Die Workshops im Überblick

Workshop Description:

The human-made climate crisis is undoubtedly the major global challenge of our time. While scientific discoveries play a crucial role in mitigating the effects of the climate crisis, research itself is also energy- and resource-intensive and thereby drives its progression. Daily routine operations like the use of single-use plastics or high-throughput computing as well as travelling to conferences contribute to a significantly higher environmental footprint of researchers compared to other professions.

This workshop will introduce the opportunities and challenges of transforming laboratory-based research towards sustainability by offering simple actions and solutions that every lab researcher can integrate into their day-to-day work routines and will highlight programs by the non-profit organization My Green Lab that e.g. led to Svenja’s workplace becoming certified as the first green lab in Germany. Therein, this workshop will open a discussion platform about your personal experiences and to connect to like-minded people.

Biography:

Svenja Bolz is a neuroscientist with many years of experience in academic research and for her PhD, she specialized on the molecular mechanism of the endocytic machinery whose understanding is crucial to her to drive pharmaceutical interventions for neurodegenerative diseases. Around the world, she noticed labs being fundamental to good health and well-being for humankind albeit belonging to the most resource-intensive spaces and this pivotal conflict empowers her actions for sustainability. She co-founded an initiative for sustainability in laboratories at her local institute with which she implemented many green lab practices for reduction, reuse, recycling and re-education and as a My Green Lab ambassador creates a growing culture of sustainability. My Green Lab rewarded the efforts with the first certification as a “green” laboratory in Germany and to sustain change throughout generations, Svenja launched a project in the biggest student initiative for life sciences in Germany, the btS e.V. to promote visibility and exchange on the most pressing issue.

Day & Time: Workshop round 1, Thursday 13th October, 10:45-12:15

Workshop Description:

Knowing the carbon footprint of our activities is a mandatory first step towards the imperative of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This concerns us as individuals but also our working environments. After some remarks on the root cause of climate change, I will explain the fundamentals of carbon footprint assessments which we then will put immediately into practice by assessing our own individual carbon footprints. Based on these assessments, we will discuss possibilities of reducing individual greenhouse gas emissions. I will then turn to the carbon footprint of working environments by taking the example of astronomy. I will in particular focus on the carbon footprint of constructing and operating astronomical observatories which is the most significant contributor to the greenhouse gas emissions of astronomical research. I will discuss actions that will reduce the carbon footprint of astronomy, and conclude with a summary on the system changes that are required to make scientific research sustainable. 

Biography:

Jürgen is a CNRS Research Director working at the Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (IRAP) in Toulouse, France. Besides doing research in the field of high-energy astrophysics he also works on sustainability issues related to astronomical research. He is member of the French "Labos 1point5" initiative, and is heading since recently the "Office for Environmental Footprint Reduction" of the "Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory". 

Day & Time: Workshop round 1, Thursday 13th October, 10:45-12:15

Workshop Description:

• Welcome and introduction  
• Keynote 1: Development of the MDC concept  
• Guideline for sustainability management in non-university research organizations  
• Where we want to go 
• How we are developing the MDC sustainable   
• Fields of action  
• Group work: development of concrete goals for the fields of action organizational development, research, human resources, building and infrastructure, and supporting processes  
• Presentation and short discussion of the results  
• Keynote 2: Example of goals and measures from MDC 
• Discussion

Biography:

Michael Hinz has been working as Sustainability Coordinator at the Max-Delbrück-Center Berlin (MDC) since 2020. Together with the directorate and numerous representatives from science and administration he has developed a sustainability concept based on the UN Agenda 2030 and the so-called LeNa guideline (Guideline for sustainability management in non-university research organizations). The MDC wants to drive sustainable development in the areas of organizational development, research, personnel, construction and infrastructure, and supporting processes and make work at the MDC greenhouse gas neutral by 2038. Michael Hinz holds a PhD in biology and has been working at the MDC as Postdoc and Scientific manager in Cancer Research.  

Day & Time: Workshop round 1, Thursday 13th October, 10:45-12:15

Workshop Description:

In this interactive lecture we will

• calculate our own CO₂ emissions of attending in person conferences,
• learn about ways to estimate the overall carbon footprint of academic conferences using the example of a major European conference in Political Science,
• compare these numbers (in absolute terms as well as per capita) with average emissions in different countries, and
• discuss options to minimize these emissions (online/hybrid variants) while maintaining the core goals of academic conferences. 

