Young GDNÄ: “Maintaining the momentum of the beginning”

“Maintaining the momentum of the beginning”

Regional meetings, mentoring programmes, lecture series: what young members of the GDNÄ are planning and how they want to achieve their goals.

Ms Anders, Ms Karle, Mr Paschen, the Young GDNÄ was officially founded six months ago at the meeting in Potsdam. How is it doing today?
Sebastian Paschen: Very well. We have had a lot of new members in recent weeks. Our WhatsApp group alone now has well over a hundred members. They are schoolchildren, students and young scientists from different fields of study, aged between 16 and 35. We receive excellent support from the large GDNÄ: we are listened to and given space – we feel very valued.
Marlene Anders: The group has already had four online meetings since the Potsdam meeting. A few weeks ago, we renamed ourselves the Young Network of the GDNÄ, or jGDNÄ for short. With the new name, we are aligning ourselves with other professional associations – a majority voted in favour of this change.

Who organises such meetings and who moderates them?
Celine Karle: We are currently the representatives of the jGDNÄ and therefore take on part of the organisation. But many other committed young people work with and behind us.

The spark has obviously been ignited. Was there an initial spark?
Sebastian Paschen: Celine initiated a café for doctoral students in Potsdam, which attracted around twenty young people. It was the first get-together of its kind at a GDNÄ assembly.
Celine Karle: I myself was once a GDNÄ scholar and later a guest at a few assemblies. My impression was that something was missing between the scholar programme and the big GDNÄ, so I came up with the idea of the doctoral café. The idea was to present dissertations there.
Marlene Anders: But we didn’t actually discuss dissertations at all, and most of us weren’t doctoral students, but undergraduates. We talked about courses of study and scientific topics, about the GDNÄ and its future – and realised that there should be more opportunities for networking like this. That’s when we formed the GDNÄ Young Network.
Sebastian Paschen: Since that meeting, an active core of around twenty members has emerged, who do a lot of work. A regular board election is scheduled to take place at the 2026 assembly in Bremen. Before then, we will certainly be meeting up often as the jGDNÄ – online, but also in person, as at our meeting from 27 to 29 June in Heidelberg. Almost 40 people have already registered for that.

Die Junge GDNÄ auf der Versammlung 2024 in Potsdam, zusammen mit Nobelpreisträger Professor Ben Feringa (vordere Reihe, Mitte). @ Dima Juschkow

At the 2024 conference in Potsdam: members of the jGDNÄ and the school programme together with Nobel Prize winner Professor Ben Feringa (front row, centre).

What are you planning for the meeting in Heidelberg?
Celine Karle: We have organised several tours, for example to the Heidelberg Ion Beam Therapy Centre or to INSEAM, a centre for new materials, methods and technologies. We will be adding more interesting items to the programme over the next few weeks. Besides the scientific aspects, the meeting is also about getting to know each other and exchanging ideas among the members of the jGDNÄ – we want to create the framework and atmosphere for this. The plan is to organise such meetings of the jGDNÄ every two years, always between the major meetings of the GDNÄ.

At the Potsdam meeting, there was also talk of regional meetings. Is that still on the agenda?
Sebastian Paschen: Yes, we are in the middle of preparations and will definitely be able to organise the first meetings this year. Not only students, but also high school students from the respective region are invited. At the meetings, we want to network with each other and develop and implement new ideas.

Are there any examples of this already?
Marlene Anders: At our next online meeting on 14 April, we want to discuss a mentoring programme that brings together experienced GDNÄ scientists and jGDNÄ members. We are also talking about lecture series on scientific topics and a network of GDNÄ ambassadors at German universities. I’m a student teacher and I’m currently thinking about special offers for prospective teachers. There is a need for this, as I know from my own experience, and as a jGDNÄ we can certainly achieve a lot – especially with regard to good science communication.

Your commitment is impressive. What motivates you?
Marlene Anders: For me, it is the desire to communicate scientific knowledge to a wider audience. It is truly a matter close to my heart. The student scholarship is a great dive into research and I want to help ensure that it remains a unique experience for others as well.
Sebastian Paschen: I come from the medical bubble and enjoy the interdisciplinary nature of the GDNÄ. There are so many enriching conversations and my horizons are constantly expanding.
Celine Karle: I want to pass on my enthusiasm for science and help younger people on their way. They often have the same problems that I had at one time. For example: What do I do when an exam is coming up and I start to feel anxious about it? With our network in the jGDNÄ, we can certainly do a lot of good there.

