Media Training for Researchers was founded by Dr. Katja Flieger, Sabine Fromm, Wolfgang Richter, and Monika Wimmer in 2004. Since 2022, it has been headed by a team of two of the cofounders, Dr. Katja Flieger and Monika Wimmer. Wolfgang Richter joined the Technical University of Berlin as Press Officer for Science Communications in 2021 but remains with Media Training for Researchers as a trainer and partner. Sabine Fromm returned to research.
The trainers on the Media Training for Researchers team work full-time in research communication—in the print, online, and television media, as well as in strategic science communication.
Dr. Katja Flieger is a medical doctor with a degree in science journalism. She has worked as an online health editor for Bayerischer Rundfunk and Bertelsmann Springer among other media outlets. She is the owner and operator of the Berlin editorial office KonTextGesundheit, founded in 2003. She conceptualizes multimedia specials and reports on developments in medicine worldwide—from Kabul to Chicago. She studied transactional analysis according to Eric Berne with Prof. Norbert Harlander (Universität St. Gallen) and motivational interviewing (Universität Marburg). Together with Monika Wimmer, she is a trainer and managing director of Media Training for Researchers.
Monika Wimmer holds degrees in international cultural and business studies and in science journalism. After working at the science desk of the Berliner Zeitung, she went on to work in the Berliner Journalistenbüro, where she wrote for Bild der Wissenschaft and Psychologie heute and produced radio features for rbb, SWR, and WDR. She is a Duke University Media Fellow (USA) and Communications Officer for the Socio Economic Panel (SOEP) at the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin). She has completed training in mediated communication at the Europäischer Hochschulverbund (EHV). Monika Wimmer is a certified mediator and coach. Together with Katja Flieger, she is a trainer and managing director of Media Training for Researchers.
Guest Trainers
To be able to offer you flexible training seminars on short notice, we also work with additional instructors. We are able to offer seminars for larger groups as well as workshops focused on more specific goals.
Wolfgang Richter holds degrees in physics and science journalism. As team leader at a Berlin PR agency, he advised the German government from 2000 to 2003 on its “Year of Science” program. He has been working since 2004 as a freelance writer as part of the journalist network Schnittstelle for media outlets including DIE ZEIT, FAS, P.M., GEO, BR, and WDR (radio) and for the ARD TV talk show Planet Wissen. He worked an editor for Spiegel Verlag from 2012 to 2013 and for the digital science magazine Substanz from 2014 to 2015. Since 2021, he has been a Press Officer for Science Communications at the Technical University of Berlin. Wolfgang Richter is co-founder of Media Training for Researchers and was a member of the management board up to 2022.
Peter Podjavorsek has been working at the Netherlands Film Academy as a director and producer for television, radio, and other clients since completing his studies. He has produced numerous documentaries, news reports, and short features for broadcasters including Arte, 3sat, ARD, ZDF, WDR, Deutschlandfunk, and Deutschlandradio Kultur as well as promotional and informational films for businesses and other organizations. His work focuses on themes of society and science. He has been working as a trainer on our team since 2012.
After completing her studies in political science and economics in Marburg, Portsmouth, and Berlin, Melanie Grundei worked at the Tagesspiegel’s economics desk. She completed a traineeship at SFB (radio and television). She then worked as an editor and freelance writer for radio (rbb inforadio, rbb kulturradio, WDR) and television (the rbb business magazine “WAS”). From 2006 to 2011, she was a freelance economics correspondent (Deutschlandfunk Kultur, Deutsche Welle, Hessischer Rundfunk, and SWR). Since 2012, she has been a freelance editor for Deutschlandfunk Kultur. Melanie Grundei has been a trainer for “Media Training for Researchers” since 2010.
Susanne Geu is a Berlin-based trainer and coach in digital science communication. She holds a Magister degree in education and French from the Technical University of Berlin and the Humboldt University of Berlin, as well as a master’s degree in science marketing, which she earned while working as a research assistant and project manager at TU Berlin. She has been giving workshops and coaching scientists on the topics of social media in science, digital visibility, science blogs, Twitter, and personal websites since 2016.
