Scientific Excellence & Well-Being
Goals
The goal of this initiative is to foster scientific excellence and well-being among researchers at D-INFK and in academia in general. We organize workshops that promote mental strength and soft skills that are vital to face the challenges of academic life. Further, we create platforms where researchers can exchange, discuss, practice and deepen the learned knowledge. We invite you to participate and contribute to this journey, in which topics that are relevant to researchers dynamically emerge.
Upcoming Events in Fall 2022
Procrastination & Prioritization Unworkshop (Thursday 17th of November, 16:30)
Join us for a discussion on the causes of procrastination, and techniques on how to combat it. More Information
Stress-Management Workshop (Thursday 1st of December, 16:30)
An interactive workshop on stress-management tools. We welcome Rachel Suery, an external facilitator with experience in the field. More Information
Past Events
#I am Remarkable (March 7, 17:30 - 19:00)
Learn the importance of self-promotion in your personal and professional life and be equipped with tools to develop this skill. More Information
Work-life-balance (April, TBA)
Care for yourself. Feel good saying “No”. Feel good saying “Yes”. More Information
Hands-On Research Skills (collab with AI-center, Thurdays, 15:00-17:00)
- How to generate and manage ideas? (May 5)
- How to find related work? (May 12)
- How to sketch and demonstrate a research idea? How to come up with a research question? (May 19)
- How to write a paper? (June 2)
- How to review a paper? And Ethics in Science (June 9) More Information
Unweekend (May 13 evening - May 15)
Do you want to contribute and discuss your ideas on how to foster scientific excellence and well-being? Come and enjoy a weekend full of team spirit, discussions, cooking, bonfires, open space and more with your peers. More Information
How to prioritize? (May 24, 18:30-20:30)
Learn how to tackle your long to-do list in an efficient and sustainable way.More Information
Student Supervision Workshop (June 13 and 14, 15:00-21:00)
Are you interested in reflecting and improving on your supervision style? Learn how to boost the motivation of the student? Or do you want to innovate student supervision? More Information
Well-being canoe day (June 25)
Explore the question “What gives you energy and keeps you in the flow?” during a fun river adventure with your colleagues. More Information
A Hero’s Journey through the PhD studies - Canoeing Adventure (new date: July 23-24)
Take a break in nature - Switch of perspective on work related challenges - Beautiful lake and river landscapes. More Information
How to say no? (September 29)
Do you find yourself in situations where you say ‘yes’ to requests though you have already too many commitments or where you are not really convinced of the ‘yes’? Saying ‘no’’ is not always easy - but necessary. Join and learn how to say no. More Information
Un-workshops
The un-workshops are organized for members by members. They provide a space for any topic relevant to the scientific excellence and well-being initiative. They are an opportunity to explore ideas, to practice, to discuss experiences, to exchange insights, to form support groups and to create something completely new, together. We invite you to contribute ideas or host an un-workshop on a topic that interests you. Check out the website at unworkshop.science to get informed about upcoming un-workshops.
Why?
Scientists striving for high productivity and excellent research output face the same challenges and pressure as top athletes.
While mental training is common practice for top athletes, there is no systematic use of mental training to enable and sustain academic excellence.
In sports, mental training has been shown to be especially successful in helping athletes achieve flow.
This psychological state somewhere between relaxation and stress not only allows for highly concentrated work but also brings high personal satisfaction.
While computer scientists might explore ad-hoc techniques to achieve flow, e.g. programming in teams or other routines, they cannot generally rely on systematic training to consistently achieve flow.
Similarly, they often lack techniques to change from periods of intense work to relaxation phases,
something that has been shown to be essential for long-term excellence in athletes.
In academia, poor work conditions and unhealthy habits are often seen as necessary parts of “hard work”.
However, athletes have long known that this approach is neither sustainable nor helpful in achieving peak performance.
Only researchers that can sustainably work at their peak over significant time can produce outstanding research results.
As an initial phase, we are launching a series of workshops, discussion and talks aimed at improving scientific excellence and well-being.
Some of our past Events
- Workshop: Saying No, December 15, 2021 Read more
- Un-workshop: Teaching and Student Supervision, October 21, 2021 Read more
- Un-workshops at the VMI Summer Retreat, September 12-19, 2021 Read more
- Workshop: Prioritization, Aug 25, 2021 Read more
- Un-workshop: Where Do Ideas Come From?, August 17, 2021 Read more
- Un-workshop: Perfectionism, June 22, 2021 Read more
- Outdoor workshop: A canoeing journey of discovery to your strengths, resources and motivation, June 18-21, 2021 Read more
- Un-workshop: Effective meeting facilitation, May 28, 2021 Read more
- Un-workshop: Finding and Following Your Passion, May 12, 2021 Read more
- Workshop: Psychological Safety, May 5, 2021 Read more
- Workshop: Effective Online Presentations, Apr 21, 2021 Read more
- Talk: Turn Food into Code, May 15, 2020 Read more
- Talk: Take a Break: at Work and at Home, April 24, 2020 Read more
- Talk: The Power of Habits, Mar 18, 2020 Read more