Biography: 

Sebastian Jäckle is a researcher at the Department of Political Science, University of Freiburg, Germany. His work centres on political sociology, appearance effects in elections, geographical analyses and attitudes in transnational comparison. He authored various textbook articles on multilevel analysis, survival analysis, sequence analysis and other statistical approaches. Within his discipline and beyond he tries to raise awareness regarding the greenhouse gas emissions of nowadays conference business and academic mobility in general by revealing the carbon footprint of scientific conferences. He also enjoys cycling, not only but also to conferences.

https://sebastianjaeckle.de/

Day & Time: Workshop round 1, Thursday 13th October, 10:45-12:15

Workshop Description:

Is it realistic for me to pursue a career as a junior scientist? After finishing the doctorate short-term contracts in varying countries with low salary and challening working conditions are normal. So, is it sustainable to stay in science because I have been only in science till now? How can leave this potential sunk cost fallacy? In this highly interactive workshop, we will find answers for these burning questions.

Biography:

Dr. Alexander Schiller is a habilitated chemist and works now as trainer, coach and facilitator for scientists and physiscians. His company, Schiller & Mertens, has trained over 11 000 scientists worldwide in hundreds of seminars, coachings, consultings and lectures since 2011. Dr. Schiller’s experience as researcher and group leader enables him to focus on the real needs of scientists. Moreover, he uses examples from everyday life in research. From his courses given so far, graduate students, postdocs, junior group leaders, lecturers, professors, and directors feedback that they can directly apply in everyday life what they learned in his workshops.

Day & Time: Workshop round 2, Thursday 13th October, 14:40-16:10

Workshop Description:

Description: The urgent need to take action against the climate crisis also requires academic institutions and the scientific community to think about their contribution in mitigating climate change and become more sustainable. Current concepts of sustainability suggest that organisations define value creation along three dimensions: social, ecological, and economic. In this workshop, we will specifically focus on economic sustainability and its role for academic institutions and address the challenges and opportunities for ECRs that may arise from academia's transition towards sustainability.

Biography:

Dr. Nina Marsh is Head of the staff unit Internal Audit & Sustainability Management at the Alexander von Humboldt-Foundation (AvH). As of 2022, she is responsible for implementing the Foundations Sustainability Agenda in which promoting climate sustainability is and will be a central field of action. Nina has more than 10 years of expertise in the field of sustainability. In 2018, she received her PhD in Social Neuroscience from the University of Bonn, Germany. Her research in the Neuromodulation of Emotion (NEMO) Lab at the University of Oldenburg focusses on investigating the neurobiology of human altruism and how global crises influence our social brain. For her project “The neurobiology of social interaction in the age of digitalization (NerDI)” she received funding from the DFG as a first-time applicant in 2021 and became PI of the project. Nina also holds an MBA with a focus on sustainability management from the FOM University (Germany) and was a trainee at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) during her studies. 

Day & Time: Workshop round 2, Thursday 13th October, 14:40-16:10

Workshop Description:

This session introduces the participants to visible and less-visible inequality and discrimination; understanding the political, social and economic contexts of sexism and patriarchy.  We will use this understanding to locate academic institutions, academic careers, research and researchers within these structures, highlighting the intersectional gaps and barriers that women, and others face.  We will collectively explore opportunities and possibilities to challenge the systems, to engage in the equality debate and be a part of the change that will lead to better research, better research institutions and better career experiences.  

This is a stand-alone session, but would benefit from participation in both workshops. 

Biography:

Day & Time: Workshop round 2, Thursday 13th October, 14:40-16:10

Workshop Description:

The first steps to getting to know a new city and its academic landscape might not always be evident. In this workshop, we will explore together a few tools to better situate in Berlin and the Universities here. We will also hear a bit about the experience of Ph.D. candidates in the city, so we can learn from them.

Biography: I am a Ph.D. candidate at the Humbolt University of Berlin in Sociology and my work mostly focuses on xenophobia and language learning. I am also the elected president of the Hu-Docs, which is a network of Ph.D. candidates. 

Day & Time: Workshop round 3, Friday 14th October, 10:45-12:15

Workshop Description:

This is an interactive workshop that aims to inform the participants about the status-quo of the mental health of early career researchers and to provide practical tools for mental well-being. The participants will engage in group exercises to reflect on the status of their mindset, define their vision and recourses, and get in touch with their core beliefs. The workshop also offers tools to challenge negative beliefs commonly described as imposter syndrome.

Scholar Minds:

We at Scholar Minds strive to ensure the mental health of Berlin’s early career researchers by improving the status-quo on an individual and institutional level. Pursuing a PhD is an adventure: Ideally, students get to follow their personal interests and gain profound knowledge of their field. However, this time can also be emotionally and physically demanding. We empower early career researchers (ECRs) by creating awareness about and destigmatizing mental health problems.