Dr. med. Patricia Hänel
is a medical doctor. She teaches and conducts research at the Alice Salomon Hochschule Berlin on subjects including communication in the healthcare setting. As a freelance trainer, project developer, and coach, she brings scientific evidence together with experience in medicine and healthcare gained through her work as head of a medical practice, lead developer of projects for the provision of healthcare, and as the lead negotiator for healthcare service contracts. Her work focuses on healthcare provider-patient communication, team communication, and leadership communication. This includes mediating difficult negotiations and team processes and addressing questions of work motivation. Patricia Hänel possesses extensive experience in interprofessional and intercultural communication. medizin-konzepte.de
Marion Martin is a social media editor for the communication agency northern lights and a freelance social media consultant. As a journalist with a graduate degree in geography, she created the Facebook profile for the journal bild der wissenschaft in 2011 before moving the Spiegel publishing house in Hamburg. There she developed the concept for all of the social media platforms for the German version of the magazine New Scientist, and as online editor, oversaw the content published both in the the magazine and on its blog. Following this, Marion Martin took responsibility as a freelance editor for the social media account of the magazine stern viva, published by Gruner + Jahr, and worked on the editorial team of the digital science magazine Substanz, which was nominated for the Grimme Online Award in 2015.
Martin Roth has been working as a freelance cameraman for almost 20 years. Since 2003, he has been producing diverse magazine and feature broadcasts on science and other subjects for rbb, both in the studio and on location. Martin Roth is also an expert in new media and has his own YouTube channel. From 2005 to 2011, he worked as a cameraman for soaps and telenovelas. Martin completed his studies at TFH Berlin in 2004 with a degree in camera operation . He has been working as a camera operator in our training programs for almost five years.
Désirée Kämpfert-Girnau is an accredited breathing, speech, and voice instructor. She trained an actor at the Franz Schubert Conservatory in Vienna, in classical ballet and modern dance in Stuttgart, and completed numerous programs of advanced study including voice work in the tradition of Kristin Linklater and the theory of breathing types. She has taught singing at the music studio Voicehouse Hannover and speech training at the children’s and youth drama school TASK in Hannover. She was an instructor in voice training from 2007 to 2015 at the SRH Vocational School for Speech Therapy in Heidelberg. She has been working since 2017 as a voice therapist and vocal trainer in her own practice, “Praxis für Stimme und Sprechen” in Heidelberg. She has been a certified mediator since 2019.
Dr. Birgit Hollenbach has a strong scientific background as a biochemist. She is also a sworn translator for English with a diploma in studies of intercultural communication and a scientific writer. She has been ghostwriting scientific publications since 2013 – from theranostic antibodies to inline-spectroscopy.
She teaches scientific writing at Charité University Medicine and Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany. She also co-owns the Berlin-based editing office KonTextGesundheit, a health communcation publisher.
Birgit is fluent in English and German.
textsandtranslations.com
The British nomad, Jessica Thamm, founded NATIVES in 2004. NATIVES is a language coaching and training company – among other things.
Jessica hasn’t stopped reinventing herself and the business ever since. She never settled for just anything, particularly if she saw the chance of something else.
Her commitment to keeping promises and delivering the agreed keeps her busy.
She believes that network capital is the name of the business game: meet the people, nurture the networks and enjoy the people.
Jeanette Mooney studied linguistics and did ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) research at the MPI CBS and MPI EVA in Leipzig. She likes words, questions and Senf*. Writing right isn’t branding; it’s understanding and connecting people. She joined NATIVES in 2008 and has been co-running the show ever since.
While she’s still into the sciencey stuff, she now focuses on helping other recovering passive voice users make their mark.
*Senf (German for mustard). Noun.
Special seasoning for added flavour. Best used sparingly and according to taste. And remember: the editor is always right.
