Meet your colleagues There are a number of regular events at the MDC that can provide an opportunity for meeting new people such as the classic weekly beer hour , the campus cinema and monthly PhD rep led events like the pizza dinner and coffee hour. Attending the Christmas and Summer parties and visiting the Glühwein and the ice cream stands are also great ways to meet people from the institute. Also during the stage of writing your thesis, you can combat loneliness and procrastination simultaneously by joining the writing club, held on Thursdays 2-5pm, Haus 84, Room 1401.

Sports at the MDC The on-site gyms offer a quick fitness break for a reasonable price. At Campus Buch,the Campus vital card includes all courses and 24/7 access to the gym, and the HU has a gym right next to the BIMSB building in Mitte. The MDC also pays for and takes care of your registration for several official runs in Berlin, such as the Airfield run, Firmenlauf Berlin (there are still places available for 22nd May, just answer to the mail from Sports@mdc-berlin.de!), Berlin Wasserbetriebe and Mauerweglauf. At the runs you get the chance to meet other participants from the MDC or even run as a team. Maria Bikou, a proud MDC PhD student runner, says “I love running, but on top the team spirit is pretty great”. If running or the gym is not your cup of tea, you can try Ella´s power Yoga. Ella is a PhD student who runs a FREE MDC yoga class at 19h every Wednesday at BIMSB Campus Mitte. Her generosity has made this class very special, fostering a MDC yoggi community who push each other to go further. Join the What’sapp group to know more!

Relax Taking a break from a stressful week with a massage during the day can be very helpful. At Campus Buch, massages are available from Campus Vital, booking is easy and you can spend your TK health card there.

Get a new perspective Sometimes we are too focused on the details of our project to see the bigger picture. Intensive multi-day courses, workshops, conferences and hackathons can help to create this distance. You can find inspiration for your own project and even career by stepping away from your project for a moment, learning something new and meeting new people. We want to particularly highlight the Helmholtz soft skills courses available at the MDC training database.

Get involved in our community Organising an event like the PhD retreat, graduation ceremony or a lab outing helps to create a community feeling amongst PhD students, your lab or the whole MDC. It also gives you the opportunity to put effort into smaller projects with tangible goals where you can be creative in solving problems together with other PhD students as a team. If you don't want to be involved in the organisation, you can also participate in MDC events, where you can meet others in a relaxed, yet professional, scientific atmosphere. The PhD retreat is a great event where you can practise your presentation skills, reflect on your science, advise and get advised by peers, make some collaborations on campus, or even just make some new friends! You can register for the PhD retreat here.

Communicate your science Public engagement can be extremely gratifying for improving your confidence, boosting your creativity, as well as helping you reflect on your science. You can try and see if it works for you by getting involved in the Long Night of Science at Campus Mitte and Campus Buch on 15th June, contact luiza.bengtsson@mdc-berlin.de to get involved.

Talk to mentors If you need someone to talk to about your career or personal and professional development, you can look out for the next Post-doc mentoring (at the moment running its first pilot), send inquiries to pda@mdc-berlin.de. Ombuspeople - Matthias Selbach and Daniela Panakova - and the people in the PhD office like Michaela Herzig are available to discuss mentoring possibilities with you. Finally, you can always write to us to set up a coffee, we are here - in both campuses - for you.

Get support from a specialist If you need to talk with a specialist in mental health the MDC has found a good solution - Sylvie Tappert can help you deal with work stress and find your personal needs. You can check the health and well-being site of the intranet for other options such as conflict resolution which include a visit to a coach who guides and empowers you to deal with difficult situations. Additionaly, Jens Reich is available to advise you about cases of scientific misconduct and the Staff Council (Ingo Kahl is really great!) are specialists in dealing with legal situations such as contract renewals.

Take charge of your future Addressing the scary question of “what to do after the PhD” earlier rather than later is really helpful for avoiding leaving this question until it overlaps with the stressful writing and reviewing time. There are several career development courses from the HU (available for all MDC students) in group or individual formats ( email hgs-mentoring@hu-berlin.de for current offers). You can also network and find out about exciting job offers in the next MDC Career day.

Be an advocate If something is not right around you, it means there’s an opportunity for you to shape and lead improvement. If you are passionate about a cause, you might want to consider joining the PhD reps and transform frustration into fruitful change at the MDC!