m et agazine of the max planck phd n Publisher: Max Planck PhDnet (2008)

Editorial board: Verena Conrad, MPI for Biological Cybermetics, Tübingen Corinna Handschuh, MPI for Evolutionary Anthroplology, Leipzig Julia Steinbach, MPI for Biogeochemistry, Jena Peter Buschkamp, MPI for Extraterrestrial Physics, Garching Franziska Hartung, MPI for Experimental Biology, Göttingen Design: offspring Silvana Schott, MPI for Biogeochemistry, Jena Table of Contents Dear reader, you have the third issue of the Offspring So, here you see the first issue of this new Dear Reader 3 in your hands, the official magazine of Offspring and we hope you enjoy reading the Max Planck PhDnet. This magazine it! The main topic of this issue is “Success”, A look back ... 4 was started in 2005 to communicate the for instance you may read interviews with ... and forward 5 network‘s activities and to provide rele- MPI-scientists at different levels of their Introduction of the new Steering Group 6 vant information to PhD students at all career, giving their personal perception of institutes. Therefore, the first issues mainly scientific success, telling how they celeb- Success story 8 contained reports about previous meetings rate success and how they cope with fai- Questionnaire on Scientific Success 10 and announcements of future events. lure; you will learn how two foreign PhD What the ?&%@# is Bologna? 14 students succeeded in getting along in However, at the PhD representatives’ mee- in their first months – and of ting in Leipzig, November 2006, a new Workgroups of the PhDnet 15 course about the successful work of the work group was formed as the editorial PhDnet Meeting 2007 16 PhDnet during the last year. office of the Offspring. The members Invitation to the next PhDnet Meeting 19 of this work group decided upon the But to keep this magazine interesting Event Workgroup 20 reformation of the magazine to increase its for you, we also need your feedback! Let Announcement PhD workshop 2008 22 attractiveness and relevance. The Offspring us know what you liked about this issue Web Workgroup 23 should be a platform for PhD students that and what you are missing. We also would Seminars Workgroup 24 reflects their interests and can therefore like to invite you to actively contribute to Alumni Workgroup 26 be distinguished from other Max Planck the Offspring by providing us with ideas, Become a MPS Alumnus! 27 publications. Besides information about information, relevant articles, pictures Vectorial - Networking Life Scientists 28 the work of the PhDnet, the Offspring – everything that you regard as valuable will now include things like relevant news information for PhD students of the Max- Getting along in Germany 31 from the General Administration, reports Planck Society. about individual institutes, careers and PhD Comic 34 profiles, progress reports and interviews as Your editorial office well as letters to the editor, features and Contacts 35 commentary.

3 A look ... and Rainer Stollhoff Melissa Duhaime ex-spokesperson of the PhDnet back ... current spokesperson of the PhDnet forward Success - Not only the main topic of this all PhD-students and the wiki is open for Is success a human property? Do non-hu- sent me off with simple advice amidst the issue of the Offspring, but also the starting participation. Make use of it! man creatures experience the feeling of pandemonium of growing responsibilities: point for the president of the Max-Planck- success? Perhaps, to them, success is equi- “The most important job is to keep the Society in the March 2007 issue of Max Decisions - As PhD-students we are often valent to survival. I tried researching what network alive.” Survival. Planck Research. Although the success I affected by decisions taken by others: our success means in the animal world and I can report as spokesperson of the PhDnet directors, the local university bodies, the stumbled upon a study describing “nesting With the support of a great incumbent is a more modest one, nonetheless the past MPS as a whole, and also politics in general. success” of woodland ducks struggling Steering Group, active PhD representa- year has been a successful year, as will be Among others these are decisions affecting to endure a rapidly disappearing habitat. tives from all institutes and the invaluable detailed in reports of PhDnets activities our status as PhD-students, our personal si- However, in the report it became quite ob- advice of last year’s group, survival is on the following pages. In my opinion, the tuation by the way and amount of funding, vious that nesting is simply a means of sur- undoubtedly assured. The challenge of most important achievement was to es- our goals by changes in the Promotionsord- vival; an innate behavior. For a woodland “success” will lie in our ability to accom- tablish the PhDnet wiki (see page 23) as a nung and our future as scientists in Ger- duck, to succeed is to survive and produce plish defined goals, many of which are still communication and information platform many, Europe and around the globe. About offspring. Given our generally safe lives, in the birth and development stage. The with more than 80 registered participants these decisions, we are rarely informed and for most humans success goes beyond such collective goals of the Steering Group are as editors and over 70,000 page views up our voice is so far rarely heard. At the measures. When survival is ensured, we are expressed in our introduction, which you to now. For the last year, the wiki was the meeting we renewed and strengthened our capable of the beautiful luxury of success. will find in this issue of Offspring (page platform on which the steering group ma- resolution to get involved into these decisi- 6). My personal goal as spokesperson is to naged to navigate the PhDnet and our ons: locally through PhD representation at I have always thought that success implies undertake tasks honoring the fundamen- ambitious agenda around the difficulties every institute, internally through PhDnet a certain degree of intent; success is at- tal “PhDnet-wide” goal of improving the inherent in a network spread throughout representation at meetings of MPS bodies tained upon the accomplishment of an in- condition of PhD candidates of the Max Germany. In the wiki, we gathered and ac- and publicly by the formulation of an open tended objective. This objective lies in the Planck Society. For, when there is room cumulated information about the situation letter, addressing our concerns to the proper heart of each individual brave enough to for complaint, even the best can be better. of PhD-students in the MPS. Information political authorities. embark upon personal challenges. In this We have all been granted the opportunity we used to move the MPS to start urgently way, success includes, but has the potential for more than survival; we aren’t woodland As my time as spokesperson is now over, I needed changes in the legal status of PhD- to go far beyond, mere survival. ducks! And herein lies our opportunity for wish the new spokesperson Melissa Du- students, to help local PhD representatives success through the coming year. Let’s haime and her new steering crew all the At the general meeting in Berlin, pre- structuring their work and to facilitate the continue best and a decisively successful year. vious spokesperson Rainer Stollhof transfer of knowledge to the next steering group. This information is accessible to to grow.

