Third symposium was a great success

For the third time already, young natural scientists met with successful women from academia, pharmaceutical and chemical industry, and politics at the MPIbpc to exchange experiences and to discuss diverse career options. During the Women?s Careers and Networks Symposium on November 20th 2014, renowned scientists like Ann Kiessling of the Bedford Stem Cell Research Foundation and Maria Fitzgerald from University College London found encouraging words for a career in academia. Researchers like Carolin Borgmann
from Procter & Gamble motivated the attendees for a career in industry. Moreover, the speakers urged the participants to look at the bigger picture by getting involved in social and political issues. Further highly discussed topics included the compatibility of family and work in science as well as career paths outside the lab, for example in science communication. The very open atmosphere became obvious through the deep interest, enquiries, and discussions of the 180 participants.

Besides the talks, a career fair provided useful information on job opportunities in academia and industry and on support for women in science. The symposium ended with a networking dinner where the speakers met with a limited number of participants in order to deepen raised questions and discussions. The symposium was organized by PhD students of the Göttingen Graduate School for Neurosciences, Biophysics, and Molecular Biosciences (GGNB) and postdocs of the University of Göttingen, the Max Planck Institutes in Göttingen (MPIbpc, MPI-EM), and the European Neuroscience Institute.