Prof. Dr. Britta Planer-Friedrich is the new Vice President for Research and Junior Scholars

She researches the behaviour of trace elements in the environment and in food, and develops methods for their detection, e.g. of new forms of arsenic in rice. In recent years, she has played an active role in shaping the University of Bayreuth, among other things by establishing and leading the Green Campus Team and the international master's programme in Environmental Chemistry. She now takes up her post as Vice President for Research & Junior Scholars.

"As Vice-President for Research & Junior Scholars, it is important to me to accompany the growth of our university in excellence over the coming years. And this not only in the sense of often purely quantitative evaluation criteria, but especially in the development of a place of individual support, high-profile research in our diverse interdisciplinary focal points, sustainable use of funding, as well as attractive qualification offerings and good working conditions. Above all, however, the preservation of space in which creative ideas can flourish."

Since 1 October, you have been the new Vice President for Research & Junior Scholars at the University of Bayreuth. What exactly is the job of a Vice President for Research & Junior Scholars?
In the area of research, my task is to further develop and implement the research strategy of our university. The top priority is to create the optimal environment for all scientists in our diverse disciplines to successfully conduct their research. At the same time, it is important to further expand the visibility of Bayreuth as a research location both nationally and internationally. This is where my two areas of responsibility, research and junior scholars, interlock. In addition to attractive qualification and continuing education programmes, it is above all exciting research topics that attract young people to the University of Bayreuth.

Many individual measures in my areas of responsibility have already been defined in our structural and development plan. But, of course, there are always new challenges, such as the planned reform of the universities, the further growth of the University of Bayreuth over the coming years, the University of Bayreuth dropping out of the league of "young universities" in 2025, and, of course, the next round of the Excellence Strategy in 2026.

I receive support for the implementation of all upcoming topics from two staff units consisting of eight members of staff. The Research Funding Office advises on funding programmes and research data management, supports applications for collaborative projects, as well as applications and nominations for research awards, and manages the University of Bayreuth's internal funding pool. The WiN (young researchers) staff unit supports researchers from doctoral studies to junior professorships in their individual career development, and provides various funding and counselling options within the framework of e.g. the Bayreuth Graduate School and the WiN programme.

In addition, as a member of the University Governing Board, I am on numerous committees such as the Senate and the University Council, and chair the Presidential Commission for Research & Junior Scholars, the Presidential Commission for Academic Personnel Development, as well as the working group for the implementation of the DFG Code "Guidelines for Ensuring Good Scientific Practice".

... and I suspect there are quite a few more tasks that have not yet been revealed to me!

What activities are at the top of your agenda in the first few weeks?
... when I look at my diary, it's probably mainly meetings... In addition to the regular meetings, there are of course a lot of personal discussions to be had at the beginning, on the one hand with my staff teams, but on the other hand, I would also like to get feedback from the faculties, the University’s Focus Areas, and the various employee groups on the topics of research and junior scholars: where do they stand? where do they want to go? and how can I best support them as Vice-President? This information is a very important building block for my future agenda. In addition, even though it still seems a long way off, the planning for the Excellence Strategy is already getting underway in a very concrete way.

What do you aim to highlight during your term of office?
In addition to all the ongoing measures, among which there are some that will certainly require a great deal of my time and attention, I would like to commit myself particularly to three other areas.

First of all, to junior scholars, whose career paths in Germany are still very heterogeneous and often difficult to plan. Of the goals defined by the BMBF for the promotion of junior scholars, I believe we have already achieved quite a bit, here in Bayreuth, with regard to international competitiveness and mobility, as well as the creation of conditions for the achieving high-quality science. In the future, we must also vigorously pursue the areas of equal opportunity, increasing the attractiveness and transparency of scientific career paths, and above all, facilitating the transition from the phase of scientific qualification to professions in business and society.

Secondly, for the career researchers at our university. As researchers individually, but also as a university as a whole, we are always under a certain pressure to achieve set goals, which is often reflected in quantitative surveys and evaluations. These are certainly helpful to appreciate what has been achieved and to identify the status quo and the need for development. Nevertheless, I am convinced that creative research ideas also need time and an amount of freedom. In addition to all the support we can offer for more and more applications, one thing is needed above all: freedom. Our teaching obligations are very high by international standards, we have and are creating more and more administrative tasks, and perhaps we sometimes overdo it with the umpteenth "evaluation of the evaluation". Over the next few years, I would like to look for new ways to do justice to our many tasks, but always find enough time and space for the free spirit of research.

Thirdly, for an even stronger focus on the sustainable use of funding in the future. The opportunity to do research is a privilege and at the same time a great responsibility towards society. We should make the best possible use of synergies to achieve results that do justice to the mission of the universities, and not necessarily always equate research "success" with the maximum amount of money spent.

In your opinion, what distinguishes the University of Bayreuth as an attractive research location? And what role do the focus areas play in this?
Size and vision. Even at the time of its foundation, the vision of defining interdisciplinary research foci alongside the classic division into disciplines and faculties was pursued. These have contributed decisively to bringing excellent researchers to the University of Bayreuth, to networking them and to making our small, young university internationally relevant. Attractive, interdisciplinary degree programmes have always helped to attract highly qualified young researchers. Many of the research foci have been renowned for decades. With the founding of our new Faculty 7 of Life Sciences: Food, Nutrition & Health in Kulmbach, this concept of interdisciplinary linking of natural, economic, legal, social, and behavioural sciences has been implemented in a way unique in Germany to date.