5 Introduction of the new Steering Group Dear Doctoral Students of the Max Planck Based on stimulating discussions at the their career, and to continue to improve tive at your institute about all problems, Society, General Meeting of the current concerns connections with the MPS Alumni net- constructive critiques, or new ideas of how and problems facing PhD students of the work. to improve your working environment. Our 6th PhDnet General Meeting is now Max Planck Society, the new Steering Sharing also your positive experiences will behind us, hosted in Berlin by the MPI for Committee has established three initial The third goal is to increase cooperation provide golden standards by which other Infection Biology. Thanks to the excellent goals. with other PhD associations, such as the institutes can learn how to successfully work and thorough preparation of all its Helmholtz Juniors (the PhD network of address similar issues. We expressly invite participants, the meeting was full of dis- The first is to continue to facilitate the Helmholtz Gemeinschaft). This will PhD representatives (and students!) from cussions, debates, and newly shaped initia- institute-wide communication, and to seek provide a greater appreciation for the ex- all institutes to approach us with new is- tives. Thank you all for raising the bar and out and bridge gaps in information flow. periences of like-minded students as we sues. setting the meeting standard so high! An incredible “communication infrastruc- campaign to protect the rights and ameli- ture” has been put in place by the past orate the social standing of PhD students Keep connected through the year, and stay At the General Meeting, four enthusias- group. To ensure that information reaches in Germany. in touch! tic PhD students were elected to the new all MPS students, we encourage PhDnet PhDnet Steering Group. Notably, this institute reps to continue publicizing the However, as the Steering Group, our pri- Sincerely yours, group makes up the most international mary goal is to make your work easier by PhDnet mission among newcomers. Stay Soeren Alsheimer (Section representative: Steering Group since the founding of the helping you solve problems. We provide up to date with PhDnet initiatives via the Biomed); Melissa Beth Duhaime (Spokes- PhDnet. Let us briefly introduce ourselves. the direct interface between PhD students Wiki pages! Every MPS PhD student can person); Ian FitzPatrick (Section representa- and the Max Planck Society Headquarters subscribe to and edit the Wiki pages! tive: Humanities); Ralitsa Angelova (Sec- The newly elected PhDnet Spokesperson to cooperatively solve issues you face daily. tion representative: CPT) is Melissa Duhaime (American), from the Our second goal is to spend creative ef- Please talk to the local PhD representa- MPI for Marine Microbiology in Bremen. forts improving the future of PhD students The new Section Representatives are: Hu- post-graduation—our PhD time is all too manities—Ian FitzPatrick (British), MPI short; what do we do next? This includes for Psycholinguistics, Netherlands; Biome- issues of career development, such as or- dicine—Sören Alsheimer (German), MPI ganizing Career Fairs, promoting forums for Developmental Biology, Tuebingen; to foster exchange between PhD stu- and Chemistry, Physics and Technological dents and research scientists successful in Sciences—Ralitsa Angelova (Bulgarian), MPI for Informatics, Saarbruecken.

7 Success Verena Conrad story Science is a wonderful thing if one does not published only one or two papers…maybe secrets of a successful academic career Think about your survival kit. How do you have to earn one‘s living at it. you have only been the third contributor? (no, not again!). Instead we would like to deal with feelings of failure and disillusi- (Albert Einstein) Maybe you have not published at all? It draw your attention to a more subjective, onment? Failure is not personal, it is part Towards the end of one’s PhD, a particular is difficult to assess one’s individual con- personal issue: you! How do you percei- of the scientific process - non-significant question keeps coming up and if you have tribution based on the number of publica- ve yourself and your achievements within results are part of the physiognomy of sci- not yet thought about it – your supervisor tions and citations, especially in the early the context of your scientific community? ence. and fellow lab members will gently remind stages of one‘s career. Successful grant ap- What have you enjoyed about your PhD? Become aware of the necessity of certain you of an inevitable decision ahead: so, plications and scholarships are other pa- What does it mean for you to be a suc- skills that you will need throughout your what are you going to do next? “A post- rameters - often valued as a measurement cessful scientist? Is it the talent to describe career: independent thinking, teamwork, doc”, you answer hesitantly. A postdoc? of scientific excellence. Not only do Zeit- accurately scientific problems and derive discipline and the meeting of deadlines, You suddenly realise that you have not geist and political issues determine the testable hypotheses from abstract theo- networking, and last but by no means least, seriously thought about the future…do distribution of financial support but more retical frameworks or is it the ability to the ability to communicate the essence of you want to continue to work in science importantly research experience and level analyse datasets in innovative ways that your projects. These skills will be impor- or even pursue a scientific career? How of responsibility. Most of these indicators distinguish the really good scientists from tant assets regardless of whether or not does one make a decision, what criteria in fact become more relevant in the later the rest? Is it substantial progress in your your latest experiments turned out to be are appropriate? Earlier success might be stages of one’s career. niche – the ability to excel or the deter- significant! one, but how is success defined in science? Okay, here we are with a relatively empty mination to go beyond your mental and When you have finished reading this ar- There are not many objective standards, pro and con list - at the most crucial time physical limits? ticle, take a break and spend five minutes such as salary or promotion as there are of one’s career. I believe the decision about Think about the eureka!-moments that thinking about your personal achievements in other sectors. The scientific community whether to do postdoctoral work or not, is you experienced during the last three years. and how science fits in with who you are has its very own benchmarks: publications, a much more personal one – often it does About your curiosity! Your intrinsic moti- and where you want to go. Use our ques- successful grant applications, invitations to not only affect the next year or two but it vation! Science is more than a job…it is a tionnaire! Remember that whatever comes keynote talks etc. shapes the rest of your life! personal mission, a passion. It is the pursuit after the Max-Planck-experience: you have The number of your publications, ideally In the current issue of the PhD maga- of an activity in which one does not imme- achieved a great deal and made a contri- at least a couple of first-author papers in zine, we are not going to provide you with diately see results…and in which one has bution to society…hey, part of success is the very best journals, will reflect the im- yet another guide on how to choose the to cope with a certain amount of monotony loving yourself!!! portance of your contribution to the field right postdoc position or reveal the hidden despite the luxury of being paid to learn and the approval of the general public. new things. However, during your PhD you might have

