Doctoral Researchers presented at a conference in Spain

20 July 2023, by RTG2530

Photo: RTG2530/private

The Doctoral Researchers of RTG2530 at the conference in front of the sea (from left to right: Jesse Theilen, Sven Tobias-Hünefeldt, Johanna Biederbick, Alberta Widhi A. Putri and Panunporn Tutiyasarn).

Last month, six of RTG´s Doctoral Researchers attended the conference of the Association for the Science of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO) 2023 in Palma de Mallorca to present their respective research projects, to gain conference experience and to connect with scientists from the same field from around the world.

Jesse Theilen, Sven Tobias-Hünefeldt, Nele Martens, Alberta Widhi A. Putri and Panunporn Tutiyasarn (Elly) presented their research work at the poster presentation, while Johanna Biederbick even had the chance for a 15-minute oral presentation about her work on “Seasonal and Spatial Succession of Micro- and Mesozooplankton Communitites in the eutrophic Elbe Estuary”.

The topic of this year’s conference, which took place from the 4th to 9th of June, was "Resilience and Recovery in Aquatic Systems". Concepts of resilience and recovery do not only apply to societies when faced with disruptions and crises, but also to aquatic systems. Past events have shown that adaptability and decisiveness are important keys to resilience and recovery. Disruptions are opportune moments for setting up strategies for management and recovery.

“It was an excellent opportunity to gain experience and find new knowledge from similar and different topics in aquatic science. During the five days conference, we had a chance to attend several seminars and workshops”, says Alberta Widhi A. Putri. Workshops included themes on science communication and engagement or equity and inclusion in science. “Elly and I were also allowed to be a mentee, and we both had mentors from different countries and universities”, says Putri. Her conference mentor is an associate professor at Università degli Studi di Palermo, Italy. The mentor-system´s aim is to help young scientists to find their way around a conference. “She also gave some valuable input to prepare the poster presentation”, Widhi adds.

Furthermore, Alberta Widhi A. Putri and Elly had the experience of being student volunteers for a day. “So, both of us had a task to assist the moderators and the audiences during seminars or workshops. It was great because I could meet many scientists from all over the world”, says Widhi.

Besides the workshops and presentations, the organizers invited the meeting attendees to participate in a photo contest and other social events throughout the days – such as a student trivia night, pub quiz and a closing party. The aim was to get in touch with other participants and scientists.