{"id":272,"date":"2019-08-26T10:55:45","date_gmt":"2019-08-26T08:55:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.oceanblogs.org\/balticgender\/?p=272"},"modified":"2019-08-26T10:55:46","modified_gmt":"2019-08-26T08:55:46","slug":"being-a-female-scientist-a-geoecologist-focussing-on-the-marine-environment-kerstin-schiele","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.oceanblogs.org\/balticgender\/2019\/08\/26\/being-a-female-scientist-a-geoecologist-focussing-on-the-marine-environment-kerstin-schiele\/","title":{"rendered":"BEING A FEMALE SCIENTIST: A GEOECOLOGIST FOCUSSING ON THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT KERSTIN SCHIELE"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Kerstin Schiele is a group leader of\nthe marine planning group at the Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnem\u00fcnde\n(IOW). Kerstin studied Geoecology and ecosystem management in Germany and\nAustralia and holds a PhD in marine biology. She benefits from her\ninterdisciplinary background as a geoecologist as her research is at the\ninterface between natural and social science.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"

Dr. Kerstin Schiele. Photo: Harald Viemann <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What did inspire you to pursue a career in marine sciences?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just like many people, I have always had a genuine interest in\nthe marine environment. Anyway, a career in marine science did not seem\naccessible to me until my semester abroad at the University of Queensland,\nAustralia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before, I\nhad gained the perception that research is an ivory tower where students are\nnot welcome and that you have to commit ALL your time to research, otherwise\nyou cannot be successful. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the\nUniversity of Queensland, I took a course in \u2018research in marine science\u2019 that changed\nmy perspective on what it means to be a scientist. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For that\ncourse, I had the opportunity to work on a small project directly with a PhD\ncandidate. There was a flat hierarchy in the lab. Students, scientists, even\nprofessors were interacting at eye level. Surprisingly to me, all the\nresearchers were nice, down-to-earth people who had a private life and simply\nenjoyed their work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I was close to completing my MSc degree, I was reading a very intriguing novel \u201cThe Swarm. A novel of the deep\u201d by Frank Sch\u00e4tzing. It is about marine ecosystems and science and triggered my desire to choose research rather than \u2018normal\u2019 office work. I have to admit, I also spent most of my time in the office, but still it is a research environment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are the main things you enjoy about being a marine scientist?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I really like working on a topic that is interesting to me, to develop new ideas and concepts. In science, you need very diverse skills; it never gets boring. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also enjoy international\ncollaborations, including travelling and meeting fellow researchers. It is\ninteresting to see how marine planning is organised in other countries and to\nlearn from each other beyond research. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In general, marine science is something many people are curious about. A positive attitude is a real boost to share knowledge and to communicate scientific results. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are your main professional achievements? Any\/what obstacles? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After obtaining my PhD in marine biology, I changed my research focus to marine planning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It has not always been easy to be accepted as an interdisciplinary scientist among scientists with a very strong record in a particular discipline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nevertheless, as project proposals were successful, I have been leading the marine planning working group at my institute for two years now. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you have any role models that led you to this career? How did they\ninfluence you? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My supervisor at my first PostDoc position. He introduced me to my current research topic, trusted my ability to perform well independently and did not hesitate to give me leadership responsibilities. With his positive attitude, he has always been a good example on how to handle challenges with ease. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you think there is a need for special support to retain women in\nscience? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, I think that special support is crucial towards the end of the PhD and directly after the PhD. Usually this is the time when career decisions are made. Personally, I believe that all PhD students would benefit from clear perspectives in that stage of their career. One way to achieve this could be for example a discussion with supervisors or other senior scientists. In my view, it is crucial to specifically target the career goals and personal circumstances of the individual and not only give general advise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we overcome the issues driving women out of careers in marine science and technology? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Show them ways how it can work out in the long run early in their career. Fixed-term contracts after successful proposal writing is not attractive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What advice would you give any women considering science as a career path? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Talk to others who already pursue this career. Find out for yourself if you really want this. If yes, seek advice early on. Be ready to work hard and not give up easily. Have a plan B. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are the most effective way for you to maintain balance of your professional and personal life?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Friends, being outdoors and simple rules: stick to your appointments \u2013 both, professional and private. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kerstin Schiele is a group leader of the marine planning group at the Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnem\u00fcnde (IOW). Kerstin studied Geoecology and ecosystem management in Germany and Australia and holds a PhD in marine biology. She benefits from her interdisciplinary background as a geoecologist as her research is at the interface between natural […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":174,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-272","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-women-in-marine-science-and-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oceanblogs.org\/balticgender\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oceanblogs.org\/balticgender\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oceanblogs.org\/balticgender\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oceanblogs.org\/balticgender\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/174"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oceanblogs.org\/balticgender\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=272"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.oceanblogs.org\/balticgender\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":274,"href":"https:\/\/www.oceanblogs.org\/balticgender\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272\/revisions\/274"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oceanblogs.org\/balticgender\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oceanblogs.org\/balticgender\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oceanblogs.org\/balticgender\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}