The workshop will be held in English.

It is increasingly acknowledged that humans, incl. scientists, often perceive their environment on the basis of stereotypes of which they are often not aware. Although such biases allow you to react fast to new information, they can also negatively affect your judgement of and cooperation with other people – as well as other people’s evaluation of and collaboration with you. In order to mitigate our own biases towards others and other persons’ unconscious biases towards you, we need to have a critical look at the way biases function and what we can do to counteract their effects.

In this workshop, we will examine what unconscious biases are and how their undesired effects can be interrupted. Important topics will thus be:

• the reasons for and effects of unconscious bias
• types of biases in general and especially in a professional context
• their impact on our (working) life and interactions based on scientific studies
• alternate modes of action to prevent undesired effects

We will furthermore focus two topics and discuss specifically gender bias in academia as well as cultures of academic disciplines. Since biases don´t stop at the doorstep to science and scientific work, every scientist should be aware of how they can be directly affected by the phenomena.

After attending the workshop, you will be able to

• perceive, identify and question your own biases
• discuss different options for how to act
• integrate recommendations into your daily work

Methodically, this workshop will employ self-reflection, small-group work and group discussions.

This workshop is open to doctoral researchers and postdocs at KIT who are KHYS members.

The workshop will be held in English.

Technical requirements: To participate in this workshop, you need a stable internet connection, a webcam and a microphone. Participants will receive further detailed information regarding the online-platform prior to the workshop.