WHAT THIS IS
The three formats.
Development happens in three directions at once — the work in front of you, the career around it, and the way you actually get things done.
Pick the format that matches where you’re stuck right now.
Paper Development
Bring work in progress — a manuscript, a response to reviewers, a proposal — and get serious, structured feedback from Dominik and peers before it becomes a rejection letter.
Come if: you have work in progress and no forum where anyone reads it properly.
Career Development
Work through direction, opportunities, transitions, and professional relationships over the long run — grounded in the specific realities of an academic career.
Come if: you’re facing a career decision and want more than your own head to think it through with.
Individual Development
You reflect on how you work, your wellbeing, and your productivity, together with peers who understand the pressure — and see where there is room to improve, including with AI.
Come if: your current way of working isn’t sustainable, and you know it.
PREPARED. STRUCTURED. FOCUS.
How a session runs
1
Before
You share your material or topic in advance, where relevant, so the group has a real chance to prepare.
2
The framing
You set the frame yourself — here’s what this is trying to do, here’s where I’m stuck — because that’s what turns the discussion into something useful.
3
The discussion
The group works through it with you, drawing on their own experience with similar papers, decisions, or ways of working.
4
The close
You leave with a concrete next step, because feedback that doesn’t end in a decision is just conversation.
Not sure yet, or want to talk it through first?
Frequently Asked Questions
No. For Paper Development especially, most people attend and read more often than they present.
No. All three formats are formative feedback and structured conversation — not a verdict, not therapy, not a replacement for formal supervision.
Yes. Everything discussed stays in the group. Nothing is recorded or circulated outside the session.
Sessions run in English. Bring work in either — say which when you sign up.
Co-Writing is where the work gets done. Development Circle is where it gets read, discussed, and planned.
Included in the Academic Freedom Lab membership.
Development Circle sessions are listed alongside every other format on the events page — filter by format to find the next Development session or other events.