Establishment of an international strategic development between leading european technical universities with the aim of increasing the number of female professors in natural science and engineering

The overall objective of the proposed project is to achieve a better balance of sexes in the scientific fields in order to ensure gender equity in science and so to create the possibility to take the gender dimension in the scientific research. By promoting high potential female scientists on their way to become professors the goal is to increase the number of female professors. And with the realisation of this primary goal a chain of reaction can be started.

Following generation of female students find more female scientists as positive role models, networking between female scientists becomes possible if there are more than only single women in a special scientific field, and by increasing the number of female professors at a long term high potential female scientists can be attracted for science. With the development and implementation of TANDEMplus IDEA a modular mentoring and personal development scheme female scientists are promoted to apply for and to obtain a professorship in natural science and engineering.

The scientific results will be incorporated into the development of the participating universities and develop a model of best practice for other European universities. The scientific evaluation of the project enables to contribute to the existing discussion of the development of quality standards for the instrument of mentoring. The IDEA TANDEMplus project should be a model of best practice, which will generate further collaborative working in Europe, resulting in improved gender equality and female participation. The mentoring, development and career planning scheme will enable female research staff to be better equipped to apply for, and secure, academic posts and promotion, thus ultimately leading to an increased number of female professors in European universities and beyond.