Women’s Networking Retreat
In 2023, SFB1315 women established a “Women’s Networking Retreat” for PIs, PhDs and Postdocs to foster collaborations, networking and support women’s career development in the consortium.
During the first annual retreat in 2023, presentations by SFB1315 project leaders Livia de Hoz and Yee Lee Shing focused on mentorship of early career researchers, the importance of networking and raising awareness of unconscious bias. Project leader Marina Mikhaylova gave an impulse talk on “Decision-making, balancing risks, being in the right place at the right time”, while Marlies Knipper (Universitätsklinik Tübingen) discussed “Beyond Silence and Women’s Careers”.
Importantly, several group feedback sessions are devoted to supporting women develop their individual presentation skills.
In the wake of a successful meeting in 2023, the retreat was held again in 2024. Brenda Milner Award winners Marta Orlando (2022 winner), Alexandra Tzilivaki (2023 winner), Iryna Schommartz and Rosanna Sammons (2024 winners) and Lisa Scheunemann (2025 winner) planned and moderated the program with Associate PI Silvia Viana da Silva.
Marta Orlando launched the retreat by critically examining a recent Nature Neuroscience paper on the impacts of pregnancy on women’s brains. The retreat then gained momentum with several group sessions on presentation skills, as well as targeted talks: The Charité Research Grants Office gave an excellent overview of available funding programs, and project leader Petra Ritter gave an inspiring talk on the many intersections of unconscious bias with career trajectory. And last but not least, we introduced women to a graphic design expert (Studio Osterhoff) who will support their conceptualization in their project work and publications. Beyond the numerous benefits of the retreat for our SFB women, the whole consortium profits from women taking a closer looks at the quality of current measures and brainstorming new formats that can be tested in the near future.