9 Questionaire on Scientific Success What is success? What does it mean for the no computer troubles. For others just a Do you perceive yourself as successful? have been successful, this is already history. scientific community, what for you -perso normal day. Usually, success is measured Frank Farad, male institute director, CPT section I don’t know. Yes, in the sense that I like my nally? Do you perceive yourself as successful on the number of papers, posters, talks at work and I have lots of drive, and no, that and what is special about you? The following conferences - but to me scientific success How important are external factors I never seem to make it to get enough time questionnaire contains ten questions that you is to discover something exciting and new, (publications, talk invitations etc.) for to work on my Ph.D. and be fully there for already may have asked yourself – if not, you small or big, that gets me going in my field your perception of success (internal sense my family at the same time. It is a daily might think about your personal answers of research and gives my the drive to dig of achievement)? struggle, which I can’t win. while reading what seven scientists from down further. Corinna Chaos They’re obviously not unimportant, becau- different fields and at different levels of their Corinna Chaos, female PhD student, mother of se there is a strong pressure on scientists career responded. (Names are changed by the two kids, CPT section Yes. Got a well paid job that allows me to working within the MPS (and anywhere editorial board to preserve the anonymity) do what I want to do. else, I guess) to ‘publish or perish’. Further- Not a good question. How do I define it? David Decibel, male junior research group leader, more, publications or invitations to talks What is success? How do I think the community defines it? CPT section are of course an external indicator of how For the scientific community: There are two aspects to this. In practice, good your work is. But just the solution of High paper output in good journals (es- the second is probably more important Do you celebrate your success? If yes, a problem, or reading through something pecially Nature and Science), good grants, (perhaps sadly): 1. Seeing that one‘s scien- how? I’ve written and thinking ‘that’s not bad’ big group, invitation to talks, panels, com- tific work leads to satisfactory results and gives me a small feeling of success. mittees etc. Each gathering with colleagues, such as a to answers for questions that one was al- conference, is still a kind of celebration for Bertha Book, female junior research group leader, For me personally: ways curious about. 2. Being accepted by me. We are extremely privileged,within Humanities Section High paper output in really good journals fellow scientists as a colleague who makes the Max Planck Institutes, and in the rich (not Nature and Science), positive feed- The highest sense of achievement arises an important contribution to the business countries more generally, so we have a lot back from the people I work with, appre- when I personally believe a work was a step of science. of reason to celebrate together (regardless ciation within the scientific community, all forward AND the scientific community Alan Adverb, male workgroup leader, Humanities of how successful we perceive each other to the above if they are not achieved at the does so (expressing it by invitations to talk Section be). Alan Adverb expense of someone else (e. g. family) or of and citation etc). But it also happened that As a mother of two small kids, success is one’s health. Not really, because there are so many other I did not take my results so serious until when I got to work for a full day on my ac- Gilbert Gravity, male junior research group lea- aims/horizons to be reached that at the mo- tual research, during normal daylight hours, der, CPT section ment when you realize that you kids healthy, household under control, no urgent administrative matters,

11 colleagues really stressed the importance. The community cannot measure success Precision but not perfectionism; ability to You should better ask how I cope with the Eddy Electron, male junior research group leader, the same way as the individual. The scienti- abstract and conceptual thinking; creativi- pile of administrative work. Formerly the CPT section fic community and the tax payer don’t care ty; balance of self-confidence and self-cri- night and the weekends were reserved for about work-life-balance, family issues, etc. tisism. my own science, but this has become histo- Are you comfortable with how you The community wants maximum output Eddy Electron ry. Today, I try to reserve some weekend to measure success? (in terms of quality and quantity) for a gi- do science. Failures are always bitter. With Mostly. But then my supervisor declares ven amount of invested money. In general, What are your driving forces? administrative failures I may not sleep for what I consider successful research as “not I think, the scientific community measures days. Scientific failures, I try to be better. - curiosity - the satisfaction to gain under- interesting” and it takes me a while to stick success in the above-mentioned sense Frank Farad standing and new knowledge - the desire to my own measures of it being a success. quite well. However, I think it is important to open new fields of research - the will to Corinna Chaos to realize that publications in Science and Does private success influence your sci- change some part of the world’s operation Nature are not exactly a proof of scientific entific career? Not exactly. In general, I try to reach a Frank Farad excellence but rather of cleverness in sel- I find it hard to separate “private life“ from more holistic view of my achievements ling scientific results. Curiosity, love for nature, need to support “career life“. I would not enjoy my life if I integrating not only the usual indicators Gilbert Gravity my family. did not perceive the two aspects as funda- (papers, grants, etc.) but also other criteria Gilbert Gravity mentally unified. I don‘t think that what such as being a good supervisor, teacher, What are the secrets of a successful scien- counts in life more generally is “success“, father, citizen etc. tist? What distinguishes you from others? How do you cope with the daily routine though if one has success, that‘s no doubt Gilbert Gravity Who said I’m a successful scientist??? As of scientific work? How do you cope with very nice. Fortunately, most people who failure? Are you comfortable with how the scien- to the first part of the question, what the are not particularly “successful“ are never- tific community measures success? secret is, I always imagined it to be a com- Ok. To the extent that I do, I try not to theless quite happy in their life! bination of a large amount of creativity, a think too much about it and just get it Alan Adverb I don‘t think the community as such not insubstantial amount of elbows, and done and out of the way. What is failure? measures success. As a community, we of- For me the private life is important not to a small amount of luck. But you would A rejected proposal or manuscript? That ten have to try to assess a colleague‘s me- become ‘crazy’, i.e. too involved in science. have to ask the really successful scientists can also mean that your work was not rits when giving them a job or promoting But in general it could be that private suc- what their secret really is – and then let good enough, and you need to improve it. them. But this is not exactly the same as cess correlates negatively with scientific me know. So, try again. Or the time is not right for it “success“. When hiring someone for a po- success for practical reasons. What about Bertha Book and you need to postpone it. sition, we normally say that we want the the conflict profession and family here? David Decibel best person, not the most successful per- If only I knew the secrets… Eddy Electron son. (I‘m often not comfortable with the Gilbert Gravity way in which such decisions are made, but I don‘t know a solution.) Alan Adverb

