Women of TUM Talks - TUM Community

Women of TUM Talk and celebration of the 15th anniversary in 2024

Women of TUM Talk 2026

TUM Alumnae report on their successful career paths

Women of TUM Talk and celebration of the 15th anniversary in 2024 (Image: Astrid Eckert/TUM)

Recap of the Talk

Graphic: canva.com

Women of TUM Talk 2026

Closing the Gap

Stories of Choice, Challenge, and Change

March 17, 2026, 5:30–9:00 p.m. | Munich

Career paths rarely run in a straight line. They are fueled by ambitions and opportunities, as well as shaped by setbacks and the larger systems in which we live and work.

At Women of TUM Talk, TUM Alumnae and professors talked about their individual career paths. The focus was on key milestones, decision-making processes, and transitions that have had a significant impact on their careers.

The speakers talked openly about the challenges they have encountered in their everyday working lives, unexpected turning points, and working environments that contained structural barriers. The event offered space for reflection, exchange, and orientation. It showed how careers can be shaped within existing systems and what opportunities for action are available.

The Speakers were

Prof. Dr. Renate Oberhoffer

Chair of Preventive Pediatrics at the TUM School of Medicine and Health

Prof. Dr. Renate Oberhoffer is Chair of Preventive Pediatrics at the TUM School of Medicine and Health, where she has shaped research and education in pediatric cardiovascular health since 2009. Her work focuses on the early prevention of cardiovascular disease from fetal life through young adulthood, with recognized expertise in fetal cardiology and non-invasive methods to detect early vascular changes in children and adolescents.
From 2018 to 2023, she served as Dean of the former Department of Sport and Health Sciences and played a key role in its merger with the School of Medicine to form today’s TUM School of Medicine and Health. Since October 2023, she has been Vice Dean for Talent Management and Diversity within the School.
Before her appointment as chair at TUM, Prof. Oberhoffer held senior clinical positions in pediatric cardiology at leading institutions, including the Children’s Hospital of TUM and the German Heart Center Munich. She continues to head fetal cardiology at the Clinic for Pediatric Cardiology and Congenital Heart Defects. In 2016, she received the TUM Teaching Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Image: DHM.

Dr. Nina Böhm

Digitalization Strategist at the City of Munich (LHM)

TUM Alumna (B.Sc. Business Informatics, M.Sc. 2011, Ph.D. 2017)

Dr. Nina Böhm completed her studies and doctorate in the field of business informatics at the Technical University of Munich. Her career then took her into the vibrant world of the automotive industry, where she helped shape the digital business and digital future of mobility. In 2021, she took another exciting step in her career when she joined the City of Munich as a digitalization strategist. As the person responsible for the topic of “artificial intelligence” in the strategy department of the IT department, she is actively shaping the future of the city and providing groundbreaking impetus for the intelligent and efficient transformation of administrative processes.

Image: private

Picture: private

Dr. Sindi Haxhija
Independent entrepreneur with the consulting firm Transition Patterns

TUM Alumna (Ph.D. Engineering and Design 2025)

Dr. Sindi Haxhija is a TUM Alumna who earned her doctorate in engineering with summa cum laude honors. She specializes in the equitable distribution of mobility resources and was part of the TUM-led MCube network for sustainable mobility solutions in the Greater Munich area.

Sindi currently runs her own consulting firm, Transition Patterns, and serves as an external expert on the European Commission’s Urban Agenda for the EU on the decarbonization of buildings. She is also involved in projects in Albania on sustainable urban mobility and the analysis of mobility gaps for caregivers of cancer patients. In addition, Sindi Haxhija is a member of the Global Alliance of Feminist Transport, which advocates for equitable, inclusive, and care-oriented transportation systems.

Image: private

Bild: privat

Students Clubs and Initiatives at the Talk

As part of Women of TUM Talk, the event also provides a platform for student associations and initiatives that are particularly committed to promoting women. The following organizations were present, offering opportunities to network, exchange ideas, and ask questions directly.

Picture: Zonta

Founded in 1952, Zonta Club Munich I was the second Zonta Club in Germany and is part of Zonta International. The club brings together around 60 members from different professional backgrounds who work together to promote the status of women in professional and social life.

In December 2025, the TUM Office for Gender Equality, in collaboration with Zonta, successfully launched a new initiative addressing poverty in old age and financial independence for women. Funded by the TUM Future Learning Initiative, the project brings together students and women from the Zonta community to jointly develop innovative learning and participation formats that promote greater equality of opportunity.

Contact: vorstand@zonta-muenchen-I.de

Weitere Informationen

Picture: she.codes

she.codes by TEC is a team of around 50 young women who are primarily studying STEM subjects at KIT in Karlsruhe, TUM, and the University of Ulm. However, the team is now also supported by female students and doctoral candidates from other universities worldwide, as well as professionals. They are all united by their interest in technology, programming, and social issues.

The vision of she.codes by TEC is to promote diversity in the tech industry by getting girls in particular excited about computer science and technical topics and offering them accessible role models.

Contact: info@shecodes-tec.de

LinkedIn: @she.codes by TEC

More information

Picture: Women in Finance (WiF)

Women in Finance (WiF) is an initiative within the TU Investment Club dedicated to supporting and promoting female students interested in a career in finance. WiF aims to increase the proportion and visibility of women in the financial sector by creating an open, supportive, and inclusive environment in which participants can build financial knowledge, self-confidence, and professional networks.

WiF is open to all students who support its mission and believe in promoting diversity and equal opportunities in finance.

Contact: lea.reischenboeck@tuinvest.de

LinkedIn: @TU Investment Club e.V.

More information

Links to Gender and Diversity Topics

Gender, Diversity & Inclusion at TUM

More information

TUM Gender Equality Office

More information

Pictures of the Women of TUM Talk 2026

Foundation of the Women of TUM

At an alumni seminar in Singapore on September 4, 2009, eight international TUM alumnae took the initiative and founded the Women of TUM network. The goal was set to promote exchange among women of TUM and thereby strengthen the alumni network and the connection to TUM.

From the desire to connect women and learn from each other, a dynamic, international network has developed within 15 years, which now reaches around 12,000 women beyond the TUM community.

The founding committee (from left to right): Karen Teo (Singapore), Diyana Kostovska (Bulgaria), Aliya Moldagazyyeva (Kazakhstan), Dr. Tatyana Vlasyuk (Russia), Iman Emam Omar Gomaa (Egypt), Linlin Meng (China), Dr. Gabriela Iulia David (Romania), Prof. Ying Zhang (China) (Picture: Jadhav).

The then spokesperson of the Women of TUM network, Prof. Ying Zhang, called for joining the network in the 2009 alumni magazine KontakTUM and stated:

“We, like you, have studied, obtained our doctorates, and worked at TUM. […] We want to exchange ideas and opinions and support each other in our activities and life paths. In our women’s network, we can discuss topics that specifically concern us as women, such as female career strategies […]. Above all, we can also encourage young women who are interested in studying.”

Contact

Picture: Astrid Eckert/TUM

Verena Holzapfel

Women of TUM Network

+49 89 289 22434
womenoftum@tum.de

Alumni & Career Team