Day & Time: Workshop round 3, Friday 14th October, 10:45-12:15

Workshop Description:

Students, trainees, and team members want to be able to have frank conversations with their mentors and team leaders but are not empowered to initiate them. Dragonfly Mental Health's "Managing Upwards: Optimizing Student-Supervisor Communication to Support Wellbeing" is a two-hour, interactive workshop that will introduce you to tried and true strategies and techniques that will improve your ability to set expectations, establish and renegotiate healthy boundaries, and anticipate and address issues that arise. Small group practice sessions help you integrate these skills and make them immediately usable in the real world.  

Biography:

Wendy Marie Ingram, PhD is the Chief Executive Officer of Dragonfly Mental Health, a global nonprofit dedicated to cultivating excellent mental health among academics worldwide. She has nearly 10 years of experience consulting for digital mental health companies that aim to improve access and accuracy of mental health services. Her unique path allows her to seamlessly blend her expertise and knowledge from research, industry, and nonprofit sectors in ground-breaking ways to improve mental health literacy, culture, intervention, and implementation.  

Day & Time: Workshop round 3, Friday 14th, 10:45-12:15

Workshop description:

Imposter experience describes high-achieving individuals who, despite their objective successes, fail to internalize their accomplishments and have persistent self-doubt and fear of being exposed as a fraud or imposter. It may be accompanied by depression, anxiety, and self-sabotaging behaviors. “Imposter Phenomenon” is a 1-hour seminar and facilitated discussion which delivers the basics of imposter phenomenon symptoms, background, and managing option.  

Biography:

Dr. Olya Vvedenskaya is the co-founder of Dragonfly Mental Health. Olya studied medicine specializing in medical biophysics in Moscow and worked on her MD thesis devoted to traumatic brain injury and mass spectrometry in the University of Pittsburgh, USA. She further did her PhD in Berlin, Germany working on multi-omics approach to research of liver cancer and pre-cancerous conditions. She continued her work in translational medicine and mass spectrometry in Dresden, working as a postdoc in MPI-CBG, and further moved to mass spectrometry industry. Additionally, to her main job as a scientific communication officer, Olya devotes her time to academic mental health advocacy.  

Day & Time: Workshop round 3, Friday 14th, 10:45-12:15

Workshop Description:

Moving from one short-time job to the next, we repeatedly need to find a new social network and new friends, get to know a new administration, and adapt our relationships and families to this. Unclear career paths, lack of mentoring and high competition only exacerbates stress and exhaustion. Can academia be mentally sustainable for the people living in it? Yes, we just have to prioritize. In this workshop, we will prioritize with smart choices in life. Why? Because we have only one life!

Biography: 

Dr. Alexander Schiller is a habilitated chemist and works now as trainer, coach and facilitator for scientists and physiscians. His company, Schiller & Mertens, has trained over 11 000 scientists worldwide in hundreds of seminars, coachings, consultings and lectures since 2011. Dr. Schiller’s experience as researcher and group leader enables him to focus on the real needs of scientists. Moreover, he uses examples from everyday life in research. From his courses given so far, graduate students, postdocs, junior group leaders, lecturers, professors, and directors feedback that they can directly apply in everyday life what they learned in his workshops.

Day & Time: Workshop round 3, Friday 14th, 10:45-12:15

Workshop Description:

The doctoral phase is a very stressful time. Breath is an incredible tool to manage stress and regulate the body. In this workshop, we will not only discuss the connection of breath and nervous system, but also practice different breathing techniques, known as pranayama in yoga, that can be useful in all kinds of scenarios. No yoga experience necessary - all levels are welcome.  

Biography:

As both a dietician and a yoga teacher, I like to teach and live a holistic approach to health that is sustainable, non-discriminative and intuitive. My main goal is to help people heal their relationship with food and their body while feeling great in their skin as they do so.  

Day & Time: Workshop round 3, Friday 14th, 10:45-12:15

Workshop Description:

This will be a participatory session where participants will be encouraged to think about (and perhaps share) their personal experiences of inequality or discrimination in the workplace.  We will briefly consider a timeline of gender inequality in order to understand the enormity of the impact as well as review tools and strategies to manage these inequalities on a day-to-day and longer-term basis.  We will discuss the mental load as well as strategies for challenging bias.  We will consider the barriers to achieving a work-life balance and what we can do to overcome these barriers, while looking after ourselves, in a sustainable way.  

This is a stand-alone session, but would benefit from participation in both workshops.

Day & Time: Workshop round 3, Friday 14th, 10:45-12:15