Final report “I, Scientist 2018”
The conference on gender, career paths and networking
25.-26.05.2018, Berlin-Adlershof
29. June 2018.
Review of I,Scientist 2018
“I, Scientist 2018 - The conference on Gender, Career Paths and Networking” successfully took place on the 25th - 26th of May 2018 at Bunsen-Saal, Adlershof-Berlin. During these two days, 380 registered participants had a chance to attend inspiring talks of female role models in- and outside of academia, get informed on gender disparities and possible solutions, explore job opportunities at the career fair and expand their network during the different events. Additionally, a satellite day took place on 24th of May at the Technical University of Berlin, with workshops on management issues and the ‘Science Slam.’
The conference had a distinct high diversity in the issues covered (combining career and family, LGBTIQ in science, professional failures, working in an international environment, etc.), as well as various career paths are presented, from senior scientists to early-stage researchers and entrepreneurs. This diversity was also displayed by the participants originating from a variety of scientific fields and backgrounds. The highest percentage of participants (66%) were Ph.D. students and postdocs. They wanted to be informed about their career opportunities during the “Company Speed Dating” career event and possible obstacles and setbacks they might face. To this extent, the panel discussion involved academic stakeholders sharing their experiences in measures taken for improving the gender representation in natural sciences.
According to the feedback notes, our event was an empowering experience for our audience members, which elucidates the need for mentoring and networking for the professional development, whether it is in academia or alternative careers.
The following report presents details of the individual parts of the program.
Presentations
The presentations were the most beloved part of the conference as they offered inspiration and insight into the professional and personal aspects of female role models. Prof. Dr. Ada Yonath conveyed to us her life-long love for ribosomes, Prof. Dr. Landfester explained how she transformed her work environment to include her dual role as a mother, while Petronela Sandulache gave a very emotional talk on how to not give up on one’s goals. Thanks to all of our speakers the conference was transformed into a vibrant, engaging experience.
List of a ll speakers:
Prof. Dr. Sabine Kunst, P resident of the Humboldt University Berlin, Germany (Opening talk)
Stephanie Bschorr, Entrepreneur and the President of the Association of German Female Entrepreneurs, Berlin, Germany (Opening talk)
Dr. Ursula Fuhrich-Grubert, The Central Women's Representative of the Humboldt University Berlin, Germany (Opening talk)
Prof. Dr. Katharina Landfester, Director at Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Mainz, Germany (Keynote Friday)
Prof. Dr. Ada Yonath, N obel Laureate in Chemistry, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
Prof. Dr. Olfa Kanoun, P rofessor of Measurement and Sensor Technology at TU Chemnitz, Germany Dr. Pauline Gagnon, Author, Science Communicator and Senior Research Scientist at CERN, Genf, Switzerland
Dr. Marcela Uliano da Silva, Science Communicator, TED-Fellow and Postdoctoral Researcher at Leibniz Institute for Zoo- and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany
Dr. Arezoo Pooresmaeili, G roup Leader at the European Neuroscience Institute, Göttingen, Germany
Dr. habil. Sigrid Schmitz, Senior Researcher and Project Leader, Center for Transdisciplinary Gender Studies, Humboldt University Berlin, Germany (Keynote Gender Studies)
Prof. Dr. Elisabeth Kelan, Professor of Leadership at Cranfield School of Management, Cranfield University, England (Gender Studies talk)
Dr. Alisa Stratulat, A pplications Development Engineer on Advanced Materials at ZEISS, Cambridge, UK
Dr. Franziska Emmerling, Division Head, Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM), Berlin, Germany
Dr. Alice Dvorská, Independent Expert in Environmental Pollution, Blansko, Czech Republic
Petronela Sandulache, Deputy Lead & Head of Innovation Predevelopment at HELLA Ventures Berlin, Germany
Prof. Dr. Thisbe Lindhorst, President of the German Chemical Society and Professor of Organic and Biological Chemistry at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Science of Christiana Albertina University, Kiel (Panel discussion)
Prof. Dr. Ulrich Panne, President of the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM), Berlin, Germany (Panel discussion)
Prof. Dr. Debora Weber-Wulff, Professor of Media and Computing, University of Applied Sciences HTW, Berlin, Germany (Panel discussion)
Prof. Dr. Günter M. Ziegler, e lected President of the Free University Berlin (Panel discussion)
Dr. Nina Steinweg, Senior researcher at the Center of Excellence Women and Science (CEWS) at GESIS – Leibniz-Institute for Social Sciences, Köln, Germany (public talk on Gender Studies)
Dr. Mai-Thi Nguyen-Kim, Science Journalist, Communicator and Trainer at National Institute for Science Communicator, Karlsruhe, Germany (cancelled) Gender specialist talks
With the gender talks given by experts in the field, we aimed to provide not only the proof of the gender imbalance in natural sciences but identify the underlying reasons and solutions out of this situation.
