GRADE - Die (Post-)Graduiertenakademie der Goethe-Universität

06. Juni 2023 | 16:00 | online

Dr. Arildo Dias is an ecologist and current Biodiversity Team Lead at the startup Single.Earth. I studied Biology and hold a Ph.D. in Plant Biology at Campinas State University (Brazil). My main research experience is at the interface of biodiversity and ecosystem services monitoring focused on the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. I have had the opportunity to work as a lecturer and postdoc researcher in different institutions in Brazil and the Netherlands.

For family reasons, I have to move to Germany, and throughout three years, including the Covid pandemic in between, I found it quite difficult to get a job in academia. After so many rejections for postdoc positions, I decided to explore a path outside of academia. In this talk, I will provide a mix of information about my career path and also share insights into key skills (e.g., problem-solving, and project management) that we normally don’t pay attention to developing in large part because publication-driven science dominates academia, but that are general and essential skills for the job market outside academia.

Registration link

12. July 2023 | 16:00 | online

Lisa Zimmermann studied biological sciences with a focus on ecotoxicology at the University of Konstanz. After working as a project manager at Oro Verde – Tropical Forest Foundation in Germany and Guatemala and a couple of positions outside science and biology, she turned to research again. She did her PhD as part of the inter- and transdisciplinary project PlastX based at the Institute for Social-Ecological Research in Frankfurt am Main and with the aim to explore the role of plastics in our society and their impacts on the environment. In her laboratory work in the working group of Aquatic Ecotoxicity at Goethe University, she focused on the chemical composition and toxicity of plastic products. The work in PlastX paved her way to join the Food Packaging Forum (FPF) Foundation located in Zürich, Switzerland, two years ago. Through scientific research and science communication, Lisa Zimmermann supports the organization’s goal to enable stakeholders to make better decisions contributing to the protection of human and environmental health.

FPF shares the latest science on chemicals in food contact materials and the environmental impacts of food packaging. To this end, the organization develops and provides science-based and balanced information and tools, and establishes dialogue and cooperation of experts in academia, civil society, industry, regulatory authorities, and media.

If you want to know more about the work in a small independent foundation at the science-policy interface, join this CareerTalk!

https://www.foodpackagingforum.org/

Registration link