Graduate School of health and Medical Sciences

Talk for PhD students and PhD supervisors: Generational Leadership in Academia – Understanding and collaborating across generations
Provider: Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences

Activity no.: 3993-26-00-00	There are 500 available seats
	Enrollment deadline: 26/02/2026

Date and time	12.03.2026, at: 15:30 - 17:00
Regular seats	500

Contact person	PhD administration SUND E-mail address: phdkursus@sund.ku.dk

Enrolment Handling/Course Organiser	PhD administration SUND E-mail address: phdkursus@sund.ku.dk

Enrolment guidelines This talk is open for PhD supervisors, PhD students and all others with an interest in the topic In today’s research environment, four to five generations work together in the same academic ecosystem. This session explores how generational perspectives influence supervision, collaboration, motivation, and expectations in PhD programs. For PhD students, this means navigating a research environment shaped by traditions, norms, and expectations that may have been defined by older generations. For PhD supervisors, it means supporting emerging researchers whose needs, motivations, and working styles may differ significantly from their own. This diversity is a strength — but only when we understand it and actively use it. With a focus on both PhD students and PhD supervisors, we discuss what distinguishes and unites the generations. Through this session, participants will learn: • How different academic upbringings shape expectations You will understand how supervisors and PhD students were trained under very different norms, and why this influences communication and working styles today. • Why expectations often collide—and how to prevent it You will learn to identify the typical generational mismatches around feedback, autonomy, pace, boundaries, and availability that can create friction. • How to use generations as a neutral conversational framework You will be equipped with a shared language to discuss sensitive issues such as hierarchy, workload, and supervision practices without personalizing the differences. • How to leverage complementary strengths across generations You will gain a better understanding of how differing habits, tools, and assumptions can influence day-to-day collaboration, and how small adjustments on both sides can make interactions smoother. • How generational insight strengthens future academic leadership You will gain tools to build more inclusive, adaptive, and psychologically safe research environments for both current and future scholars. About the speaker Betina Liliendal (MBA) is an independent management consultant specializing in generational leadership and collaboration across age diversity and life-phases. Betina has a long leadership career from the Pharmaceutical Industry and is the former Country Manager of Teva Pharmaceuticals. She is the author of the book "OKAY BOOMER - GenYZ is your new boss" (2024), “Ikke kun ét arbejdsliv - Flydende faser I arbejdslivet (2025) and co-host of the podcast ALDERBEDST that deals with working life after the age of 50. Betina contributes regularly to various magazines like Tid&Tendenser, HR&Leadership, Lederweb etc. with the newest trends within leadership and work life and is widely used as key-note speaker at conferences. If you are interested in reading more about Betina and her work, you can do so here; www.liliendal.dk Moderator • Rikke Buhl, is head of the Graduate School at the Faculty of Health and Medical Science. She is professor in large animal cardiology and her research interest is within atrial fibrillation, translational perspectives and animal models. She has been PhD coordinator for many years at the Faculty, and has supervised numerous PhD students, postdocs and master students. Time and date: Thursday 12 March 2026, 15:30-17:00. Registration: Please register no later than 26 February 2026. Venue: Panum, Blegdamsvej 3B, Maersk Tower, 1.st floor, Jerne auditorium Organizer: Mia Dabelsteen, mia.dabelsteen@adm.ku.dk, senior consultant, The Graduate School.

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