The gender specialist talks:
● Dr. habil. Sigrid Schmitz Senior Researcher and Project Leader, Center for Transdisciplinary Gender Studies, Humboldt University of Berlin
Bringing Gender into STEM: a need for a change of culture to promote gender equality
● Dr. Nina Steinweg
Senior researcher at the Center of Excellence Women and Science (CEWS) at GESIS – Leibniz-Institute for Social Sciences
Role Models, Gatekeeper & Gender Experts – “Agents” of Gender Equality in Academia
● Prof. Dr. Elisabeth Kelan
Professor of Leadership at Cranfield School of Management, Cranfield University, England
Gender and Leadership
Panel discussion - “Equal Rites - Why do we still talk about the gender (in)equality in 2018?”
The discussion with panelists who are in leadership positions and, therefore, involved in decision-making, examined diverse ways on how to improve the gender representation ratio and presented some results out of these personal efforts of the panel members.
Moderator:
Dr. habil. Sigrid Schmitz – Senior Researcher and Project Leader, Center for Transdisciplinary Gender Studies, Humboldt University of Berlin
Panelists:
Prof. Dr. Günter M. Ziegler – President of the Free University Berlin Prof. Dr. Debora Weber-Wulff – Professor of Media and Computing, University of Applied Sciences HTW, Berlin Prof. Dr. Ulrich Panne – President of Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, Berlin Prof. Dr. Thisbe Lindhorst – Professor of Organic and Biological Chemistry, Christiana Albertina University, Kiel
Science slam
On Thursday the 24th of May, the science slam took place in the beautiful Lichthof of the Technical University of Berlin. Dr. Marcela Uliano da Silva moderated an exciting session of young scientists presenting their work to a general audience. Catharina Luis won the slam with her light-hearted yet insightful presentation on how the addicted brain works.
The full list of participants is:
• Doctors and mathematicians are joining forces: a happy ending for all of us? (Mathematics)
Linda Krause, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Health, Munich
• A gemstone in the heart of stone (Microbiology )
Aysha Kamran, Institute of Microbiology and Genetics, Georg-August- University Göttingen
• The mysteries of the Solar System (Physics)
Alice Chau, University of Zurich
• Brainiac: The Addicted Brain (Neuroscience)
Catarina Luis, University of Heidelberg • Make Humanities Great Again: 5 Main Trends (D igital Humanities) Antonina Puchovskaia, ITMO University, St. Petersburg
• FBI: Flavonoid Bread Inspector (F ood Science) R ebecca Klopsch, IGZ, Großbeeren
Career fair
During the conference, our exhibitors had the chance to meet highly motivated scientists and present themselves as modern work environments that offer opportunities for professional development. The concept of “Company Speed Dating” was implemented, where groups of visitors rotated between the booths every ten minutes. In this way, the interaction between participants and exhibitors was promoted.
