Last week, on the 13th and 14th of October, one of our student representatives, Carolin Heymann-Serota, was chosen by the DFG (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft/German Research Foundation) and Leipzig University to represent both our IRTG “Belongings: Jewish Material Culture in Twentieth Century Europe” and the University at the DFG’s “RTG-Connect” event held in Bonn.
The event, initiated by Dr. Lea Akkerman of the DFG, was held for the second time, following an initial meeting four years earlier. It was a great opportunity to meet doctoral researchers from different academic fields, hear about their experiences in their (I)RTGs, and get to know members of the DFG.
The event began on 13th October with an informal get-together and snacks, where doctoral researchers met for the first time. It was followed by a greeting and discussion with the DFG vice president, Prof. Dr. Karin Jacobs. In an interactive session, everyone was encouraged to discuss the rise of the AfD and its implications for academic freedom, as well as the advantages and dangers of using AI.
After a coffee break, the group was split into small thematic exchange groups. Another such thematic exchange workshop was held on the morning of 14th October. After sending her colleagues a poll to choose from, Carolin Heymann-Serota participated in the exchange groups “Supervision” and “Interdisciplinarity”. There, she gained insight into other (I)RTGs’ practices and also explained how “Belongings” works.
In particular, the IRTG’s work in clusters drew strong interest among other doctoral researchers and DFG committee members. Furthermore, the role of the program coordinator and the postdocs proved to be a binding positive element in most (I)RTGs. During a dinner and a subsequent informal get-together, people made personal connections, and topics beyond work came up in conversation. The DFG members were very approachable, kind, and invested in the well-being of our (I)RTG “Belongings.”
Text by Carolin Heymann-Serota