Gruppenfoto: Einige Mitglieder der jGDNÄ beim abendlichen Ausflug zum Museum Barberini im September 2024.

Group photo on the Alter Markt in Potsdam: Some members of the jGDNÄ on an evening trip to the Barberini Museum in September 2024.

How do you see the GDNÄ and its importance?
Sebastian Paschen: It connects science and society, which is an extremely important role. And it doesn’t rest on its laurels, but moves with the times and dares to do new things, as it is doing now with the jGDNÄ. At my first GDNÄ annual conference, a Nobel Prize winner approached me and shook my hand – that made a big impression on me. What also impresses me is that I am allowed to be a full member as a student.
Celine Karle: I love high-level yet understandable lectures – from my own discipline, physics, but especially from other fields. I think the interdisciplinary nature of the GDNÄ and the chance to get to know the current state of research in other disciplines better are great.
Marlene Anders: I am impressed by the humanity in our interactions. And the great appreciation that we young people experience.

Does the GDNÄ already have plans for the 2026 assembly in Bremen?
Sebastian Paschen: We certainly have ideas and we will discuss them with the GDNÄ board of directors soon. It is already certain that we will be able to organise our own programme parts in Bremen.
Celine Karle: We will definitely have a programme for school students again in 2026, as well as the popular formats “Science in 5 Minutes” and “Meet the Prof”. We want to expand the doctoral café. And if everything goes to plan, we will be able to present a mentoring programme in Bremen.
Marlene Anders: It is important now to maintain the momentum of the beginning. In five years, the jGDNÄ should be at least as vibrant as it is today.

Marlene Anders

Marlene Anders

The 24-year-old is studying for a master’s degree at the Technical University of Kaiserslautern-Landau to become a high school teacher of biology and geography. Marlene Anders got to know the GDNÄ as a student scholar at the 2018 assembly in Saarbrücken. She also attended the assemblies in Leipzig and Potsdam, where she supported the student programme as a tutor.

Celine Karle

Celine Karle

The 27-year-old is from Mannheim and studied physics at the University of Heidelberg. For the past two years, she has been conducting research as a doctoral candidate at the German Cancer Research Center on a new form of radiotherapy for cancer treatment. Celine Karle took part in the 2014 assembly in Mainz as a GDNÄ student scholarship holder and initiated the new “Doctoral Café” format at the 2025 assembly in Potsdam.

Sebastian Paschen

Sebastian Paschen

The 24-year-old is in his tenth semester of studying medicine and biomedical science at the University of Greifswald and works in the Department of Health Services Research at the Institute for Diversity Medicine at the Ruhr University Bochum. Sebastian Paschen is also the founder of acadim – Academy for Diversity and Individual Medicine and a member of several scientific committees and societies. He got to know the GDNÄ at the anniversary meeting in Leipzig in 2022.

Further information on the jGDNÄ

>> GDNÄ Conference 2024: Young people and established science in personal exchange

>> Interview with Heribert Hofer: “We welcome young people with open arms”

>> Interview with Michael Dröscher: “Lively discussions in front of a large audience”

>> Interview with Heribert Hofer: “In Potsdam, we present the Young GDNÄ”

Young GDNÄ “Lively discussions in front of a large audience”

“Lively discussions in front of a large audience”

By Professor Michael Dröscher, Treasurer and Secretary General of the GDNÄ

The program for high school students has become one of the hallmarks of the GDNÄ – alongside the scientific excellence of the lectures and the interdisciplinary exchange. Many of the young people who have participated in the program in recent years have remained members of the GDNÄ and continue to attend the meetings. We want to bind as many of them to the GDNÄ as possible and have therefore founded the Young GDNÄ.

