N² - Network of Doctoral Researcher Networks

What N² - Network of Doctoral Researcher Networks does

N² — Network of Doctoral Researcher Networks is a non-profit meta-network founded in 2017 that coordinates three doctoral researcher networks at Germany's principal non-university research organisations: Max Planck PhDnet, Helmholtz Juniors, and the Leibniz PhD Network. It collectively represents more than 16,000 PhD researchers and is hosted by the Max Planck Society in Munich, with a working language of English and a lean core team of 1-10 staff plus volunteer leadership including Lindsey Bultema (Spokesperson), Rajalekshmi Narayana Sarma, and Tarik Karakaya.

The organisation runs a programme portfolio built around a small number of recurring products: a PhDnet web portal, the long-running Offspring Magazine (in publication since 2001) and its companion Offspring Podcast, the PhDnet Survey, the annual Mental Health Awareness Week, thematic Working Groups, an annual General Meeting, and the flagship N² Conference/Retreat. These products are communication, advocacy, welfare, and convening instruments rather than commercial technology products, and there is no proprietary AI/ML capability, paid tier, or marketplace in the offering.

The business model is institutional rather than commercial: N² is sustained by its three member networks and the host institution, with revenue mechanics limited to in-kind hosting, volunteer labour, and any grants accessible to a German research non-profit. There is no pricing model, no go-to-market motion, no contract vehicle, and no paying customer segment; growth in resources is a function of member-network mandates and institutional sponsorship rather than sales execution.

Name

N² - Network of Doctoral Researcher Networks

Legal name

N² - Network of Doctoral Researcher Networks

Website

https://phdnet.mpg.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

N² is a non-profit meta-network coordinating three German doctoral researcher networks — Max Planck PhDnet, Helmholtz Juniors, and Leibniz PhD Network — that represent over 16,000 PhDs and run advocacy, editorial, and mental-health programming from Munich.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Researcher Community Network Services

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Scholarly Societies & Conference Proceedings Publishing (MPAJABAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Academic & Scientific Conferences (MPAGAGAD)

Keywords

• Doctoral researcher networks
• Early-career researcher advocacy
• Science community engagement
• PhD career development
• Research working conditions

Headquarters

HQ city

Munich

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Institutional support and membership: N² functions as an informal coalition of doctoral researcher networks and does not appear to have a commercial revenue model. Its activities are supported through the institutional structures of its member organizations (Max Planck Society, Helmholtz Association, Leibniz Association), including administrative support, event hosting, and resources contributed by member networks.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

N² [nsquared] is a non-profit meta-network connecting the doctoral researcher networks of Germany's three major non-university research organizations: the Max Planck Society (PhDnet), the Helmholtz Association (Helmholtz Juniors), and the Leibniz Association (Leibniz PhD Network). It coordinates joint activities including annual conferences, retreats, working groups, surveys, science-communication events such as the N² Conference and Mental Health Awareness Week, and publications like the Offspring magazine and podcast, while representing over 16,000 doctoral researchers on issues of working conditions, career development, and equal opportunities.

Product overview

N² - Network of Doctoral Researcher Networks is the overarching network uniting the doctoral researcher networks of Germany's major non-university research organizations (Max Planck PhDnet, Helmholtz Juniors, and Leibniz PhD Network), representing over 16,000 doctoral researchers. The Max Planck PhDnet, which hosts the primary web portal, is structured around a Steering Group, multiple Workgroups (including Equal Opportunity, Survey, Open Science, Offspring/Magazine, Mental Health, Web, and General Meeting Groups), and annual events including the General Meeting and N² Conference. Its core digital products include the PhDnet web portal, the Offspring Magazine (annual PDF publication), the Offspring Podcast (available via Spotify and Apple Podcasts), the annual PhDnet Survey, and the Mental Health Awareness Week program. The N² Network functions as a meta-network connecting these individual doctoral networks to promote larger-scale changes in the German scientific landscape.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• N² Network of Doctoral Researcher Networks A free meta-network uniting the doctoral researcher networks of Germany's Max Planck Society, Helmholtz Association, and Leibniz Association to coordinate representation, joint surveys, conferences, and advocacy on behalf of more than 16,000 doctoral researchers.
• N² Conference A periodic conference organized by the N² Network bringing together doctoral researchers from non-university research organizations in Germany to discuss science communication, working conditions, and career perspectives.
• PhDnet Survey An annual survey conducted by the PhDnet Survey Group to assess the situation of doctoral researchers within the Max Planck Society, with results published to inform policy and working conditions.
• Offspring Magazine An annual magazine produced by the Offspring Group of PhDnet, containing news, interviews, and articles on PhD-related topics, published in PDF format with editions from 2001 to 2025.
• Offspring Podcast A podcast series covering PhD-related topics, mental health, open science, and career advice, produced by the Offspring Group of PhDnet and available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
• Mental Health Awareness Week (MHAW) An annual week of events focused on mental health for Max Planck Society employees, featuring talks, workshops, and resources, organized by the Mental Health Collective.
• PhDnet General Meeting An annual gathering of PhD representatives from Max Planck Society institutes, typically held in October, to vote on statutes, elect the steering group, and discuss doctoral researcher concerns.
• PhDnet Web Portal The PhDnet web portal at phdnet.mpg.de serves as the central platform for exchange among doctoral researchers and their representatives within the Max Planck Society, publishing workgroup news, event information, and member contacts.

