A great thing about projects is, that they bring people with different professional knowledge together to work for the same objective. A great example is “The Pan-African Soil Challenge”, which connects colleagues from science, communication and HR. The team members are glad to give you a deeper insight in their work environment at Forschungszentrum Jülich.

We really enjoy the work on PASCAL, as you may have recognized when following this blog. Besides this project, each of us has a lot of other responsibilities we deal with every day. Please enjoy reading the following lines to learn about the tasks each team member is responsible for and to get an insight into the great working environment Forschungszentrum Jülich provides.

Dr. Daniel Felten about the comprehensive work as a scientific coordinator

As scientific coordinator of Geoverbund ABC/J, I would describe my task as follows: I take care that others find excellent conditions for their research or their studies.

What I like most about the work is that it accompanies all processes, from the idea to the concept and the concrete implementation. The tasks are correspondingly varied and you come into contact with many people.

My office is located on the edge of the roughly 2 km² campus of Forschungszentrum Jülich. One clear plus: the view from the window into the green – right now in spring an inspiring sight for new ideas!

Forschungszentrum Jülich / Dr. Daniel Felten

Forschungszentrum Jülich / Dr. Daniel Felten

Dr. Anne Rother about managing a team and her tasks as Head of Corporate Communication 

Forschungszentrum Jülich / Marita Ferling

Forschungszentrum Jülich / Marita Ferling

As Head of Corporate Communication my main task is to coordinate my team and their activities. Media relations, online communication, public affairs, internal communication and events – our mutual goal is to put the puzzle together and to draw a complete and convincing picture of research in Jülich.

What I like most about my job is the freedom to work creatively and that each day brings a new surprise… On the other hand I love writing and, in a broader sense, working with texts. My daily work offers many opportunities to do so. When I look out of my window I see the big sky over Jülich which opens one’s mind. I prefer my office “business style”, but I love the shining colors of the post-its we use to organize our projects.

Forschungszentrum Jülich / Dr. Anne Rother

Forschungszentrum Jülich / Dr. Anne Rother

Erhard Zeiss about working as a Press Officer – or about managing creative chaos

I’m sure that a lot of people entering my office think my desk is a complete chaos. Well, I have to admit in a way they are right. But you see, as a Press Officer at Forschungszentrum Jülich you need, let’s say, a lot of “creativity”. And this “creativity” sometimes resembles chaos.

A typical morning may look like this: A press release on PASCAL (our “Bridge to Africa”). E-mails. A journalist calls, he needs information on climate research (one of my focus topics). More E-Mails. Colourful pictures of “nerve fiber architecture of mammalian brains” for an art exhibition in Jülich – no problem. Still more E-Mails. Two kilos of mushrooms to be brought to one of our laboratories (TV-journalist wants them to be analysed for caesium). Got the idea? Don’t get me wrong: I love this “creative chaos”. And now you know why my desk looks the way it does.

Forschungszentrum Jülich / Tobias Schlößer

Forschungszentrum Jülich / Tobias Schlößer

But to tell you the truth: At Forschungszentrum Jülich you’ll also find moments of – yes, tranquillity. Wonderful moments. For example when you’re off for an “after work walk” on the campus on a late Friday afternoon. The place becomes a deserted island. Silence – the calm after the storm.

Alissa Aarts about attracting and recruiting talents – working in HR-Marketing and Recruiting

My work strongly focuses on one aspect – and this is also what I like the most about my job: Getting into contact with people. Thereby my two roles as part of the human resources marketing team and as a recruiter fit perfectly together: Through our marketing activities I meet candidates that are interested in pursuing a career in science and give them information about Forschungszentrum Jülich as an employer. When in the next step candidates apply for a position at our research center, I conduct the interviews together with colleagues from our scientific institutes.

Getting to know new people from different cultures and countries nearly every day and supporting them is what I definitely enjoy most! And as Forschungszentrum Jülich has so much to offer, such as the beautiful campus, a great scientific infrastructure, a very collegial working atmosphere and exciting positions, I always find something to talk about.

Forschungszentrum Jülich / Vidusha Naveenthiraraja

 

About Alissa Aarts

Alissa Aarts has been part of Forschungszentrum Jülich since 2015. Besides her job as a recruiter she is responsible for the international HR-Marketing. Being involved in this project, which is so closely related to science, is a new and really exciting experience for her.