Thanks to the generous support of the Heraeus Foundation, the AKB Foundation, the Foundation for Family Businesses and the Bayer Foundation, which bore a substantial portion of the costs for young participants, we were able to finance the student program largely from the donations. A total of 138 young people took part, including 98 school students, apprentices, and Jugend forscht award winners, as well as 40 university students, some of whom were former participants in the program in Greifswald, Saarbrücken, and Leipzig. Most of the school students came from Potsdam, Berlin, and the surrounding area in Brandenburg. Twenty-seven young people came from Bielefeld, where the head of our student program, Studienrat Paul Mühlenhoff, works as a high school teacher.

Approximately 260 schools with a high school level were contacted and asked for nominations. Up to four candidates could be named per school. Unfortunately, the effort to persuade school administrators to participate in the program was extremely high again this year.

The total number of participants was limited by the number of beds in the youth hostel. Initially, all places could be filled. Unfortunately, some of the students and alumni had to cancel their participation at short notice, so that in the end there were 138 participants.

All participants received a four-day ticket for public transport in Potsdam.

As in the last few assemblies, Studienrat Paul Mühlenhoff took over the overall management of the student program. Professor Heribert Hofer, Professor Eva-Maria Neher, Professor Uwe Hartmann, Professor Peter Liggesmeyer, Professor Wolfgang Lubitz and Professor Michael Dröscher, supported by five tutors, accompanied the teams as mentors. The burden of organization was borne by the employees of the office, Sylvia Landeck and Katja Diete.

The Young GDNÄ at the 2024 Assembly in Potsdam, together with Nobel Laureate Professor Ben Feringa (front row, centre).

Workshops

In contrast to the procedure in Leipzig, this time we had scheduled the workshops for the Saturday before the meeting in order to create a closer connection to the lectures. On September 7, 86 participants met at the Mercure Hotel Potsdam from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the six specialist teams of chemistry, biology, physics, computer science, engineering and medicine to prepare for the conference theme “Science for Our Tomorrow’s Life”. Their task was to explore the fields of work of the speakers, familiarize themselves with the topics of the lectures and develop questions that would be discussed after each session in a panel discussion with the speakers and moderated by the session leaders. On Thursday afternoon, before the assembly began, those who had not been able to attend the pre-workshop were assigned to the teams. The teams selected three to five representatives for the individual expert panels.

After the preparations were complete, the teams met with the members of the board and the board of directors for a meet-the-prof exchange over snacks and drinks in the foyer.

This year, the participants also networked in a WhatsApp group, which made communication with each other and with the management much easier.

Science slam kicks off the assembly

On the evening before the official opening of the conference, the popular science slam “Wissenschaft in 5 Minuten” (Science in 5 Minutes) took place again – moderated by Professor Heribert Hofer and attended by around 80 percent of the assembly participants. The eight contributions were met with storms of applause. The loudest applause and first prize went to 18-year-old Anne Marie Bobes, who presented her project on the development of small rotors for street lanterns. The rotors can generate enough electricity to operate the lanterns using wind power.

The titles of the other short presentations were: “Recognising Alzheimer’s through AI”, “Sick systems in search of fair health care”, “Polyme(e)re – a planet full of plastic”, “Seeing without understanding – how AI interprets images”, “Can meat be produced in the laboratory”, “Epoxy resin”, “Ethanol production from starch-rich waste”.

After the award ceremony, Dr. Stefanie Kaiser was connected via video. The marine biologist fascinated the audience with her report on the AleutBio deep-sea expedition in the Northeast Pacific and then answered many questions from the audience.

Science for our tomorrow’s life

In the opening session on Friday morning, President Heribert Hofer welcomed the participants, especially the school and university students. He introduced the Young GDNÄ and proclaimed its founding. After the address by the local managing director, Professor Alexander Böker, and the greetings from the state of Brandenburg, the city of Potsdam and the university, Professor Eva-Maria Neher received the Alexander von Humboldt Medal for her services to the development of the GDNÄ.

The lecture program began after the opening session. The computer science session focused on the development of software-intensive, cyber-physical systems and large generative language models. This was followed by the first panel session with the Junge GDNÄ in a lively atmosphere.

Intensive discussions also took place after the technology session with representatives of the Junge GDNÄ on human-centered AI for medical assistance systems and a sustainable transformation of industry.

A new program item was the doctoral students’ and alumni café during the lunch break.

