FLP program - Foster. Lead. Promote. The FLP program - Foster. Lead. Promote. (formerly known as Fix the Leaky Pipeline program) is a program for young women in science — doctoral students, postdocs, and early-career researchers. It is designed to assess your current career situation and map out your next steps.

Through targeted workshops, coaching, one-to-one and peer mentoring, and networking, you will gain valuable tools to grow both your expertise and your career connections. Participation is flexible — you can choose the activities and resources that best align with your needs and goals. There’s no requirement to attend everything; it’s about what works for you. Workshops The workshops are designed to offer tailored, high-impact training on topics that matter for your career development, like career planning, interviewing, networking, presentation skills, self-empowerment, conflict management, designing your future, and, transition from academia to industry. Hosted at EPFL and ETH Zurich, each workshop is led by a professional trainer with academic expertise. Details Coaching Groups The coaching groups are focused on supporting participants in their personal and professional career development. Each group is facilitated by a qualified coach and is specifically designed for doctoral students and postdocs seeking guidance as they navigate their career paths. Details One-to-one Mentoring One-to-one mentoring is based on a relationship in which a more experienced person (the mentor) supports a less experienced person (the mentee) in their career development. Mentors share insights from their professional and personal experience in academia, industry, or the public sector, offering guidance and perspective. The primary goal of mentoring is to empower the mentee and provide support as they navigate their career path. Details Peer Mentoring Peer mentoring brings together people at similar career stages who form a group to actively share knowledge and experiences. They select more experienced mentors to get occasional guidance and organize activities and/or workshops. The goal is to empower participants to take charge of their career growth—whether in academia, industry, or the public sector—and to build strong, relevant networks. Details

Next: Networking event on February 2, 2026

Information and registration on that page 

What are we doing?

The FLP program – Foster. Lead. Promote. (formerly known as Fix the Leaky Pipeline) is a career-boosting program in the ETH Domain designed for young women in science who are thinking about their next steps in academia — or beyond in industry or the public sector.
It’s all about helping you figure out where you’re at, where you want to go, and how to get there. Whether you’re a female doctoral student, postdoc, or early-career researcher, this program gives you space to reflect, plan, and connect.
Funded by all ETH institutions and the ETH Board, FLP offers coaching, skill-building workshops, one-to-one and peer mentoring, and networking events. It also encourages exploring career options beyond academia – because everyone’s path looks different.

Proportion of women and men on different academic levels at ETH Zurich and EPFL in 2021 and 2023 (Scientific collaborators include Postdocs). Women are underrepresented at all levels.

“The relationships you build with peers are essential”

In this article a former FLP program participant, Prof. Angela Steinauer, talks about how the participation in the program helped shape her career.