13 What the ?&%@# Corinna Handschuh is Bologna ... Workgroups of the PhDnet ... and what does it mean for you? The original Bologna declaration only ai- ductory course to special topics) be trans- On the following pages, we want to pre- med at creating comparability between ferred to credits? sent you the work of the PhDnet in more The Bologna Process is an important part European universities at the undergradu- Under which conditions is this the case detail; you will read about our recent events of the European educational policy and ate (Bachelor) and graduate (Master) le- (e.g. is a register required, do you have to (the general meeting in Berlin – which was aims at creating a ‚European Higher Re- vel. However, at the ministers‘ meeting at take an exam)? already mentioned several times – and the search Area‘. It was officially started in 2003 in Berlin it was agreed that doctoral Can credits be received for published pa- second interdisciplinary PhD workshop) 1999 by the development of the Bologna programs are to be added to the Bologna pers, conference talks etc.? What are the as well as about the work of most of the declaration, which states the objectives of Process as a third cycle. The main effect of conditions (e.g. do you need a written PhDnet workgroups in the past year. the process. So far it has been signed by 46 this will be that europe-wide credit points statement from the conference organizers, states (from in- and outside the EU). The will be needed within doctoral programs does the publication have to be peer-re- The workgroups are created every year at process is accompanied by biannual minis- to complete the degree, while until now viewed)? the general PhDnet meeting. Permanent terial conferences, the next of which is to in most German universities no credits or What about courses taken at summer workgroups are the Steering Group (con- be held in 2009 in Flanders. coursework were needed for a PhD. schools (especially outside the Bologna sisting of the Spokesperson and the Sec- countries, e.g. US), can you get credits for tion Representatives), the secretary group The goals of the Bologna Declaration can How this requirement is included in the that? (who organizes information and commu- be summarized as the following: study regulations will most certainly vary Can you get credits for courses from other nication within the PhDnet), the Meeting between universities. If the credit system group (see page 16), the Web Group (see 1. Adoption of a system of comparable disciplines? What about soft skill or lan- is about to be introduced at your universi- page 23) and the Seminar Group (see page degrees across Europe guage courses (e.g. German classes for non ty, it might be a good idea for MPI PhD 24). Four other workgroups were tempora- 2. Adoption of a system based on two natives)? students to address these issues while the rily established in 2006: The Event Group main cycles of degrees: undergraduate study regulations are changed. In case the Additional information and all official -do (see page 20), the Alumni Group (see page (Bachelor) and graduate (Master) credit system is already implemented, it cuments about the process (such as the Bo- 26), the Questionnaire group (who already 3. Establishment of a credit system to en- might be useful to check how these ques- logna Declaration and the Communiques conducted two surveys concerning the si- courage students’ mobility tions are dealt with: of the biannual conferences) can be found tuation of PhDstudents in the MPS), and 4. Promotion of mobility - i.e. access to at the Webpage of the 2009 meeting: last but not least the Offspring Group who study and training opportunities; recog- Can credits only be obtained from courses is responsible for this magazine. nition of research or teaching periods offered at the university, or can events at the http://www.ond.vlaanderen.be/hogeron- spent in a European context MPI (e.g. regular lab seminars, or intro- derwijs/bologna/about/ 5. Promotion of cooperation and quality assurance

15 PhDnet Corinna Handschuh Julia Steinbach Meeting 2007 In the autumn of 2007 – as every year The following points were addressed to mance of researchers is not undermined by Again, Professor Gruss reassured us that – PhD representatives from the MPIs all Prof. Gruss: Where is the German (and instability of employment contracts”, and he is very fond of the PhDnet and will over Germany (and even beyond) came specifically the MPS) PhD education hea- should therefore commit themselves as far provide us with all support he can give to together for the PhDnet‘s general mee- ding? Are PhD students “young profes- as possible to improving the stability of em- strengthen local PhD initiatives. ting. This time the location was the MPI sionals” or are they “just students”? Prof. ployment conditions for researchers. Many for Infection Biology, Berlin. As was to be Gruss told us that in his opinion PhD institutions have already signed this charter, A concern during the discussion with Ilka expected, the German capital drew about students are making a valuable contribu- but only a few of them in Germany (not in- Schiessler was the question of enhanced lia- 80 participants to the meeting (the largest tion to the research within MPS, yet they cluding the Max Planck Society). We asked bility for stipend holders which has caused a number of participants so far). are still in a training process. Generally he Prof. Gruss why the MPS has not signed, lot of confusion and uncertainty: if a stipend thinks that the German system will deve- and if he would agree especially on the two holder damages something at work, he/she Giving an adequate summary of such a pa- lop more into the direction of an Anglo- paragraphs mentioned. He ex-plained that is completely liable for this (there is no up- cked event is almost impossible. We will Saxon system of graduate education. This the MPS already realized most of the con- per threshold such as the 3 months’ salaries try to give an account of the three central assessment is reflected in the International tents of the charter. According to him, the for contract holders). A private liability in- aspects of the annual PhDnet meeting: Max Planck Research Schools (IMPRS), main reasons for not signing it are concerns surance doesn’t cover damage at work and a first of all the operational and political the Graduate Schools, which have been from the legal department regarding defi- business liability insurance is very expensive part, secondly the scientific part, and last set up (and will continue to be set up) at nition of research and other critical formu- for stipend holders. Ilka Schiessler assured but not least the socio-cultural aspect of various MPIs. lations. But he also mentioned that in his that the MPS is working on a solution for the gathering. opinion, the charter discourages mobility. this, but she also stated that so far no case Another question, also related to the status has occurred where a stipend holder had to Split up into the different sections (CPT, of the PhD students, referred to the EU The plenum of PhD students agreed that pay an expensive damage by him-/herself. BioMed and Humanties) the meeting par- Charter for researchers. Two parts of which we shouldn’t rush into any actions concer- ticipants discussed their specific problems were of special interest for us: First, that “all the EU Charter. So we asked the next Coming to the scientific aspect, the PhD- – which turned out to be quite similar in researchers” – and the charter is especially steering group to decide whether they want net meetings are a good opportunity to most cases, as it was realised when the including doctoral candidates – “should be to take any actions concerning this issue meet people from other MPIs working on whole group met later again for further recognized as professionals and be treated (e.g. writing an open letter) and possibly similar topics and get connected with them. discussion. Some key questions and main accordingly”. Second, concerning funding discuss it at the next meeting. problems were also discussed the next day and salaries, the charta says that “employers with Prof. Gruss, the president of the Max and funders should ensure that the perfor- Planck Society, and Ilka Schiesser from the general administration.