The highlight of the day was the public Nobel Lecture. With his introduction to the art of building small, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry Professor Ben Feringa inspired young and old alike.

The chemistry session opened on Saturday. Topics included nanocapsules as drug carriers and artificial organelles, as well as the “Oscar for best supporting actor: water” and “Fire and Ice” – a lecture in which hydrogen and carbon dioxide were described as molecular interfaces between energy and chemistry. This lecture also led to an intensive discussion on the podium.

The afternoon was dedicated to biology. The topics were mycorrhizal fungi, which work together with plants, and the contribution of climate change to the loss of biodiversity, especially among birds. The question of whether the CRISPR/Cas gene scissors are devil’s tools or a blessing for agriculture was the subject of a lively discussion on the podium.

The Leopoldina lecture on “Placebo or Therapy with Nothing” made a big impression, especially on the young participants. It was given by Professor Martin Lohse, GDNÄ President 2019 to 2022, who stepped in after the original lecture was canceled at short notice.

On Sunday morning, physics was on the program. Topics included how animals orient themselves in the Earth’s magnetic field and the state of development of quantum computers. There was no shortage of material for a lively discussion on the podium here either.

Medicine provided the final topic. Three fascinating lectures covered the use of AI to gain a better understanding of diseases, healthy aging, and the links between climate change and infectious diseases. Here, too, the Junge GDNÄ was well prepared for the panel discussion, which a large audience followed until the very end.

After the president’s closing and thank-you remarks, the students received their certificates of participation and were given a warm send-off.

Further activities in the context of the student program

Participation in the lecture program

Whether it was the morning lecture at nine o’clock or the evening lecture at the Nobel or Leopoldina Lecture: the young participants were always in the lecture hall, listening to the lectures with great interest. After the lectures, they often surrounded the speakers for a long time to ask their questions.

Study advice

The study advice sessions with experienced scientists in the GDNÄ’s subject areas were again very well received.

Museum visit

The students and alumni had the opportunity to visit the Barberini Museum in Berlin on the evening of September 14.

Professor Michael Dröscher and members of the Young GDNÄ in the Potsdam conference building.

Feedback from the Young GDNÄ

The following quotes are from a short film about the 2024 conference in Potsdam.

“It’s pretty cool to be here. You have a lot of discussions with other people and many interesting lectures on topics that may be neglected in class because you don’t have time to go into specific topics in the two years of the advanced chemistry course.”

Johanna Schattenmann, Falkensee

“What I liked most here was that I could see so much enthusiasm in so many people and also witness the exchange between the older generation and young people at eye level, even though the older generation knows much more than we do and we can ask questions.”

Melissa Linde, Fürstenwalde

“Yesterday we saw the 5-minute science lectures. I have a lot of respect for the fact that you can do it in five minutes. I liked it very much, I understood everything.”

Thiveeka Pooranachandran, Bielefeld

“I am looking forward to the lectures, which should actually be accessible to everyone. People who are interested in computer science and physics should also see other areas.”

Wladimir Poljakow, Bielefeld

Further information on the GDNÄ Conference 2024

>> Picture gallery

>> Video documentation

Paul Scholand: “Direct contact with scientists is important to me”

“Direct contact with scientists is important to me”

Bielefeld high school graduate Paul Scholand will be attending the GDNÄ Assembly in Potsdam as a student scholarship holder. In the first media interview of his life, he describes his expectations, how he looks back on his time at school and looks ahead.

Mr Scholand, first of all, congratulations on recently passing your Abitur. Are you happy with the result?
Yes, very happy. The written and oral exams went well and with the grades I achieved, I can study my favourite subject, medicine.

When do you want to start?
In autumn 2025, but before that I’m doing an FSJ, a voluntary social year, to get a taste of new areas between school and university.

The GDNÄ student programme, which you are taking part in September, is also about new experiences. How did you get involved in the programme?
My biology teacher, Mr Mühlenhoff, approached me in the spring and gave me a programme flyer. I immediately discovered a few lectures in the programme that I was particularly interested in. For example, on the use of artificial intelligence in medicine, the design of biology with light or living materials in the field of physics.

