What's your research about?
Early career scientists in Research Division 1 gather to share their experiences
Networking among early career scientists (ECSs) on an international level is commonly promoted through conferences, workshops, and projects. These events tend to foster exchange between GEOMAR researchers and external research groups. But how does that work within our institute? Within individual research groups ECSs communicate and help each other on a daily basis, but when considering the communication across different research teams within the same division, that are even spatially separated, communication should improve!
Therefore, the ECSs of Research Division 1 (Ocean Modelling and Climate Dynamics) came together at a one-day meeting at GEOMAR.
„RD1 comprises a broad spectrum of scientific topics: atmospheric processes in the Marine Meteorology group, ocean observations in the Physical Oceanography group, the history of climate in the Paleo-Oceanography group and climate and ocean modelling in the Theory and Modeling group“, says Dr. Annika Reintges, one of the meeting’s organizers. „We can learn a lot from each other in scientific discussions, but also exchange information on methods and procedures“, Reintges continues. Sharing experiences on how to tackle difficult tasks, as well as exchanging relevant publications and information about upcoming workshops or conferences can effectively simplify and even improve the scientific output of individuals and groups. In addition, improving the communication among researchers could also prevent potential conflicts arising from working parallel on similar topics.
„Furthermore, we often face similar issues with, for example, writing papers and proposals, career planning, and technical or administrative work“, comments Dr. Gereon Gollan from the Theory and Modelling group.
These were enough reasons for a group of ECSs to gather and improve the networking within their division. „We collected information on the scientific work within the different research groups in the form of a catalogue and now offer new channels for a quick and more informal exchange of information. Last but not least we have organized a first meeting bringing together ECSs from all four research units of RD1“, says Sabine Haase, a PhD candidate in the Marine Meteorology group.
This meeting took place on the 10th of July 2018 with more than 30 young researchers attending at the east shore campus of GEOMAR. During the morning session, representatives from the PhD (ISOS) and Post-Doc (IMAP) networks of the “The Future Ocean” Cluster of Excellence introduced their networks and what they offer. After that, representative speakers from the different working groups presented the research fields and methods commonly used within their groups and introduced their colleagues’ specific topics and methods. This session revealed that the ECSs of FB1 cover a surprisingly diverse mix of topics, but have also a great potential for mutual support and collaboration. In the afternoon, smaller break-out groups discussed current topics, such as “advertising your work”, “data reproducibility and accessibility” or “dealing with political and societal impacts of your research”. The results of these discussions were later summarized and will be shared among all participating ECSs as a first step for improvement.
Last on the agenda was a much appreciated social event which, during quiz, Viking chess and barbecue, fostered further discussions on some of the topics covered during the day as well as on how the network should continue.
„We will communicate the results from the ECS meeting to the PIs of FB1 and to the data management group“, says Annika Reintges. The new solutions for better communication and networking include a mailing list, an online messaging tool, and a catalogue of topics and methods accessible through the GEOMAR network. This will be actively advertised, especially, to new colleagues joining the working groups. „We think that the ECS meeting has been a great start and are confident that the initiative will grow further and result in regular ECSs meetings in the future“, concludes Dr. Reintges.