17 Apart from that, there were also some current debate. The talk was followed by scientific presentations on the schedule. In a very lively and engaged debate with the Invitation the three scientific talks of the meeting we audience in which also the speaker could could get an impression on the research learn a few things (if only about where, currently being carried out at the MPIs what and why Garching is). in and around Berlin. Topics of the talks were widely stretched, including stem cell Berlin‘s nightlife offers ample opportuni- research, plant biomechanics and the de- ties to socialize after a hard day of work. velopmental psychology of patience. Al- The local PhDs were helpful guides to find 7th PhDnet General Meeting most all parts of the talks were presented suitable evening activities for everyone. in a way understandable to non-experts in For example one could witness the famous the field. That was a brilliant achievement “Kreuzberg nights“ (as immortalized in a The next General Meeting of the Max Planck Society - most of you will have experienced how German song). And even see Piet‘s uro- PhD representatives will take place in Bremen at the hard this is trying to explain to your pa- logist – there is no reason to be concerned rents, grandparents etc. what your research about his health, the urologist‘s surgery is about. is simply the only noticeable sign on the MPI for Marine Microbiology door of an otherwise hidden Kreuzberg from November 27-29, 2008. The of the scientific agenda of pub. Anyway, we had a lot of fun. Just the PhDnet meetings is a public talk, open before the farewell we had the opportu- All PhD representatives or other interested PhD stu- – as the name suggests – to the general nity to go underground on a guided tour dents from Max Planck Institutes are invited to join! public. This time the local organizers had through the air-raid shelters from WWII. The preparation by the new Meeting group is already chosen a very hot topic: global warming. The two guides (one in English and one in process. The speaker, Mojib Latif, gave -an ins in German) gave very insightful tours and tructive lecture about the effects humans were happy to answer all our questions. Detailed information on the next meeting can be have on climate change, commenting on found soon under http://www.phdnet.mpg.de/wiki/ facts and fiction being put forward in the All in all, Berlin 2007 was a successful and enjoyable meeting. Many thanks to the lo- index.php/Meeting_group cal organizers - Borjana Arsova, Martje Toenjes, Linda Hallen, Philipp Messer and Jan Peter “Piet” Böttcher - for making this possible.

19 Event Cornelia Graf, Regina Geyer Wolfgang Engelsberger Workgroup Impressed by the 1st Interdisciplinary countable telephone calls. After the team and technical, physical and chemical as- More information about the 2007 work- Max Planck PhDnet Workshop in 2006 decided for Frankfurt/Main as the site of pects of communication. In addition shop, also including pictures and documents, a group of ten enthusiastic PhD students the 2007 workshop, a youth hostel had to to the PhD students, the three keynote such as the abstract book, can be found on decided to arrange for a sequel by planning be reserved, an advertising poster designed, speakers - Tanya Stivers (MPI of Psycho- the PhDnet webpage: http://www.phdnet. the 2nd workshop in 2007. a website created and keynote speakers linguistics), Georg Kreutzberg (MPI of mpg.de/workshop/index.htm. contacted. For a second personal discus- Neurobiology), and Jeremy Hills (MPI of More information about how to organize The goals of the 1st workshop were- fa sion, the organizing team met in Frank- Biological Cybernetics) - gave interesting a workshop can be found at the PhDnet voured and therefore kept the same: furt/Main in March 2007. While testing insights into their fields of research. Par- Wiki: http://www.phdnet.mpg.de/wiki/ - strengthen interdisciplinary exchange the youth hostel, the schedule for the last ticipants whose topics did not fit into the index.php/Workshop_Organization. and broaden the perspective on science months was fixed and the preparation was theme of communication presented their - raise awareness of common interests wi- completed. The registration opened in the work in an interdisciplinary section. It Members of the event group: thin the research community middle of April, three keynote speakers seems everyone enjoyed the meeting and Cornelia Graf (MPI of Psychiatry, Mu- - build career prospects and networks were won, almost 50 beds were booked it matched the goal to bring together PhD nich), Bakr Badawy (MPI for Biogeoche- - communicate research to non-experts in at the Youth Hostel and after some busy students of all Max Planck Institutes for mistry, Jena), Daniel de Graaf (MPI of In- the field weeks of design and error search the abs- scientific exchange and cheerful get-to- fection Biology, Berlin), Esther Fischbach tract book was printed. gether. Contrary to the organizing team‘s (Fritz-Haber-Institut, Berlin), Hella Riede As topic for the workshop, we agreed on fears, everything went fine - besides the (MPI of Chemistry, Mainz), Jens Weber “Communication” which seemed to be a Finally, the workshop took place from July forgotten laser pointer and a vegetarian (MPI for Colloids and Interfaces, Golm), topic wide enough to attract PhD students 26th – 28th 2007. Fourty-five participants meal that contained ham. To analyse the Laura Herbst (MPI of Psycholinguistics, from different fields. After a first meeting from 23 different MPIs joined to present participants‘ feedback in more detail, last Nijmegen, The Netherlands), Pawel Buc- of the organizing team in October 2006, their research either in talks or in posters year’s questionnaire was reused. Towards zek (MPI of Microstructure Physics, Hal- a proposal was presented one month la- to a diverse audience. To enable interaction the end of the workshop, a group of mo- le/Saale), Regina Geyer (MPI for Plant ter to the general meeting of the PhDnet between PhD students of the Max Planck tivated participants was formed that was Breeding, Cologne), Ricarda Rintisch and the cost estimate was accepted. The Society and the Helmholtz Association, willing to organise another interdiscipli- (Fritz-Haber-Institut, Berlin) and Wolf- concept seemed catching, so an additio- three Helmholtz students also joined the nary workshop for the year 2008. Thus, the gang Engelsberger (MPI for Molecular nal member entered the team during the workshop. The topic “Communication“ was workshop is on the best way to become an Plant Physiology, Golm). meeting. During the next months the dealt with in three sections: human com- annual tradition. workshop assumed a definite form with munication, biological communication, the help of hundreds of emails and un-

