In 2023 we are celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Eleonore-Trefftz-Program. The program provides opportunities for young female scientists and promotes increased participation of women in science and research at TUD. In ten years, the Eleonore-Trefftz-Program supported a number of female scientists on their path to a professorship. The variety of research areas and countries are as diverse as each guest stay itself and TU Dresden as a whole.

This year, we are featuring former Eleonore-Trefftz professors and their experiences during the program. We hope that by telling these success stories, we can inspire and encourage young women to pursue a path in science and research.

Interview with Prof. Dr. Anita Behme, Eleonore-Trefftz guest professor in 2013 and since 2016 holder of the Chair of Applied Stochastics at TU Dresden

What motivated you to participate in the Eleonore-Trefftz-Program?

I was asked by a colleague from TUD, whether I would be interested in a visiting professorship at TUD. At that time I was a PostDoc at TU München and the Eleonore-Trefftz-Program offered me the opportunity to “try out” to be a professor at a German university – including developing my own lectures, having my own budget to spent for travel and visitors. Additionally Dresden was scientifically very attractive to me, as some of the research topics tackled by the stochastics group in Dresden are closely linked to my own research.

Thinking back to your time in Dresden: What are your personal highlights on the experience?

The Eleonore-Trefftz professorship gave me a boost in (academic) self-confidence – and made me actually believe that a permanent professorship was achievable. Luckily that turned out to be true, even at TUD.

How did the Eleonore-Trefftz-Program help you to improve your academic development?

I believe that in general the fact of having had this experience as visiting professor was a major advantage when applying for permanent professorships afterwards. I also had a much clearer picture of what “being a professor” would be like.
Moreover, as my Eleonore-Trefftz professorship was accompanied by a budget for guests and workshops, the time in Dresden gave me the opportunity to broaden my own scientific network a lot.

And, last but not least, I knew my prospective colleagues when I applied for the permanent position at TUD. Clearly that was an advantage in the application process but it also had a big influence on my decision for TUD when in the end I had several offers to choose from.

If you could talk to an Eleonore-Trefftz professor who just arrived in Dresden, what would you recommend her?

I would recommend her to not be shy and make the best out of this great networking opportunity. Besides I would recommend to enjoy Dresden in all its facets: There is so much to discover here in terms of museums, music, history,…

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More information about the Eleonore-Trefftz-Program and other alumni can be found here