Three times a year, the members of Die Junge Akademie meet to discuss current projects, strategic direction and budget planning. This year, climate scientist Nadine Mengis invited them to the autumn plenary session at the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel.

The day before, the ‘Sterben’ (Dying) project group met to further develop its work. In addition to the original idea of producing a publication, other formats and projects were developed within this framework. In the subsequent plenary session, a new Research Group was established to focus on this topic, providing the organisational framework for implementing the various ideas. The ‘Miam Miam’ Research Group was also established to deal with projects related to the field of nutrition.

The first day of the plenary session began with a workshop entitled ‘The research group as a self-runner: daring to self-organise. Rethinking leadership.’ Alumna Doris Segets m oderated the programme and shared her experiences from working with her research group at the University of Duisburg-Essen.

Another item on the agenda was the presentation of research projects by the members. Geographer Sarah Klosterkamp presented her work on ‘Geographies of Law: Housing, Debt, Local Courts.’ Media artist Lea Luka Sikau presented her research on sound art, and Max Schäfer explained his interdisciplinary field of research between engineering and life sciences. In addition, the Research Groups ‘Money and Society,’ ‘Science Policy’ and ‘Language’ reported on their current activities within Die Junge Akademie.

The day concluded with a guided tour of GEOMAR, during which members gained insights into the research work carried out there.