21 Announcement of PhD Web Tobias Lenz workshop 2008 Thomas Kahle Workgroup At the last general meeting of the PhD- In short, “Art“ can mean creation, design The Web presence of the PhDnet is cur- of you is invited to participate! Thomas used net in Berlin a new event workgroup was or skill, “Art“ can be produced or percei- rently maintained by a motivated two- a version of MediaWiki, the same soft- established and is going to organize the ved, done actively or consumed passively, men-workgroup. All online-related com- ware that makes Wikipedia work. He also 3rd interdisciplinary PhDnet workshop. and so can “Science”. munication issues were managed using implemented access restrictions, making it The topic will be “The Art of Science and resources provided by the GWDG in Göt- possible to protect certain areas. Already the Science of Art“ and it will take place These few examples are just to show that tingen, where our webpage www.phdnet. the wiki has become a very practical tool at the beautiful location Burg Schwaneck the context of art and science and their re- mpg.de is hosted. It is maintained by To- for the communication within the work (www.burgschwaneck.de) near Munich, lations to each other can be seen in many bias who also implemented interactive fea- groups. The steering group, for instance, from August 29 – 31. We want to cover different ways and we are looking forward tures like an online registration for events. intensively uses their internal section that the whole field of research the Max Planck to an event with lots of open-minded These resources are also made available to can only be read and edited by them. Still, Society offers, therefore trying to get speakers as well as participants. other groups; e.g. the Questionnaire group for the future we would like to establish keynote speakers and attract participants successfully used it to conduct two ques- the wiki as a communication platform also from all three sections. More information about the workshop, tionnaires completely online-based. Until for science-related information and even the expected keynote speakers and other last year, we also hosted a forum but after a trivia. In this sense the wiki is surely useful “The Art of Science and the Science of details will soon be available in the event long discussion at the 2006 PhDnet mee- to keep bureaucracy as low as possible but Art”, we don‘t want this to be understood workgroup portal on the PhDnet wiki: ting it was decided that the necessary work it can become even more: a platform for only as nice pictures or just visual things, http://www.phdnet.mpg.de/wiki/index. to maintain it was too much, mainly due the discussion of interdisciplinary ideas. as one may imagine at first. It‘s also not php/Event_group to spammers and various other attempts about how one could make his data look of abuse. As an alternative, we decided it Since some people stated that it would be as good as possible. It can also mean: the would be interesting to try the new pos- useful to additionally conserve the possi- art of being a good scientist, the elegance sibilities that a wiki offers. A wiki is an bility of fast communication of opportuni- of a well planned experiment or the beauty online based content management system ties (as job offers etc), we have also revived of a mathematical proof. Also, the second where everyone (with suitable permissi- the PhDNet mailing list. Everyone can part of the title can be interpreted quite ons) can participate. There is one wiki that subscribe to this list to receive up-to-date differently: for example, the establishing of everyone knows: Wikipedia, the free on- information, so do not hesitate to join! new restoration techniques or the history, line encyclopedia. Now, after almost one development and perception of art or the year the PhDnet wiki is up and running at social meaning in the creation of artwork. www.phdnet.mpg.de/wiki - and everyone

23 Seminars Ann Falk Joachim Ritter Workgroup Presentation Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is The organization of a seminar usually skills organized life. (Immanuel Kant) starts with the application of an institute Scientific writing Takes care of Speed reading Communication (typically done by PhD representative) finances The focus of PhD education is mostly on and the selection of a topic. Then spea- Cross-cultural gathering expertise in one special field of kers are recruited by the Seminar Group. Seminar-Workgroup for Provides Time and Self- knowledge speaker-contact details information Management Topics research. Nevertheless, within this peri- While speaker recruiting, announcement Scientific posters od of three to five years your personality Project management of the seminars and the application and Job hunting & should also be shaped in a way to become admission procedures are centrally orga- Speakers Workgroup application writing a responsible scientist, an enlightening te- nized, the local organization of the events Third Party Creativity techniques acher and a motivating leader. Learning Soft Skills fund raising/ Whatever you are is done by PhD students of the respective Paid by grant writing interested in these skills can easily be forgotten within Max Planck Institute. PhDnet money Organization Seminars routine work. Even worse, some students do not even have the opportunity to ac- Given that the general administration has quire these personal skills. For this rea- promised us an increasing budget if the de- Pick topic Local PhDs son, the Seminar Group was established mand is high enough, we hope to finance Local organizers not only the current 6 or 7 seminar week- to give students access to non-scientific Set date (usually Advertise to All MPI PhDs if courses. These so called “soft skills” may ends per year but many more in the future. weekends) local PhD- Are highly Participants spare places Organize students have an enormous positive impact on their We would also like to organize new kinds speaker motivated accommodation further PhD time and professional life af- of seminars, like cross-cultural communi- Provide room Costs for travel/ accommodationnot terwards. cation or creativity techniques, if there is paid by PhDnet (own Will learn a lot an audience for this. If you have any other institute should pay) Up to now, the seminar group offered the ideas for seminars, just ask us, maybe we following courses: can arrange something. If you want to learn how to do such MindMaps (™ ) and how they can help Speed reading (0.5 days) Acknowledgement you with your work, you should participate in the Project Management Presenting (1.5 days) We would like to thank Ilka Schießler from seminar. Scientific writing (1 day) the general administration for helping to Project Management (1 day) organize the seminars and the Deutsche Job Hunting/Application Training Bundesbank for the financial support. (1 day, new since 2007)

