The original idea of a company for personnel development in the field of life science emerged already at the end of 2006 from initial discussions with health centers of the Helmholtz Association. The result was the founding of a company in 2008 with headquarters in the Frankfurt Innovation Center for Biotechnology - later relocated to Mannheim - with the goal of employee leasing and career development of young scientists. The necessary permission from the Federal Employment Agency was granted and scientists were employed through KEPOS GmbH since September 2008 to continue their work in academic research or to bridge transitions to other career stages.

 
Since this founding phase, KEPOS has evolved in many ways. While at the beginning the life science departments of universities and related non-university research institutions were the sole focus, other natural science institutes and departments have quickly joined. And the increasing interdisciplinarity of major research projects meant that today not only the entire STEM field is the target group, but also humanities and social scientists are increasingly taking part in the formats offered.

 
In the meantime, several thousand doctoral students have been able to gain impetus for their start in their professional lives and more than 1,000 postdocs have been able to prepare their move out of academic research. Due to the latest changes in the Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz (German Act on Temporary Scientific Contracts) towards a more consistent personnel development, there is no longer a need for temporary employment of scientists. Consequently, KEPOS was dissolved as a GmbH (limited liability company) on 01.07.2017 and has since been continued as a network of experienced trainers and consultants with a focus on training, coaching and consulting.