First you have to define your specific scientific goals and a reasonable time frame. The goals and time frame are perhaps most clearly formulated for the graduate students: One need to publish at least three papers within one´s field of interest and write a Thesis within the doctoral time frame. It is perhaps less clear what the goals are, if you are postdoctoral fellow or a younger researcher who would like a successful career in science, but a friend in Boston used to say that within the postdoctoral time period one should try to achieve the following three goals: to carry out interesting and publishable experiments, to publish a good paper, and obtain an independent grant. He also believed that these three goals were part of a cycle where they reinforced each other’s chance mutually: You do not get grants without papers, and you do not get papers without experiments and you do are not able to carry out experiments without any form of funding.

Amra Grudic-Feta

Somewhere in the cycle, however, you need to jump in, and here we hope that a new initiative from the Department can come to your assistance: The Department has defined its goals for better research in the Strategy Plan, and in June we will employ a research consultant, Amra Grudic-Feta, who will help us reach several of these goals. In particular, she will contribute towards four of the defined goals:

– in the structured approach for writing grant applications (F2),

– in follow-up of grant calls as well as publication of these in K2News (F2),

– as a resource that can help career counseling and career research education (RIK1), and

– as a contact point (catalyst) who may help scientists navigate to find the desired advanced equipment and expertise within the Department (RIK2).

We wish Amra welcome to the Department and hope she can help you to reach your goals.

Helge