Eument-net Expert Exchange:
Mentoring helps navigating fast-paced science
On December, 3, 2024 from 10:00 to 11:15 am (CET) eument-net invites
all interested parties to the expert exchange
Many researchers in untenured academic positions experience the tension between the drive for rapid, high-volume publishing and the need for thoughtful, in-depth research. In this talk we will discuss ways to support an academic culture that challenges the prevailing “publish-or-perish” paradigm and to foster a more welcoming and productive environment for researchers.
Beyond summarizing key developments of recent discussions, we will spotlight two unique perspectives. Insights will be shared into Anna Lena’s academic journey. Through participation in Kiel University’s mentoring programme via:mento specifically designed for women postdoctoral researchers, and through broader networking initiatives, she has found support and direction, enabling her to realign her work with her scientific values. This will be complemented by reflections on Ruth’s experiences as the coordinator of the mentoring programme, illustrating how mentoring initiatives can not only foster participants’ career development but also renew postdoctoral researchers’ commitment to scientific inquiry.
Keynotes and authors: Anna Lena Bercht and Ruth Kamm
Anna Lena Bercht is a human geographer with a background in psychology. She works in the Department of Geography at Kiel University and is an associate member of the Disaster Res
earch Unit at Freie University of Berlin. From 2015 to 2018, she was a visiting researcher at the Stockholm Resilience Centre (SRC) at Stockholm University. Her research lies at the intersection of geography and psychology focusing on human-environment relationships, climate justice and psychological barriers to behaviour change. Using qualitative research methods, she has conducted fieldwork in China, Norway and Germany. Her most recent funded research projects examine barriers to climate adaptation and explore effective climate communication strategies. Anna Lena is also a former mentee of the via:mento mentoring programme at Kiel University.

Ruth Kamm has been with Kiel University’s Central Office for Gender Equality, Equal Opportunity & Family since 2010, where she coordinates the mentoring programme via:mento for women postdocs pursuing their academic career after their doctorate. Before taking on the additional task of consulting the university’s collaborative research project consortia on their gender equality activities, she has been working for different collaborative project networks in the field of marine sciences in Kiel. Here, she has also dedicated herself to supporting women in non-tenured positions in their career development and advocating for more equality within the academic system. Ruth has a background in political sciences with a focus on higher education research.
The talk is based on the recent publication: Bercht, Anna Lena, Ruth Kamm (2024): How mentoring and a shift in mindset and practices can help navigate fast-paced science, in: ICES Journal of Marine Science, https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsae121
You are welcome to invite your interested colleagues to the meeting.
Dr. Daniela Vasilica Burghilă is the General Director in General Structure of Higher Education within Ministry of Education. She is also Associate Professor Dr. at University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest, Faculty of Land Reclamation and Environmental Engineering. She shas been previously General Director in Management of University Programs Structure and In University Titles Structure. Her research area is Environmental Engineering, Ecology, Sustainability and Land Reclamation.
Luminita Popescu is the State Secretary at Romanian Agency for Equal Opportunities between Women and Men, a specialized central public administration institution subordinated to the Ministry of Family, Youth, and Equality of Opportunities. The Agency is responsible for the elaboration, coordination and enforcement of governmental strategies and policies in the field of equal opportunities between women and men and in the prevention and combating of domestic violence and it aims to promote equal opportunities and treatment between women and men with a view to eliminating all types of sex-based discrimination and preventing and combating domestic violence, by implementing measures, policies and programmes tailored to the victims’ needs.
Prof. Dr. Eng. Remus Zagan is the President of Constanta Maritime University Senate. He is experienced professor with a demonstrated history of working in the higher education industry. He works in many national and international research projects as researcher or project manager. He is skilled in Cyber Security, Analytical Skills, Computer Science and Computer-Aided Design (CAD). He has strong education professional with a higher focused in Industrial Engineering from Polytechnic Institute „Gheorghe Asachi“ from Iasi. He was expert researcher in the project “E-Maritime Medicine for seafarers’ students and seamanship physicians, a part of the International Association of Maritime Universities’ Capacity Building Project. He was also expert in projects of internationalization, employment of students on labour market and entrepreneurship in South East region.
Dagmar Höppel holds a degree in economics and a Ph.D. in Social Science. She was the head of the Office of the Conference for Gender Equality in Higher Education (LaKoG) for the State of Baden-Württemberg at the University of Stuttgart, Germany. Since 1996 she is active in several regional and national committees for equality in higher education. She developed the concept for several (funding) programs that support women in higher education, which were implemented by the Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts in Baden-Württemberg. MuT-Mentoring and Training – her Mentoring-Program – was founding-member in the EU-funded Eument-Net-Project and also founding member of Eument-Net-Association. She is still active in diffent boards and associations.
mber of the eument-net Executive Board
Alexandru Dinu is Project Expert at The Executive Agency for Higher Education, Research and Innovation Funding (UEFISCDI), a public body of the Central Administration under the ultimate authority of the Ministry of National Education (MEN) in Romania. The mission of UEFISCDI is to promote quality and leadership for higher education,research, development and innovation.
is the President of the National Council for Combating Discrimination from Romania since 2002 where he takes care of the legal representation of the Council, analyzes petitions and complaints and adopts the necessary measures. He is a Hungarian lawyer and politician from Romania in the position of State Counsellor in Vice Prime Minister’s Cabinet in Romanian Government dealing with legal advice, prevention and combating discrimination and protection of national minorities. He has a PhD title of Doctor in the legal regime of citizenship in public international law at University of Bucharest, Faculty of Law.