We provide support where FZ Jülich cannot do so easily
Friends and supporters are essential – this applies not only to private individuals, but also to research institutions such as FZ Jülich. The non-profit association ‘Friends and Supporters of Forschungszentrum Jülich e.V.’ already has this friendship in its name. Prof. Dr. Hans Ströher, former head of the Institute of Nuclear Physics, former WTR chairman and now president of the association, Vice-President Karl Sobotta, who ran the FZ Jülich school laboratory for several years, and Secretary Dr. Arnd Jürgen Kuhn from the Institute of Bio- and Geosciences explain exactly how this friendship works and what the support looks like in everyday life.
What do you see as the role of the association – how does the friendship and support of the FZ Jülich manifest itself?
Ströher: We support the research centre in areas where, for formal reasons, it can only operate to a limited extent or not at all. When the three of us were considering the focus of the association at the beginning of our joint term on the board, we identified a welcoming culture as one of our priorities. Many national and international students and guests work at Forschungszentrum Jülich, and they often find it difficult to settle into a foreign culture. We therefore want to help create an atmosphere in which foreign guests feel at home, both inside and outside the research centre.
Sobotta: The second focus we have set is on bringing science and society together, i.e. in public relations. Our aim is to work with corporate communications to transfer generally understandable knowledge to society and enable people from outside to take a look inside the research centre.
Ströher: In doing so, we want to make it clear, for example, what science achieves and where its limits lie, in particular that knowledge and science are falsifiable – something that has become particularly clear during the coronavirus pandemic. This means that knowledge can only be generated on the basis of the available facts. If these change, the scientific statements based on them usually change as well. Here, too, we would like to provide more clarification.
Can you give us a few specific examples of the association's work?
Kuhn: There is a doctoral student football tournament at the Jülich Research Centre, which is organised by doctoral students. One of the organisers of the first tournament after the coronavirus break contacted us and asked us for a default guarantee: he wanted to buy food and drinks, but if the weather was bad, he would have been left with hundreds of sausages – and that on a low doctoral student's salary. We were able to respond very quickly and take on this guarantee. In the end, the weather was great, the tournament was a success, and we didn't have to spend any money. Another example is science communication: since hardly anyone reads websites anymore, we asked ourselves how doctoral students could present their research in an exciting way in the form of a short social media film – supported by U-K and an editor from SWR. As a non-profit association, we were able to commission this editor directly without having to go through a lengthy tendering process. Nevertheless, everything is of course monitored, for example, the dual control principle applies to bank transfers. Overall, there are good safeguards in place to ensure that we do not abuse the freedom we have.
Sobotta: Presenting research work on social media has two aspects: on the one hand, the results from the research environment should be communicated to society; on the other hand, it is essential for doctoral students to learn how to present their research to outsiders in a concise and understandable way. Nowadays, it is incredibly important to sell what you do properly.
Kuhn: In addition to initiatives that we launch ourselves as an association, we also receive requests, for example from ‘Jugend forscht’ (Youth Research), the Physics Olympiad or the student symposium at the Science College in Overbach. We discuss these and support them if they are positively evaluated. Although we cannot invest huge sums of money, we can help to get things off the ground quickly and unbureaucratically and then look for allies.
How long have you three known each other? How long have you been working together at the association?
Sobotta: As you can see, the three of us are very much on the same wavelength, and we have known each other for quite some time. I think it is very important that we are all pulling in the same direction.
Ströher: On a scientific level, I have known Karl Sobotta since 1998 from the IKP. I met Arnd Kuhn, who was elected employee representative on the Supervisory Board of the Research Centre, in 2010 when I became Deputy Chairman of the Scientific and Technical Council. We have been in close contact ever since. The three of us have been working together as the association's Executive Board for six months. Among other things, we value flat structures – after all, we hold our positions on the Executive Board voluntarily and on an honorary basis. We don't want to build up a large overhead, but instead maintain good contact with our members. Kuhn: We also have good contact with the Executive Board of the Research Centre: we can only achieve our goals in close cooperation with the management. We are therefore very pleased to have Prof. Dr. Astrid Lambrecht, Chair of the Executive Board of Forschungszentrum Jülich, as an assessor in the association. Axel Fuchs, Mayor of Jülich, is also an advisor, and Uwe Willner, Chairman of the Board of Sparkasse Düren, serves as the association's treasurer. Since Sparkasse has been supporting us for several years with the Christian Wandrey Prize, we have not had to dip into our start-up capital – otherwise it would have been used up in a few years. We are very grateful for this!
What are your future plans for the association? Where do you see it heading in the next few years?
Kuhn: Firstly, we want to promote a welcoming culture – even though the atmosphere at the FZJ and in Jülich as a whole is very positive. We see room for improvement at get-togethers and events designed to help people get to know each other, such as parties. Another thing: we want to give our members the opportunity to exchange ideas with the board, for example at the annual general meetings, where Ms Lambrecht and Mr Jansens, among others, reported on the Research Centre. In addition, we organise active events and colloquia for our members, such as a guided tour of the IBG-2 agri-photovoltaic plant (plant sciences) this year.
Sobotta: We are also working on attracting more active members, especially those who still work at the research centre. After all, we don't want to be a pensioners' club. It would also be nice if people from Jülich and the surrounding area would join the association because they recognise the importance of the research centre for the Jülich area. We also expressly invite our members to get actively involved.
Kuhn: To this end, we will revamp our website and be active on the Day of Curiosity and at the Jülich City Festival.
Ströher: After all, many people at the research centre and in Jülich don't even know we exist. We want to change that!