Testimony to an excellent culture of research
Prof. Dr. Georg Schett, Chair of Internal Medicine III and Director of the Department of Medicine 3 – Rheumatology and Immunology, was appointed Vice President Research at FAU in April 2021. We talked to him about floods of e-mails and successful research applications.
You’ve been the Vice President Research for a few months now. Have there been any challenges that you have come up against that were rather unexpected? The time required for all the Executive Board meetings that I have to attend. It can be rather challenging in terms of my time management. However, by far the most interesting challenge for me is getting to know the researchers at FAU.
Whilst I know a lot about medical research, I’m very pleased that I can learn more about the research activities and researchers from the other faculties at the University. I make a point of talking to all researchers who manage major research areas such as the collaborative research centres, research training groups and research groups at FAU. Of course, this also includes the excellent individual researchers who have received ERC grants or awards from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. This part of my work is very interesting as it gives me an insight into FAU’s strength as a research institution and into how much talent, expertise and passion we have here at the University. The most important thing for me as Vice President is openness towards other areas of research and showing an interest in the work being carried out in them. Of course, these also include the excellent individual researchers who have received ERC grants or awards from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. This part of my work is very interesting as it gives me an insight into FAU’s strength as a research institution and into how much talent, expertise and passion we have here at the University. The most important thing for me as Vice President is openness towards other areas of research and showing an interest in the work being carried out in them.
You accepted the position of Vice President despite your heavy workload as a researcher, with 800 peer-reviewed articles and 660 conferences during your career, and your role as director of a clinic and of a chair. How do you do it?
I think managing your time effectively is important, but setting priorities and placing your trust in the skills and decision-making capabilities of staff and colleagues is just as important. Reading each and every e-mail in detail without setting priorities quickly leads to stress, which is why you have to try and filter out the most important messages and only follow them up. I also think a good working environment is very important as arguments only waste a lot of time. Having a team of people who are able to and are allowed to work independently is and has always been important to me. Personal responsibility is extremely important to me.
You have been awarded a large amount of third-party funding for projects on a national and EU level, such as CRC 1181 or an ERC Synergy Grant. How would you like to incorporate this expertise into FAU’s research infrastructure?
It all begins with my discussions with the speakers of the CRC and research groups, which are also attended by members of University Administration. This creates a real sense of community, in which researchers experience the support provided by the Executive Board and University Administration. I think the fact that I am actively involved in research myself is significant. It means I know all about the challenges researchers face in academic research.
Research also involves having a great deal of enthusiasm for your work, being able to deal with failure and carrying on regardless. This is something you are familiar with and understand if you have been in the same position yourself.
Ultimately, I think what researchers really want is some support and recognition for their work. I try to provide as much support as I can to researchers during the funding application process and give them feedback. Research relies on ideas that are based on knowledge. In terms of making applications for funding, it’s not only the idea behind the research that’s important, but also how to successfully get it across to others. These two aspects must always work together and this is the reason why we offer the highest possible level of support to researchers at FAU.
How would you like to further develop research at FAU across faculties?
I think inter-faculty research at FAU has come a long way over the last few years. There are so many examples of projects that demonstrate how FAU benefits from the broad range of expertise at the University. It’s important that researchers understand each other’s ‘language’ so that they can collaborate on projects. It’s my job as Vice President Research to bring people together to stimulate interdisciplinary research. This sometimes leads to entirely new fields of research – often at the area where various disciplines overlap. When this happens, it is always testimony to an excellent culture of research that attracts even more talent to FAU.
From Boris Mijat
Die Themen der neuen Ausgabe sind: ein Interview mit dem Präsidenten der FAU, Prof. Dr. Joachim Hornegger, und dem Markendesigner Claus Koch über die neue Zukunftsstrategie der FAU, eine Untersuchung über den Einfluss von Patenten auf Marktentwicklungen, die Studiengänge „Advanced Materials and Processes“ und „Clean Energy Processes“, ein Spaziergang durch unseren Aromagarten, der heuer sein 40. Jubiläum hat, und ein Interview mit dem Siemens-CEO Dr. Roland Busch.