Exciting lectures and discussions with over 100 participants at the international "Women in Science Network" conference

Organisers with Prorector for Research Prof. Dr. Monika Stoll and Mayor Wendela Beate Vilhjalmsson. From left to right: Jieny Gröper, Sabine Blaß-Kampmann, Sophia Koerdt, Wendela Beate Vilhjalmsson, Ursula Rescher, Monika Stoll, Karin Loser © WWU / Photo: M. Thomas

From 26 - 27 November 2018, the international "Women in Science Network Conference" took place at the Max Planck Institute in Münster. The scientists met to discuss careers within and outside science and to share their current research. The conference took place in this form for the first time.

Among the invited speakers was this year's winner of the Deutscher Zukunftspreis, the German President’s Award for Innovation in Science and Technology, Prof. Helga Rübsamen-Schaeff. The outstanding chemist and expert on infectious diseases gave a very impressive presentation on the opportunities and risks of starting up a business by herself. Other role model speakers gave deep and personal insights into their career paths on the way to becoming a professor. A central topic was the reconciliation of work and family: These challenges of an incipient career and a young family were addressed by Dr. Elisabeth Leehr, Dept. of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, UKM, a young scientist and winner of the For Women in Science  scholarship sponsored by the Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard Foundation together with the German UNESCO Commission and L'Oréal Germany. Prof. Ursula Nelles, former Rector of the WWU and dedicated advocate for the opportunities of women in science, stressed the importance of such events and reported in detail on the founding and the work of the organization "European Women Rectors Association" (EWORA)

Of course, excellent science was not neglected, however, but always keeping in mind the personal careers. More than 100 participants gathered at the conference, where the focus was placed on on career planning, career options and interdisciplinary networking. The conference was organized and supported by the Medical Faculty and several DFG Collaborative Research Centers. High-ranking specialist lectures and poster presentations from the fields of medicine and life sciences were part of the agenda. The participants were welcomed in Münster by the Prorector for Research Prof. Monika Stoll and Mayor Wendela-Beate Vilhjalmsson.

Prof. Karin Loser and Prof. Ursula Rescher from the organizing committee stated at the beginning of the meeting "As established female scientists, we would like to offer talented young female scientists, a special platform for networking and to exchange ideas. In order to invite high-ranking international speakers, we requested support from several DFG Collaborative Research Centers (CRC) and research networks in Germany. Now the conference is fully booked and thanks to this network, we were able to realize this meeting by means of pooling so-called gender funds”.

Pooling of so-called gender-funds is means to bundle finances available under DFG-funded projects in order to realize larger measures.

The Dean of Research of the Medical Faculty Prof. Sven Meuth and his colleagues from two of the participating CRCs, Prof. Christian Klämbt and Prof. Johannes Roth along with the coordinator of the Cluster of Excellence Cells in Motion, Prof. Volker Gerke and the IZKF chairman Prof. Stephan Ludwig emphasized, "The conference plays a very important role for Münster and the closely interlinked fields of medicine and life sciences. We are proud that our colleagues have implemented this cross-site initiative and have proven that we are not only dedicated to this current topic with words but also deeds."