New HPI PhD representatives
Irke Waßmann and Dominik Lonken have been the new HPI PhD representatives. Irke Waßmann has held the position before, Dominik Lonken takes over from Sébastien Brias.
Irke Waßmann is doing her PhD in the "Virus-Host-Interaction" research department of Prof. Wolfram Brune. Dominik Lonken is a PhD student in the research department "Virus Immunology" of Prof. Marcus Altfeld. The PhD representatives are elected annually by the PhD students of the HPI. In a short interview, Irke and Dominik report why they applied for this position and what they want to achieve in their office:
Dominik, what motivated you to become PhD representative at the HPI?
Dominik: My key motivation is to enhance communication between the PhDs between the different labs as well as to help new PhDs to orient themselves in their new environment. Furthermore, I am keen to dive into the organisational site of running a research institution.
Irke, you have decided to continue your time as PhD representative. What did you take away from your last term of office or what do you remember most about it?
Irke: My highlight last year was working in close cooperation with the Postdoc representatives. Through this, I learned a lot about organizing different events and was able to make many new contacts within the HPI, but also to researchers of other institutes. Furthermore, we were able to organize a successful Career Day for everyone, despite the difficult pandemic situation.
What are your plans for your time as PhD representatives?
Irke & Dominik: Since the COVID-19 pandemic is still the most pressing and challenging issue in our private and work-related lives, we aim to tackle it with priority. Therefore, we want to reconnect PhD students within the different departments as well as the board of directors and council of the HPI. We will work on this with social events - especially in the form of personal meetings, as far as COVID conditions allow. Finally, we also want to continue the work of the previous PhD representatives and facilitate the integration of new PhD students, as we believe that quickly creating interactions with other students is critical for a successful PhD and a career in science.
The HPI would like to thank the current and former PhD representatives for their commitment!