What does participating in the student programme mean to you?
Very much. I see the invitation as an honour and appreciation of my academic achievements and I am full of anticipation when I think about the days in Potsdam. It’s all about current research, which we will hopefully be able to grasp well with the basics that school has given us.

What wishes and expectations do you have as a student scholarship holder?
I want to learn as much as possible and will attend lectures from all subject areas. It is important for me to have direct contact with the scientists, for example at the study counselling, in the Science & Technology Cafés or during the breaks. I’ve never had an opportunity like this before and I’m looking forward to it.

You have just completed twelve years at secondary school. What was the most important thing for you during this time?
We learned to acquire knowledge, to organise ourselves and to persevere when things didn’t go so smoothly. My friends were very important to me: we prepared for exams together and motivated each other.

Did that also work during the pandemic?
It definitely did. At first, we did a lot over the phone, but later we met up in small groups to study together. Not only did we survive the pandemic, we also learnt to discipline ourselves and keep going.

Eröffnung der Büros Postplatz 1 © Paul Glaser

Bielefeld’s Helmholtz High School, shown here in an aerial photo, was founded in 1896. Under the motto “A modern high school with tradition”, around 100 teachers now teach around 1000 students.

With your grades, you can choose the subject you want to study. Why did you choose medicine?
It was an obvious choice for me because my father and mother are doctors, and biology was one of my favourite subjects at school. What I like is the wide range of careers I have with a medical degree: I can practise as a doctor or go into research, maybe even into business. It’s good that I still have a few years to make my decision.

Medicine, information, natural sciences, technology: it is often said that interest in STEM subjects is waning among young people. Can you confirm this?
It’s different in my environment – science subjects were particularly popular at school. Many opted for advanced courses in maths, physics and computer science. The decisive factor is personal preference: People who enjoy computer games are often also interested in computer science.

How would you describe your generation’s attitude to life?
My generation is very free, it has many options and wants to have fun in life. My friends and I are aware of the problems in the world, we have the climate crisis and the wars on our radar, but that doesn’t paralyse us. Some of us are involved in politics to have more influence on the future course. But most of us have enough to do with ourselves and our future plans after leaving school.

You are young, the GDNÄ is a good 200 years old. Can that go together?
They go together very well. When I look at the GDNÄ website, I see great scientists such as Alexander von Humboldt, Albert Einstein and Max Planck on the homepage. I see this as an incentive for me and my generation. Perhaps we too can change the world with new, revolutionary ideas.

Paul Scholand, GDNÄ student scholarship holder, will attend the meeting in Potsdam 2024.

About the person

Paul Scholand was born in Bielefeld in 2006. He initially attended a bilingual primary school there (English and German). He later went to the Helmholtz-Gymnasium, where he enthusiastically completed a basic biology course with Paul Mühlenhoff, the head of the GDNÄ student programme. In the upper school level, Paul Scholand took advanced courses in history and maths; other exam subjects in the Abitur were Latin and biology. In August 2024, he will begin a voluntary social year at the Bielefeld golf club and will support the staff with youth training, in the office and with course maintenance until July 2025. The 19-year-old then wants to start his medical studies – preferably in a medium-sized German city such as Münster, Tübingen or Freiburg.

Further information

>> Helmholtz-Gymnasium Bielefeld

>> GDNÄ Assembly 2024 with student programme (PDF)

Student Program: Team portraits now on Instagram

Student Program

Team portraits now on Instagram

New on the GDNÄ’s own Instagram channel @gdnae.society are short video portraits of six student program teams from biology, chemistry, mathematics, medicine, physics and engineering. The young people describe on camera , how they experienced the 200th anniversary of the GDNÄ and what participation in the student program means for their future. On Instagram, the team portraits will be published successively.

The Instagram posts were produced by a young team from Stuttgart Media University. The team includes Gloria Gamarnik, Lena Dagenbach and Maren Krämer, three students from the Crossmedia Editorial/Public Relations program. During the Leipzig anniversary celebration, they provided the Instagram community with up-to-the-minute impressions of the conference events. The focus of the coverage was the GDNÄ’s student program. The GDNÄ Instagram project is led by Dr. Alexander Mäder, science journalist and professor at the Media University.