Program Diversity Week

12–1 p.m., this workshop is hybrid. You can either participate in the ExpLab or via Zoom

Trainer: Lukas Dausend (he/him)

Everyone should have the experience of living abroad!

Are you queer and do you want to study abroad? In this event, the International Office will present important sources of information and counselling and will be ready to answer your questions.

The workshop is open to both German and English speakers.

2:15–3:45 p.m.

Trainer: Jo Labecka (no pronouns), Prout at Work

This lecture will take place online, but you can also log in from the ExpLAB.

When it comes to gender and gender identity, we usually think in two strict categories. However, this does not reflect the diversity of human nature. This is why we offer an awareness session with PROUT AT WORK. The interactive session offers insights into trans*, inter, and non-binary topics. How many trans* people are there in Germany? What experiences do they make? Why is gender-sensitive language so important? What are pronouns about?

Towards the end of the session, we will show how participants can tangibly support gender diversity. There will be room to reflect on one’s own positions on the topic and to ask questions.

4:15–6:15 p.m., EXPLab

Trainer: Ellie Mühl (they/she)

Register now

In this mini-workshop on self-assertion for FLINTA*, we will create a safer space where you can learn how to say No, and how to notice and protect your own boundaries.

What does No feel like? How does it feel to say no, and how does it feel to hear it? How about Yes? What happens when we can practice without having to fear the consequences? Learning how to test and protect your own boundaries is the focus of this mini-workshop on self-assertion for FLINTA* during the Diversity Week. Using a variety of exercises, we will move from the internal attitude to external self-assertion. We will cover how we can defend our space and our boundaries from strangers, and also from people who are close to us.

Maximum number of participants: 20 

12–2 p.m.

Registration required

We warmly invite you to our Academic Lunch, a space dedicated to sharing and celebrating the wide range of research on gender and diversity taking place at the University of Mannheim. This event is open to everyone who would like to gain insight into current projects and engage in dialogue across disciplines.

Programme:

12–1 p.m. – Invited Talks – Postdoctoral researchers present their work and perspectives

Speakers:

• Measuring stigmatizing associations within the news
  Dr. Rainer Freudenthaler (he/him), Institute for Media and Communication Studies
• The intergenerational transmission of gender bias and knowledge diffusion
  Dr. Leo Schmallenbach (he/him), Business School
• Being Politically Represented By One of Their Own? The Case of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and trans* Individuals
  Dr. Constantin Wurthmann (he/him), Mannheim Centre for European Social Research (MZES) 

The session will be moderated by the Department of Equal Opportunity and Diversity.

The invited talks will be delivered in English.

1–2 p.m. – Poster Session – Participants who submitted abstracts will showcase their projects in an interactive poster presentation. Contributions will be in English and in German.

We look forward to welcoming you for an inspiring exchange of ideas, perspectives, and experiences.

2:30–3:45 p.m., ExpLAB

Instructors: Alex (he/him) & Lovis (he/him)

Registration

In just one year, Lovis and Alex traveled across 16 countries on six continents as an “interabled duo” to raise awareness about disability and inclusion.

Lovis has lived with ADHD since childhood, while Alex was born with a physical disability called AMC. Together, they aim to bring the topic of inclusion closer to a wider audience. For this purpose, they spent a year traveling around the world. On their journey, they not only conducted inspiring interviews with people from across the globe but also had to overcome a variety of obstacles and barriers.

8:30 p.m., U4 15-16, 68159 Mannheim

Queer im Schloss invites you to a regular bar night in a relaxed atmosphere.

To strengthen the queer community at the University of Mannheim, Queer im Schloss regularly hosts a casual get together at Café/Bar Solo in Mannheim. The bar night offers a relaxed atmosphere and creates a space for exchange and connection between queer students from all over the world.

15 October (in person) and 7 November (online) 9 a.m.-1p.m. 
Registration by 8 October via postdocsmail-uni-mannheim.de

Balancing research, teaching, career planning, family life and your personal needs: reconciling all these demands is no easy feat for early-career researchers. Both effective self-organisation and attentive self-care are essential to thrive personally and professionally. Against the backdrop of the academic system and your individual work-family context, this two-morning workshop hosted by Division I (Team Career Paths in Academia) offers you the opportunity to:

• Reflect on your situation in dialogue with fellow parents or researchers planning a family
• Identify your core values and needs
• Review and, if necessary, realign your priorities
• Explore support options, common obstacles, and legal considerations at the family-research interface
• Scrutinize role expectations and division of responsibilities in your private and professional life
• Learn about stress coping and self-care

This workshop is designed for current and prospective parents in academia – doctoral candidates and postdocs – who wish to build a fulfilling academic career without sacrificing family life. 

