Panel Discussion | Postdocs in Germany: Challenges, Opportunities, and Perspectives

This event was supposed to take place during the PAW week but had to be postponed. Join us now on October 23rd 3.30-4.30 pm. via Zoom. If you already registered for this event, you do not need to register again.

During the last years, the situation and challenges postdocs in Germany face have been widely discussed and received widespread attention. Particularly in the ongoing conversation regarding the Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz, there have been several pressing conversations about what is “best” for German academia and postdoctoral researchers in general. However, international postdocs and German postdoc networks have hardly been heard and taken into consideration.

This panel will bring together international postdocs and representatives of different established Postdoc Networks in Germany and the Parliamentary Secretary of the BMBF Dr. Jens Brandenburg to discuss several pressing topics: defining the roles of postdocs in the current academic system, the issues facing international postdocs, the career and life aspirations of postdocs, and constructing effective solutions to improve the situation of all postdocs in Germany.

Dr. Nicholas Russell

Dr. Nicholas Russell is a postdoctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research in Cologne, utilizing mathematical and experimental techniques to investigate cell differentiation in Arabidopsis thaliana leaves. Nick has been the General Secretary of the Max Planck PostdocNet since 2021 and has been the group leader for the Survey Working Group of the PostdocNet, gaining valuable data on postdocs at the Max Planck to understand their needs.

Dr. Christian Nehls

Dr. Christian Nehls is a postdoctoral researcher at the Division of Biophysics at the Research Center Borstel - Leibniz Lung Center (FZB), which is part of the Leibniz Association. He is investigating the role of biomembranes in the context of bacterial infections, with the aim of contributing to the fight against antimicrobial resistance. Christian is spokesperson of the Postdoc Initiative at the FZB since 2019 and member of the steering committee of the Leibniz PostDoc Network as coordinator of the working group “public communication and advocacy” since 2020.

Dr. Giovanna Diletta Ielacqua

Dr. Giovanna Diletta Ielacqua is a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Animal Phenotyping at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) in Berlin, which is part of the Helmholtz Association, and she is a leading member of the MDC Postdoc Association.

Dr. Aysel Sultan

Dr. Aysel Sultan is lecturer at the department of Science, Technology and Society at the Technical University of Munich. She has a background in the sociology of health and illness and educational science and a keen interest in the application of Science and Technology Studies approaches in public health, treatment and healthcare policies. She completed her academic degrees in Azerbaijan, Lithuania and Germany. Lately, Aysel has been working on the use of technologies especially smartphones and social media to understand how children and young people experience digital communication and build knowledge around health, harm and safety”. Aysel is a Board Member of the Munich Postdoc Network.

Dr. Jens Brandenburg

Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister of Education and Research (BMBF)

Dr. Neele Meyer

Helmholtz Munich

Postdoc Coordinator, Scientific Talent and Career Development

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Panel Discussion | Postdocs in Germany: Challenges, Opportunities, and Perspectives

Postdocs, doctoral researchers, science managers