Career Talk 1: Academic and Non-Academic Paths in Germany
Kathleen Randýsek-Beger (Regensburg), Christoph Hilgert (Berlin), Henner Kropp (Karlsruhe), Jacqueline Nießer (Regensburg)
- Beginning:
- Monday, 27 October 2025 16:00
On 27 October 2025 we will welcome Christoph Hilgert, Henner Kropp, Jacqueline Nießer and Kathleen Randýsek-Beger. They are former members of the Graduate School for East and Southeast European Studies and will share their career paths in the academic and non-academic profession. This talk will be held in English.
What comes after the doctorate? Join us for an inspiring event where four alumni of the Graduate School for East and Southeast European Studies share their career paths within and beyond academia.
Our speakers – two historians, a political scientist/journalist, a cultural studies scholar/anthropologist – will offer insights into how they navigated the transition from PhD research to professional life. Whether in media, public service, the cultural sector, or beyond, each of them brings valuable experience and advice for those considering their next steps.
This is a great opportunity to learn from those who have been in your shoes, ask questions, and expand your perspective on what’s possible after completing your doctoral studies.
The event welcomes PhD candidates and Master’s students in East European Studies as well as other areas of the humanities.
Christoph Hilgert:
He heads the Communications Department and is press spokesman for the German Rectors' Conference (HRK). Previously, he was a consultant for publications and public relations at the Graduate School for East and Southeast European Studies (Munich) and a lecturer for special tasks in specialist journalism history at the University of Giessen. He gained his doctorate in Giessen and completed his master's degree in history, journalism and political science in Giessen, Bristol and Hamburg.
Henner Kropp:
He studied European Studies in Bremen, Eastern European History in Frankfurt (Oder) and International Politics in Washington, D.C. He received his doctorate from GSOSES in 2018 with a thesis on the Russian colony in Alaska. After completing his doctorate, he entered the consulting field. Most recently, he worked as a project manager in strategy and organisational consulting for the public sector. Since summer 2025, Henner Kropp has headed the Organisational Development Department at the Federal and State Pension Institution (VBL).
Jacqueline Nießer:
She is research associate at the Leibniz Institute for East and Southeast European Studies (IOS) in Regensburg. She graduated in Cultural Studies from the European University Viadrina and had worked as project manager in NGOs for several years before starting her PhD in memory studies (history). Jacqueline completed her doctorate at the GSOSES in Regensburg. Towards the end of her PhD, she worked as research assistant at IOS for a Horizon 2020 project. Afterwards, Jacqueline held fellowships at the Charles-University in Prague and the Leibniz Campus "Eastern Europe - Global Area" in Leipzig. She returned as postdoctoral researcher at the GSOSES in Regensburg for 2,5 years (and 2 maternity leaves). Since September 2024, Jacqueline Nießer has been coordinating another Horizon Europe project at IOS.
Kathleen Randýsek-Beger:
She studied Slavic Studies and Eastern European History in Leipzig, Kyiv and Vienna. From 2014 to 2018, she was a member of the Graduate School for East and Southeast European Studies and completed her doctorate at the University of Regensburg with a comparative dissertation on childhood in the Soviet Union. Since 2023, she has been coordinating at the Leibniz Institute for East and Southeast European Studies (IOS) the Volkswagen Foundation–funded project Transforming Anxieties of Ageing in Southeastern Europe.
Venue:
GS OSESUR, Landshuter Straße 4, 93047 Regensburg, room 017 (ground floor)