Through a dynamic mix of expert input, group discussion, and guided self-reflection exercises, you will gain practical strategies and peer support.

Further information regarding the workshop can be found here.

12–1 p.m., ExpLAB (hybrid)

Instructor: Equal Opportunities Commissioner Andrea Horn (she/her)

Online registration:

enter ZOOM-Link

1. Meeting-ID: 66806328216
2. Kenncode: 454525

Choosing a profession with care? Placing children in external childcare right after birth? A nursing home instead of a large family?

Even after 45 years of employment, people can fall into poverty once they retire – and a large proportion of them are women. Why is that? How could it be prevented? And is change solely a women’s issue? Or is politics alone to blame? Do we need better laws, or a change in society’s mindset as well? Together with you, the audience, I would like to explore these questions in more depth.

2–3 p.m., ExpLAB. 

Instructor: Viktor Boecking (he/him)

No registration required

Lost Voices, Stolen Books – Stories of Jewish Women from Mannheim under National Socialism

With the rise to power of the NSDAP in 1933, the National Socialists gradually stripped unwanted organizations and private individuals – especially Jewish citizens – of their rights. In the course of persecution and annihilation, the Nazi state also enriched itself through their property, including their books. We tell the stories of Jewish women from Mannheim, as preserved in the holdings of the University Library.

5:30–7 p.m., Katakomben. 

Registration

We warmly invite the University of Mannheim community to join the main event of Diversity Week 2025.

The programme will feature three engaging talks on democratic challenges across different fields of knowledge. Together, we will reflect on questions such as what values are being reproduced through social media phenomena, how our biases shape the way we pay attention to one another, and whether we are really addressing the needs of migrants beyond political guidelines.

The talks will be held in English and German.

Speakers:

• Prof. Jessica Steinberger (Technische Hochschule Mannheim) (she/her)
  Tradwives and Harmful Masculinity Norms in the Digital Age: How Online Phenomena Shape the Social Debate on Gender Roles (German)
  This talk explores the online phenomenon of the “Tradwife” ideal and harmful masculinity norms in the digital sphere. It examines how these narratives spread online and what influence they have on public debates about gender roles and gender equality.
• Dr. Oliver Rittmann (MZES) (he/him)
  Gendered Patterns of Parliamentary Attention (English)
  Do women politicians receive less attention for their speeches than men? This talk presents findings from a study that analysed legislators’ reactions to speeches by men and women using TV recordings from the Landtag of Baden-Württemberg.
• Dr. Andrea Chagas López (MZES) (she/her)
  Researching Diversity – but how? (English)
  Migration brings cultural, linguistic, and ethnic diversity into societies, challenging established norms. Research, and especially migration research, often responds mainly to political guidelines rather than to the real needs of migrants. This talk asks how diversity can be studied in ways that involve affected communities as active partners in the research process, while still meeting scientific standards such as objectivity, reliability, validity, and transparency.

The event will also be enriched by a musical performance by singer Laura di Natali (she/they), Popakademie Mannheim).

The evening will be opened by Prof. Heiko Paulheim (he/him), UMA's Vice-President for Digitalization, Equal Opportunity, and Diversity, and moderated by Jens Augspurger (he/him).

We look forward to welcoming you to our networking meetings!

The network events offer a safer space where female researchers from various disciplines can connect, exchange ideas, and share experiences. The events are open to (1) female PhD students and postdocs, respectively. 

The event is scheduled as follows:

10:15–11:15 a.m., ExpLab: Female PhD students and postdocs
Input and discussion on networking in science
Registration for the networking meeting for doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers

2:15–3:00 p.m.

Trainer: Tina Helbig (she/her)

Registration via Portal²

In this workshop, neurodivergent students gain practical insight into how AI can support their learning and make their everyday student life easier.

In this workshop, neurodivergent students gain practical insight into how AI can support their learning and make their everyday student life easier. Among other things, we will present AI tips for text processing that can help make editing texts easier. Demonstrations will show how text-to-speech tools can facilitate reading and understanding texts and how AI can assist in planning and executing complex tasks. In addition, we will show how AI can help interpret social cues and tones of voice correctly. All tips are also suitable for neurotypical students, who are also welcome to attend the workshop.

7 p.m. (admission), B6, 23–25, Room A001 

Queer im Schloss, in collaboration with Unikino, presents the romantic comedy “But I'm a Cheerleader.”

This 1999 comedy is about the teenager Megan, who is sent to a rehabilitation camp by her parents. There, she realizes that she is actually a lesbian and falls in love. Queer im Schloss and Unikino are happy to invite you to a movie night to watch this satirical movie with a happy ending.

Duration: 95 Minutes