How to brew IDEAS™

I was lucky enough to present our JuWinHPC network at the conference Innovativ - Exzellent - Sichtbar in Berlin, organized by the Metavorhaben Innovative Frauen im Fokus. After two incredibly intense days, I'm now trying to sort through my thoughts—and honestly, it's not easy. I got so much input: from brilliant presentations to inspiring coffee-break conversations with so many bright women, that it was inevitable, I got IDEAS™.

Trying to summarize my personal highlights:

• Dr. Ralitsa Petrova-Stoyanov & Kati Korst from RWTH Aachen spoke about, among other things, the campaign Not A Token Woman from RWTH Aachen. I had seen it on LinkedIn before—bold, brave, and something I really liked. It was fascinating to learn about the ideas and efforts behind it.
• Prof. Dr. Amy Siu & Mechthild Scott gave a humorous, open, and honest talk about their efforts to promote diversity at Berliner Hochschule für Technik. I also got to learn about the TUMO learning program—really interesting!
• Herna Munoz-Galeano from PGXperts GmbH is exactly what I imagine when I think of a power woman. Wow—just wow. As a founder and director, she shared the challenges she faced and how she successfully overcame them.
• Dr. Katja Knuth-Herzig (ZWM Speyer) & Dr. Julia Rathke (IU Internationale Hochschule) led the SPARK workshop: Do it your way – Entwicklung einer authentischen Sichtbarkeitsstrategie für Wissenschaftlerinnen (Do it your way – Development of an authentic visibility strategy for female scientists).
• Christian Berg from Stiftung AllBright gave a highly entertaining and informative presentation: Wenn der Chef immer Thomas heißt – (mehr) Diversität und Diversity Management für Unternehmenserfolg (When the boss is always called Thomas – (more) diversity and diversity management for corporate success). I had to laugh because, well, my boss is called Thomas—and so is my boss’s boss! But beyond that, I found their short yet powerful key message slides incredibly insightful. They addressed what individuals—women, men, HR professionals, team supervisors—can do to foster equal opportunities in the workplace.
• The final keynote by Eliza Reid—Icelandic-Canadian author, women's rights advocate, and former First Lady of Iceland—was simply amazing. Secrets of the Sprakkar (Extraordinary Women)—how Iceland is closing its gender gap. Everything I could say is going to fall short, so better just google her.

Due to logistics (aka cannot stay away from my family more than the necessary during business trips because kids) I sadly had to miss the opening keynote by astronaut Dr. Insa Thiele-Eich and judging by the comments I heard it seems I really missed something :_( But well, one cannot have it all, and the part I could attend was amazing.

As for my IDEAS™—they still need some time to cook. But stay tuned, because something is definitely brewing!

Photos copyright © William Veder