25 Alumni Simon Bungers Workgroup Become a MPS Alumnus! Many American universities and an incre- Besides, we would like to help with the As you already read on the previous page, Since the Department of Alumni Affairs asing number of German universities allow planned extension of MaxNET into a the General Administration of the MPS was only established quite recently, max- you to stay attached after achieving your de- Max Planck employee network. We would has recently established the Department NET is not very well known among former gree by becoming an Alumnus. Some MPIs like to support this with our ideas and de- of Alumni Affairs. They have set up an in- PhD students and PhD students which are already had and still have a vivid alumni mands and monitor the development of ternet portal for alumni of the MPS, called close to finishing their thesis and might be community, which uses internet-based da- this platform. maxNET. This internet portal works much interested to become an alumnus. tabases and platforms, forums, and alumni like the other social platforms on the net: meetings to stay connected. However, for At the PhDnet meeting in Berlin, Claudia , studiVZ, Xing & Co. You only In order to change this, we would like to the majority of institutes and on the global Kahmen and Dr. Andreas Trepte from the upload the information you want to be present in short how you can join the net- level of the MPS this was not the case. Department of Alumni Affairs agreed to visible and you can search and find other work: the idea to technically assign the Alumni alumni, join groups etc. Being developed Just go to https://maxnet.mpg.de/ and re- Therefore, in 2006 the Alumni Workgroup Work Group leader as the alumni officer by the MPS itself, you have of course spe- gister! Your request of registration is then of the PhDnet was established – originally, of the PhDnet. In this way, the PhD com- cial science-related features such as listing validated by your former MPI. In this to set up an internet-based platform for munity will have a representative who has your publications and of course you are way the Internet portal stays restricted to MPS alumni. However, soon the work- direct influence at the alumni officer -mee linked to your former MPI. former MPS employees. At every MPI group realized that technical resources and tings, which are organized by the depart- a member of the staff has been assigned manpower for accomplishing such a task ment of alumni affairs. One drawback of this platform is that at to validate the requests. These so-called were not available, so the wish for help was Last but not least, the Alumni group the moment only alumni of the MPS can alumni officers are also responsible for in- addressed to the general administration of members can support the local alumni of- register but not people currently working forming former scientists and people lea- the MPS. They recently established the ficers in organizing alumni events etc. In for the MPS. Therefore, though it is pos- ving the institute who are interested in be- Department of Alumni Affairs, who deve- summary, the tasks of the Alumni Work- sible for a former MPS PhD student to coming alumni. You can find your alumni loped an internet portal called maxNET. group are now more of a “communicative, become an alumnus it is not possible for a officer in a list at the Alumni group section informative and lobbying” nature. student still working for her or his degree in the PhDnet Wiki. During the PhDnet meeting 2007 the to get in contact with alumni. However, question arose whether the Alumni Work- If you want to participate in our work, visit an extension of maxNET for current em- group is still of use now, since the original our internal work group section in the wiki ployees is already under development at task already has been accomplished. We and state your comments in the “Ideas and the moment. came to the decision that there are still a Comments” section! number of things left to do: first of all we can promote the alumni network among PhD students.

27 Vectorial – Networking Bryan Downie Life Scientists While scientific progress has benefited red during my bachelor’s training. I subse- tion of their research. Other features have other. These connections will enable re- enormously from the success of internet- quently embarked on a frenzied printout also been implemented, such as the ability searchers to leverage each other’s expertise based communication, there has been litt- of a thousand myriad reviews on the regu- to search for other users who have particu- and knowledge to improve data collection le progress in developing new communi- lation of angiogenesis, teaching myself the lar scientific interests, the ability to invite and analysis. With future success, we hope cation technologies for scientists. E-Mail molecular and cellular regulatory mecha- friends and collaborators, and the ability to help bring scientific communication technology has changed very little in the nisms for this critical process. to join groups based on research interest, fully into the interactivity of Web 2.0. past 20 years, journal web sites still main- location, technique, hobby, or any other tain a primarily unidirectional informa- A year later, we began collaborating with defining characteristic. Public forums are About the Author: Bryan Downie (USA) tion distribution model, and conference a group in a neighboring institute who available to discuss topics of general inte- is a PhD student in cancer biology at the attendance is limited by space, time, and had expertise in the regulation of angio- rest such as career development, grant ap- Max Planck Institu- cost. Yet the development of innovative genesis. After describing our results, our plication, and fields of biology discussions. te of Experimental communications technologies such as in- collaborators advised us of several controls Medicine in Göt- stant messaging, social networking sites missing from our experiments, suggested Because personal data such as contact in- tingen, Germany. and streaming video provide opportunities several antibodies and staining protocols, formation and research interests can also Originally trained for scientists to communicate and collabo- and pointed out experimental design flaws. easily become outdated due to the mo- as a computer sci- rate with each another in new and exciting Because of our lack of experience in a new bility of young scientists as they transiti- entist, he has exten- ways. field, we had wasted both time and money on between jobs, Vectorial can serve as a sive experience in on technical mistakes and design flaws. central repository for this information. In the field of web site design and mainte- Two years ago, I had a problem. I had recei- this role Vectorial could enable potential nance, having worked from 1995 to 2000 The idea for Vectorial (http://vectorial.ning. ved my Bachelor’s of Science in Neurobio- employers and fellow collaborators to easi- for companies as Apple Computer and com) arose from this experience, out of the logy, and my education until that time had ly find and contact one another, while still Hotmail. He received in Bachelor’s degree realization that there is a better way to find focused primarily on neuroanatomy, ion maintaining individual researcher privacy. in Neurobiology from the University of and communicate with other scientists. We channel function and kinetics, and neu- Finally, Vectorial can serve as a forum for Washington in 2004. He can be contacted began with the model defined by highly rodevelopment. Yet during the first year career development resources for young life at [email protected]. of my PhD research, we made a discovery successful social networking web sites such scientists. implicating an ion channel in the formati- as StudiVZ, Facebook and LinkedIn. In At its core, Vectorial is a forum for life on of new blood vessels, a process known Vectorial, users build personalized profiles, scientists of all ages to connect with each as angiogenesis. While angiogenesis is of and describe their research interests, loca- great interest to cancer biologists for its tion, language fluency, and a short descrip- involvement in tumor progression, it had been largely igno-

