SFB 1357 Microplastics PhD Symposium 2025: Where Land Meets Sea
The doctoral student group of SFB 1357 Microplastics travelled to Bremerhaven and visited the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) for an intensive scientific discourse and to expand their network.
In a workshop entitled "Land meets Sea", AWI researchers, including Dr Gunnar Gerdts, presented key findings from their research. He gave a detailed account of the methods used, as well as topics such as reference database design, chemometrics and machine learning.
The presentations covered a wide range of topics from the world of microplastics, from the shocking amount of marine litter to citizen science projects and negotiations for the Global Plastic Treaty. There was an overview of polymers, additives and their effects on organisms. Some of our SFB doctoral students also presented their work.
They spoke about the behaviour and transport of microplastics in the atmosphere and in floodplain soils, about the uptake and effects of microplastics in organisms at the cellular and organismic level, about machine learning for predicting microplastic effects, and finally about the degradation of plastics and the development of solutions.
With so much input, some physical activity was also needed: a beach clean-up on Cuxhaven beach, supported by the city of Bayreuth, was an even more meaningful way to do this.
Key topics: international teamwork and career planning
Communication skills are crucial for success in an international team. That is why Dr Iris Wangermann, a certified intercultural psychologist, was invited to lead the soft skills workshop 'Master your international teamwork'. Cultural background is something that rarely comes up in everyday life, but it is always there in the background. Culture is multidimensional and plays an important role in the workplace and in communication. An important takeaway message was that effective communication can be achieved through empathy and judgement.
Finally, there was a kind of international café with topics such as one's own future and career, goals, fears, principles, views and what a contribution to the planet could look like.
"Looking back," reveals Éverton Souza da Silva from the organising team, "we carry unforgettable memories with us, the feeling of unity and how transformative the power of science is. As Marie Curie once said, 'I am one of those who believe that science has a great beauty.'"
