A total of 330 women participated in the career conference and used the opportunity to receive support in the strategic planning of their careers and to learn about career paths outside academia. About 74 percent of them were PhD candidates, 25 percent were postdocs. Around 20 percent of the participants came from one of the Rhine-Main Universities. In addition to (post)doctoral students from all over Germany, scientists from Copenhagen, Utrecht, Cameroon, Cambridge, Leiden and Hazara University in Pakistan were among the participants.

Participants’ feedback after the event was very positive. Many emphasized that the exchange with fellow female scientists was incredibly helpful for them and their own career planning:

• “[…] Through engaging discussions, and inspiring speeches, the unique stories of women, gave me useful insights for my career journey.“
• “[…] The paths of the speakers are very different and always intersect here and there with your own path, which helps to develop an idea of how you can further develop your own career and, above all, that you needn’t be discouraged by failures […].“
• “A very encouraging conference!"
• “It was worth the time and effort. The speakers explained their mistakes and shared their successes that will serve as guide to all.”

The participating scientists also praised the networking opportunities offered by the conference:

• “It was nice to have to opportunity to network with people outside my usual range and to hear about careers outside of academia.”
• “The wide variety of interesting speakers with very different backgrounds as well as the ample opportunities to network convinced me of the concept of Kurswechsel conference.”

From the participants' point of view, Kurswechsel was an immense success, as the following conclusion underlines: “It is a great conference that fills the gap in career orientation for many young female scientists who wish to change the career path.”