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Elija Bleher has been a professional in higher education and research management for more than ten years with a focus on qualification, career development and coaching of doctoral and postdoctoral researchers. She has also been working as a trainer and coach for early-career scientists over the last eight years. Further qualification in the field of career coaching and person-centered counseling complements her experience.

A biologist by training, she was awarded a PhD at the RWTH Aachen on seed dispersal by frugivorous animals and ecological consequences for tree populations and bird communities in a South African forest. As a postdoc she investigated the influence of plant-animal-interactions by forest fragmentation and human disturbance in East-African rain forests.

Petra Guppenberger studied International Cultural and Business Studies with a focus on human geography at the Universities of Passau and Verona, Italy. After graduation she worked in industry in the fields of corporate communications, print productions and marketing. She has been in research management for more than ten years and focuses on coordination support, communication and public relations.