec Career-Building Programme and KompetenzKompass, aired 4th October 2017

Frauenhightechpower
Show on Radio KIT, aired 19th July 2012