Tailwind for career planning
The “workhier!” programme equips international students for the next step
Anyone deep in the final stages of a doctoral thesis can use a bit of support when transitioning into work life. Environmental engineer Dr Janani Venkatraman Jagatha can certainly recommend joining the “workhier!” programme.
When she arrived in Stuttgart from Chennai, a major city in southern India, in 2013, she had no fixed plan. After completing a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, she wanted to continue her studies in Germany, focusing on environmental and sustainability topics. An English-language master’s programme in environmental engineering seemed the perfect fit for the then 21-year-old. Although German was not required for her studies, she enrolled in a language course alongside her degree—with mixed success. What she heard on the street bore little resemblance to what she had learned in class. “At some point I realised that I was the only one speaking German—everyone else was speaking in Swabian dialect,” she says today, laughing.
After her master’s, it slowly became apparent that air quality would be her focus. “Germany offers a comparatively strong institutional framework, a clear regulatory focus and better access to research funding,” says Venkatraman Jagatha, and decided to stay. She applied to Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, where she was offered a position at the Department of Geography, working on the project Urban Climate in Transition while completing her doctorate. She now speaks fluent German, has successfully completed her PhD and secured a new role. Since May 2025, she has been working as a research associate at the Research Institute for Sustainability (RIFS) in Potsdam, affiliated with the GFZ Helmholtz-Zentrum für Geoforschung. In the research group Air Quality, Mobility and Health, she is involved in the project KiezTransform, investigating urban air pollution, its links to urban development and transport policy, and its impact on public health.
It was during the final phase of her doctorate that Venkatraman Jagatha came across a career programme for international doctoral candidates and postdocs. Since early 2025, the programme has been hosted by the Center for Career Development Adlershof at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin in collaboration with WISTA Management GmbH, Helmholtz Centre Berlin for Materials and Energy (HZB), and the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM). The “workhier!” programme is aimed at international students in the final stages of their PhD and seeks to retain highly qualified STEM graduates within the German labour market rather than losing them to their countries of origin. Over the course of six months, seven interactive sessions support early-career researchers in planning their careers, identifying their strengths, navigating the labour market, and gaining legal and practical guidance—while also helping them connect with German employers.
Collaborations with institutions such as Berlin Partner and the Federal Employment Agency contribute to workshops, networking events and career coaching. Although Venkatraman Jagatha had already secured her position before joining, she still benefited from the programme. “It helped me a great deal,” she says. At the time, she was trying to clarify her next professional steps. Alongside information on visas, residency permits, employment rights and key skills—German language ability among them—the opportunity to reflect on her strengths through coaching proved particularly valuable. She also found the practical training sessions useful, where job interviews and pitches were simulated. “It helped me communicate my ideas more clearly—and to understand how employers think, and what matters to them when they’re hiring. I feel much more confident now.”
Following the strong response to its first round and high demand, “workhier!” has since been expanded. Since the beginning of this year, an additional module has been introduced for German-speaking early-career researchers, opening the programme to a broader audience.
Heike Gläser for Adlershof Journal
workhier! Young Academics Career Program – WISTA Management GmbH
Dr. Janani Venkatraman Jagatha | Forschungsinstitut für Nachhaltigkeit