Our exhibitors:
● Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM)
● Berlin Mathematical School (BMS)
● Berlin School of Mind and Brain (BMBS)
● Deutscher Ingenieurinnenbund (dib)
● Enlighten sciences
● Coordination Office for Equal Opportunities at the University of Potsdam
● Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres
● Humboldt University WiNS Adlershof: qualification - exchange - networking
● IGAFA/LaNA, the Ladies Network Adlershof
● Jobvector
● Leibniz-Gemeinschaft ● Max Born Institute
● NatRisk Change
● Springer Nature
● Rohde & Schwarz
● School of Analytical Sciences Adlershof (SALSA)
● SFB/TRR 109 “Discretization in Geometry and Dynamics”
● SFB/TRR 170 “Late accretion onto terrestrial planets”
● SFB 740 “From Molecules to Modules: Organi- sation and Dynamics of Functional Units in Cells”
● SFB 1294 “Data assimilation”
● Cluster of Excellence Unifying Concepts in Catalysis (UniCat)
● WISTA-MANAGEMENT GMBH
Special thanks to Active Break Consulting GbR for offering our visitors the chance to a refreshing break and advice on how to incorporate relaxing techniques into their everyday office lives. Networking events
Our visitors mentioned the networking opportunities as their second most favorite part of the conference. Especially loved was the networking breakfast, kindly sponsored by Initiativgemeinschaft Außeruniversitärer Forschungseinrichtungen in Adlershof e. V. (IGAFA e. V.). During a relaxed breakfast environment, the participants had the chance to join the tables of our invited experts and learn from their specific experiences.
The hosted e xperts and thematics were:
• Franziska Flegel – P hD and family - Which due date is first? PhD student, Weierstrass Institute for Applied Analysis and Stochastics, Berlin, Germany and board member of the Lise-Meitner-Gesellschaft e.V.
• Dr. Zsuzsanna Heiner – Stopwatch of Postdocs: how to manage dual career with family as PhD student and/or Postdoc Head of Photonics Application Lab, School of Analytical Sciences Adlershof (SALSA)
• apl. Prof. Dr. Sabine Hunke – Career Options in Science Management and Science Policy Managing Director SFB/Transregio 109, TU Berlin Institute of Mathematics
• Nuriya Ibragimova – Chancen und Hürden - die Arbeit als Ausländerin in einem männlich dominierten Umfeld Consultant, SNP Transformations Deutschland GmbH
• Dr. Hilde Janssens – Challenging situations in the workplace, gender issues, life balance, dual career, academic mobility Diversity & Inclusion, Ombudsperson, Institute of Science and Technology Austria (https://ist.ac.at/) and Freelance trainer & mentor, Servus Science (w ww.servusscience.org)
• Peter Kronenberg – How can science conferences provide better fit for everybody attending? Debiasing conference structures, alternative conference formats, networking and science Project manager at NaturalScience.Careers, MA Business Studies student at Alanus University of Arts and Social Sciences
• Dr. María Machón – Exotic career choices for natural scientists Freelance trainer, “Life & Phd, Coaching and Training”
• Dr. Petra Metz – Mentoring and networking experiences in science Gender Expert, Head of Program “WiNS Adlershof”, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
• Dr. Babette Regierer – C areer Development Consultant & Trainer on scientific project management and grant writing, SB ScienceManagement UG (h ttp://sb-sciencemanagement.com/)
• Dr. Ramona Samba – Y oung with child in industry | Part-time leadership | Work-life balance Head of business unit Microdevices, NMI Technologie transfer GmbH
• Petronela Sandulache – Women in leading positions Deputy Lead & Head of Innovation Predevelopment at HELLA Ventures Berlin, Germany
• Dr. Natalie Struve – How to use writing to propel one’s career: dissertations, publications, proposals, and beyond; How to supervise dissertations successfully and efficiently; How better training in writing can help raise the percentage of female professors Coach & trainer on academic & scientific writing, wissenschaft-schreiben.de, think-writing.academy • Dr. Laurianne Vagharchakian – Working as a scientist in different countries Research Scientist at Max Planck Institute For Human Development (https://www.harding- center.mpg.de/en/persons/laurianne-vagharchakian)
• Dr. Renate Weisse – My life as a patent attorney LL.M., European Patent Attorney, Patentwältin Weisse
During the networking dinner, there was also the chance for one-on-one discussion between the conference speakers and a small group of the participants, while having a glass of wine. Discussion sessions and ‘Science & Beer’
On the first day of the conference and after the inspiring talks, there was the chance for interaction, connection and creative output of ideas at the discussion sessions, where the participants were given specific discussion thematics regarding gender performativity in the working environment. The discussions continued later in a more informal setting at the ‘Science & Beer’ event, where peer groups had the chance to meet and exchange experiences according to their interests.
