President Elect and Secretary General Visit the Institute
On 25 April 2023, Prof. Patrick Cramer, President-designate of the Max Planck Society, accompanied by Dr Simone Schwanitz, Secretary General, and Dr Sabine Gieszinger, Institute Supervisor, visited our Institute.
Prof. Patrick Cramer will take over his new post from Prof. Martin Stratmann in June 2023 in Göttingen, the founding site of the Max Planck Society. Until then, Cramer, himself a director at the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, would like to have visited all 85 institutes of the Max Planck Society.
In his speech, he professed himself impressed by the thematic diversity of research he had experienced during his visits to the institutes so far. The central theme of his talk was the question of what common goal we pursue as a research community and how we can achieve it. Cramer revealed three core values as pointing the way under his presidency, based on the so-called "Harnack Principle", the structural statutes of the Max Planck Society.
 |
| From left to right: Thomas Dzionsko, Prof. Patrick Cramer, Prof. Wolfgang Schön |
First, Cramer spoke about scientific excellence. In this area, he said, it was important to lead by example. But in order to "bring new knowledge into the world for the benefit of all", excellent research performance alone was not enough. In order to open up uncharted territory, i.e. innovative research areas, outstanding research personalities were always necessary. Recruiting them and giving them the space and time they need for their development was crucial to being able to develop completely new research areas, Cramer said. As a third value, Patrick Cramer named the "community spirit". Especially after Corona, he said, it was important to reconnect, to be open, to learn from each other, to build a vibrant network and to promote the community spirit proactively.
 |
| Dr. Simone Schwanitz giving her speech |
Dr Simone Schwanitz, who took over as head of the MPG General Administration in February 2022, explained how the Max Planck Society is committed to excellent framework conditions and scientific freedom on the administrative side. Therefore, she encouraged us to contact her directly with questions and issues.
In the question and answer session that followed, we discussed networking opportunities and the exchange between the institutes and within the research community, as well as the support for individual researchers and career paths.
During the reception that followed, three scientists presented selected research highlights to our guests.
The individual discussions with the directors Prof. Konrad and Prof. Schön as well as a short round of talks with the Equal Opportunities Officer, scientific staff and IT provided an opportunity for exchange and allowed the designated President, the Secretary General and the Institute Supervisor to gain in-depth insights into the work of our interdisciplinary Institute.
 |  |
| Q&A with Prof. Cramer | Dr. Raisa Sherif presents her work |
More information:
Patrick Cramer appointed new President-elect of the Max Planck Society as of June 2023 (mpg.de)
May 2023