Quantifiable outcome

• N² Retreat 2025 held at Helmholtz Headquarters in Berlin with spokespersons from Max Planck PhDnet and Helmholtz Juniors in attendance

Named customers3 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Techniker Krankenkasse (TK)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Techniker Krankenkasse (TK), a German health insurance provider, provided mental health consultants and contributed to talks during the Mental Health Awareness Week 2021 organized by the Mental Health Collective.
• Fürstenberg InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021The Fürstenberg Institute, which administers the Employee and Manager Assistance Program (EMAP) for the Max Planck Society, collaborated on mental health initiatives including the MHAW 2021.
• University of JenaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020University of Jena collaborated with the Mental Health Collective to co-host the Mental Health Awareness Week (MHAW) 2020, providing speakers and programming as part of the Jena Alliance 'Life in Focus' initiative.
• MPI-CBG (Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020MPI-CBG participated in the Mental Health Awareness Week 2020 by hosting events and contributing speakers, working in cooperation with the University of Jena and Dresden Team.
• Museum für Naturkunde BerlinminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 November 2017The Museum für Naturkunde Berlin hosted the N² Science Communication Conference in November 2017 as part of Berlin Science Week, providing venue and institutional support for the event attended by 150 doctoral researchers and 100 public guests.
• Berlin Science WeekminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017The N² Science Communication Conference was held as part of Berlin Science Week 2017, aligning with the broader science communication festival in Berlin.
• Max Planck PhDnetcoreOthersThe Max Planck PhDnet is the doctoral network of the Max Planck Society and serves as one of the three founding member networks of N². It represents doctoral researchers at Max Planck Institutes and provides the administrative infrastructure for the N² network, including hosting the PhDnet website and organizing events.
• Helmholtz JuniorscoreOthersHelmholtz Juniors is the doctoral researcher network of the Helmholtz Association, representing PhD candidates across Helmholtz centers. It is one of the three constituent networks of N² and participates in joint activities including conferences, retreats, and surveys.
• Leibniz PhD NetworkcoreOthersThe Leibniz PhD Network represents doctoral researchers within the Leibniz Association. It is one of the three constituent networks of N² and contributes to joint initiatives focused on working conditions and career perspectives for doctoral researchers in Germany.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• National Postdoctoral Association (US): The NPA is a US-based membership organization representing postdoctoral scholars, directly parallel to N² in mission (advocacy, professional development, working conditions) but focused on postdocs rather than doctoral candidates and operating in a different national context.
• Global Young Academy: The Global Young Academy is an international network of early-career researchers analogous to N² but with global scope; both organizations convene early-career researchers across institutions, advocate for working conditions, and produce position papers on science policy.
• Die Junge Akademie: Die Junge Akademie is a German interdisciplinary academy for outstanding early-career researchers, comparable to N² in audience (early-career academics in Germany) and purpose (advocacy, networking, science communication), but focused on a selected membership rather than broad doctoral representation.
• Marie Curie Alumni Association: The MCAA is an international network of researchers who have held Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowships, comparable to N² as an early-career researcher association focused on networking, advocacy, and career development across national and institutional boundaries.
• Eurodoc — European Council of Doctoral Candidates and Young Researchers: Eurodoc is the European-level federation of doctoral candidate and young researcher associations, directly comparable to N² in mission (representation, working conditions, career development) but operating at the pan-European scale; both serve as "network of networks" for early-career researchers.

Emerging players

• Young Academy of Europe: YAE is a Europe-wide academy for outstanding young scholars, partially overlapping with N²'s advocacy and networking function but focused on selected excellence-based membership rather than universal doctoral representation.

Others

• European University Association (EUA): The EUA represents Europe's universities and frequently engages on doctoral education policy, making it adjacent to N²'s policy interests but operating at institutional rather than doctoral-researcher level.
• ALLEA — All European Academies: ALLEA is a federation of European national academies, thematically related to N² through its work on science policy, research integrity, and early-career researcher issues, but representing senior academies rather than doctoral candidates.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/mpg_mhc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nsqrd
• Instagraminstagram.com/maxplanckphdnet

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about N² - Network of Doctoral Researcher Networks