Now we will soon be 50 years old and not so small either. The appointment of numerous new professorships from the High Tech Agenda will bring us further strong growth over the coming years. Even though our campus university is facing ever greater challenges in terms of spatial accommodation, we still have short distances to walk and many opportunities for spontaneous exchange. Integrating our new colleagues into existing research priorities and jointly defining new research priorities that address the questions of our time and our society will make a decisive contribution to the University of Bayreuth's continued attractiveness as a research location. In addition to the major research focuses, it is also the exciting projects and our reputation arising from international cooperation, publications and the awards for many individual creative minds that contribute to the attractiveness of our university.

The formal rules of the Excellence Competition have been set. The current cluster funding will run until 2025, when evaluations are due and new applications would be possible. What strategy do you see for the University of Bayreuth here?
Our goal must clearly be to expand our international top position in research on the basis of successful clusters of excellence, i.e. to apply in the "Universities of Excellence" funding line. We are big enough and we are also good enough for this. This presupposes that we acquire two, or as university networks at least three clusters of excellence. In addition to the currently funded cluster of excellence in African research, we have a number of other internationally competitive research fields. The task before us now is to set these up accordingly, and to strategically network them with other universities in order to be successful in cluster applications. From 2021, the Free State of Bavaria will fund two applications with Bayreuth participation as part of the "Excellence Networks and University Cooperations" (EVUK) programme: "Function by Design: Cellular Hybrids" on the topic of biomaterials, in cooperation with the Universities of Würzburg and Erlangen, and "Effects of Global Change on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functions", in cooperation with the University of Würzburg. The aim here is to support the formation of synergies at an early stage in order to increase the chances of a successful application for clusters of excellence.

A look at your curriculum vitae shows various periods abroad: England, Bangladesh, USA, Mexico, and Canada, among others. Why did you choose these stages in your career? And what experiences with regard to international research activities were particularly formative for you?
In fact, there were very different reasons for these different stages. I went to Mexico for my master's thesis. The focus was simply on going to "any" foreign country, the more exotic the better. I was also fascinated by the topic of "Drinking water contamination by arsenic". The fascination with arsenic, as is probably well-known on campus by now, has stayed with me to this day. The most prominent example of arsenic contamination in groundwater is Bangladesh, which is why my first own DFG project took me there immediately after my doctorate. In both Mexico and Bangladesh, I learned a lot about how a "perfect" research plan developed at a desk requires some improvisation and communication skills in its implementation, and, above all, an open mind towards unexpected results. I specifically chose the USA for my doctorate, England and Canada for my postdoc because of the professional expertise of the hosts and for the practical opportunities in the respective laboratories. USA additionally because that was where my field research site was, Yellowstone National Park. And staying in Canada for 2 years was also a strategic decision, as this period of experience abroad was the prerequisite for applying for a DFG Emmy Noether Junior Research Group. In the meantime, many more countries have joined the list of my international research activities and each has its own challenges and charms. But it is always amazing how easy and almost self-evident it is to find highly renown, committed, and inspiring cooperation partners in the scientific community worldwide, whom you meet again and again during project work or at conferences - many of whom have since become good friends as well.

In addition to your research work at the University of Bayreuth, you are also the programme coordinator for the international Master of Environmental Chemistry programme. What are your priorities here for the education of young people from all over the world? What specific careers do you aim to prepare them for and why?
In my eyes, this degree programme is a good example of all that distinguishes Bayreuth from the rest. We developed the degree programme within a very short time from one of Bayreuth's established research foci (ecology and environmental sciences). The decisive factor was the enthusiasm of a handful of colleagues who already knew each other very well from research projects and joint teaching in the German-language degree programme in geoecology, supplemented by a newly acquired Heisenberg professorship. Together, in the degree programme, we now cover a range of areas in environmental chemistry that is quite unique in this form. We provide knowledge in the fields of inorganic and organic chemistry, microbiology, toxicology, environmental systems analysis, and human-environment interactions to understand how contaminants in air, soil, and water affect ecosystems worldwide. Many of our students come from countries where environmental protection does not have high priority. Integrating their experiences, e.g. in the symposium "Global Environmental Challenges", is a very valuable component of this international programme. The career opportunities are manifold, some students return to their home countries and use their expertise in environmental problems and their solutions to take on leading positions in industry or the public sector. A surprising number of students have so far also decided to go on to do a PhD, in Germany or other European countries; we have also been able to recruit some of them for our own working groups - a particularly nice result.

What advice do you have for young researchers?
(Hopefully) enthusiasm and curiosity. Of course, we fill the heads of our young scientists with a lot of scientific theory and practice, as well as soft skills such as communication, presentation, and management, etc., to prepare them for their chosen career. In my eyes, however, the most important thing we can teach is to always remain open and curious and to tackle the things dear to your heart with enthusiasm, be it in your job in academia, in business, in society, or in life in general.