Workshops
Soft-skill training is an integral part of career development. During the satellite day of the conference, workshops were held at the Technical University of Berlin. The taught topics were:
● Communication and Conflict Management for Researchers – Navigating difficult situations by Dr. Neela Enke
● Time- and Self-Management during the PhD by Dr. María Machón
● Self-management and career planning by Svenja Neupert
● Project management by Anna Royon-Weigelt Feedback
PhDs and postdocs, mostly female, comprised two thirds (66%) of our audience at “I, Scientist.” When we add masters and bachelor students, that number goes to 80%. When it comes to their plans and ambitions for the future, 43% say they would like to stay in academia for research or otherwise, 37% would like to transfer to non-academic world, while 20% are not sure yet. Only 12% of our participants are highly satisfied with how much effort their institutions put towards gender equality, while almost a third of them (32%) are mostly or highly unsatisfied with their institution in this regard.
But how did I, Scientist impacted their lives? According to our feedback sheets, 1 in 5 audience members became aware during I, Scientist of the existence of gender issues and how they impact their lives and careers. 1 in 3 audience members felt a mixture of surprise and relief that a) there exists a place where they are able to talk about and work on gender issues and b) there are people in our community (and wider!) experiencing the same difficulties as them. 14% of audience members said they benefited from hearing the personal experiences from our speakers, which is one of the core motivators for establishing I, Scientist. Almost half of our audience members (49%) took home with them practical advice about the importance of having allies in the workplace, mentoring, networking, making your own opportunities and other career advice, and on balancing a career and a family.
Here is a look at a more analytical breakdown in diagrams below:
Here is a selection of comments from our participants:
Our team
The I,Scientist 2018 organization team is:
● Dr. Dimitra Gkogkou
● Kristina Lovrek
● Dr. Madeleine Kittner
● Monique Donnert
● Pranoti Kshirsagar
● Dr. Laurianne Vagharchakian
This project would not have been so successful without the invaluable help from the I,Scientist advisory board:
● Andrea Bossmann
● Katrin Reininger
● Mara Oßwald
● Franziska Flegel
● Jenny Fabian
● Katharina Schultens
● Dr. Petra Metz
● apl. Prof. Dr. Sabine Hunke
● Dr. Ursula Fuhrich-Grubert
Impressum
I, Scientist - The conference on gender, career paths and networking ist eine Veranstaltung der Lise-Meitner-Gesellschaft für die Gleichstellung von Frauen in den Naturwissenschaften und der Mathematik inner- und außerhalb der akademischen Laufbahn e.V.
Margaretenstr. 29
10317 Berlin
E-Mail: [email protected]
Web: www.lise-meitner-gesellschaft.de
Vorstand: Andrea Bossmann, Dr. Inga-Maria Eichentopf, Franziska Flegel, Maja-Olivia Lenz, Mara Oßwald, Katrin Reininger
Referent des Vorstands: Johannes Scheffen; [email protected]
Eingetragen im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts Berlin-Charlottenburg unter der
Registernummer VR 35000 B.
Steuernummer: 27/671/56966
www.iscientist.de