29 Getting along Julia Steinbach in Germany By most Germans, the German bureaucracy “As a foreigner arriving in Germany one an awkward struggle to stow everything In addition to the sensible rule telling you is known to be annoying and hard to cope of the first things that you might need to away in bags while getting out the right not to break glass outside other peoples‘ with, so for foreigners coming to Germany it do is buy yourself something to eat, which change to pay. apartments in the middle of the night, is an even harder ordeal. Foreign scientists will lead you to the grocery stores. There it‘s also often forbidden to dump glass and PhD students have to cope with quite a are quite a few chains of “discount“ stores As for finding supplies that may not be during the quiet time after lunch, from number of bureaucratic issues but additional- in Germany, which, if you‘re not used to stocked in a typical German grocery store, 13:00 to 15:00. This quiet time is also sti- ly, even the daily life in Germany can be quite them, can be quite a surprise. Rather than most cities have small import shops that pulated in many leases, which was quite a challenging and some things seem strange and having the goods arranged on the shelves provide goods from around the world. shock for me (but then so was the sheer confusing in the beginning. Here, two “new- they‘re left in the boxes in which they‘re Your best bet might be to ask other foreig- size of my 17-page lease which I spent bies” tell you about their experiences when shipped from the wholesaler, and just sta- ners where they buy things. a full day typing into Babelfish in a vain attempt to understand it before signing). first coming to Germany: cked up. It‘s also common for the discount The effort to cut back on waste extends stores to not stock many common things, past the grocery bags of course. The Ger- And if everything seems altogether over- Starting a new life in Germany sometimes even fresh milk. Still, the sa- man recycling and garbage system can be vings can be quite good. whelming and hopelessly different, rest as- quite a science, with different bins for pa- sured that it will get better. When I first At the non-discount grocery stores things per, recyclable packaging (marked with the arrived I noticed so many things that were look more like what I was used to in Cana- “gruene Punkt“), compostable food waste, different or unfamiliar, but as time goes on da, though the selection is rather different. and other garbage. Glass and plastic con- things seem more and more like home.“ tainers on which a deposit (“Pfand“) has One thing you ought to be prepared for is been paid can be brought back to the point the checkout. In a laudable effort to cut of sale for a refund, and other glass has to down on waste in Germany, most stores be brought to big communal bins found don‘t provide free plastic or paper bags at every few blocks and sorted into white, the checkout, asking instead that you bring green, and brown glass. Be sure to check your own from home, or buy some sturdy the times on the bins before dumping glass reusable bags there. Even when you come inside! by Julia Marshall, Postdoc from Canada, now prepared with your own bags it can still be working at MPI for Biogeochemistry in Jena

31 Spare a thought for a JJC cars and trams rolling in and out of the by the time I stepped out of the Institute’s And for getting along better in Germany, tram station. The trams all had numbers revolving doors, I got hit by a burst of very have a look at PhDnet-Wiki: http://www. and to my consternation I realized I did harsh cold wind that I could barely move phdnet.mpg.de/wiki/index.php/Getting_ not know in what direction to head and my legs. Corinna, my concerned office- along_in_Germany. what tram to take. The only information mate, she saw my predicament and coun- I had was that I was supposed to report seled me to get some warm clothing, espe- There you will find important information at Deutscher Platz 6, where the MPI for cially a jacket. But at the C&A shop in the about everyday life: about things like food Evolutionary Anthropology is located. city center I bought a jumper instead of a and water, emergency numbers, medical care, jacket. Maybe I was only exhibiting a de- transport, bureaucracy – but also a number I must have asked someone for direction fiant attitude to the cold or outright igno- of links to other, more comprehensive compen- who only advised me to take the tram 16. rance by not realizing how really cold this dia – like “A Manual for Germany” from the He was not patient enough to show me part of earth could be. When I got back to German government - also in different lan- where and how to get a boarding ticket. the Institute with the jumper, Corinna was guages! After roaming for close to half an hour, amused at what I got for myself, then she Like all parts of the Wiki, this compendium by Joseph Atóyèbí, PhD student from Nigeria, I finally settled for the option of taking a took me personally back to the C&A shop also lives from your contributions, so feel free working at MPI for Evolutionary Anthropo- taxi. Though it was an expensive option, to get what I really needed to combat the to update the information there if it is no lon- logy in Leipzig nevertheless, I guess it was cheaper com- murderous weather.“ pared with the possible embarrassment of ger up-to-date, to add information you consi- “The acronym JJC is a parlance in the wailing in the open with hot tears strea- der missing or to provide links to other sources of information! Nigerian pidgin which means Johnny- ming down my proud cheeks while pas- Are you a foreign PhD student and have you Just-Come. This is equivalent to the well sers-by begin to wonder aloud in Deutsch made similar first experiences in Germany? known expression New-kid-on-the-block. (“warum weint der schwatze mann?”) What seemed strange or funny to you when There is no better way of referring to my you first came here? Or are you a German My second challenge was the weather. humble self in my first days in Leipzig. PhD student who spent some time in another September 2006 was a fine month. But by country? What are your impressions, which It was the first of September 2006 and October, the whole place was beginning difficulties or problems did you have to face in before coming to Germany, I had never to feel like the interior of a freezer. I had the beginning? traveled out of the shores of my beloved formed the habit of going home every af- country Nigeria even though I was 33 ternoon for lunch since my apartment was Send us your or small anecdotes; we years of age. I found myself in a confused only about five minutes walking distance will publish them in one of the next issues! state on my arrival at the Hauptbahnhof. I from the Institute. One freezing after- came out of the gigantic edifice and to the noon, I planned going home as usual, but amazing sight of streams of speeding

33 Contacts

Website of the PhDnet: Secretary group: http://www.phdnet.mpg.de/ PhDnet Wiki: /wiki/index.php/Secretary_group PhDnet Wiki: Leader/Contact: http://www.phdnet.mpg.de/wiki/ Maike Trenkel ([email protected]) Spokesperson of the PhDnet Seminars Group: Melissa Beth Duhaime PhDnet Wiki: /wiki/index.php/Seminars_group ([email protected]) Leader/Contact: Ann Falk ([email protected]) Section representatives Humanities: Event Group: Ian FitzPatrick PhDnet Wiki: /wiki/index.php/Event_group ([email protected]) Leader/Contact: Chemical-Physical-Technical sciences: Anna Lena Keller ([email protected]) Ralitsa Angelova “Piled Higher and Deeper“ by Jorge Cham “Piled ([email protected]) Questionnaire Group: Bio-Medical sciences: PhDnet Wiki: /wiki/index.php/Questionnaire_group Sören Alsheimer Leader/Contact: ([email protected]) Sandra Krapf ([email protected]) Workgroups 2008 Offspring Group: Steering Group: PhDnet Wiki: /wiki/index.php/Offspring_group /wiki/index.php/Steering_Group Leader/Contact: Leader/Contact: Corinna Handschuh Melissa Beth Duhaime ([email protected]) ([email protected]) Alumni Group: Webgroup: PhDnet Wiki: /wiki/index.php/Alumni_group PhDnet Wiki: /wiki/index.php/Web_group Leader/Contact: Leader/Contact: Thomas Ditt [email protected]( ) www.phdcomics.com Thomas Kahle [email protected]( ) Meeting Group: PhDnet Wiki: /wiki/index.php/Meeting_group Leader/Contact: Annika Weseloh ([email protected])

35