discovered_01_2015 - A Flair for Diplomacy

PORTRAIT// THE HZDR RESEARCH MAGAZINE WWW.HZDR.DE 32 33 COOPERATION: NCT coordinator Heidrun Groß makes sure that the interests of all partners in Heidelberg and Dresden are taken into account. Photo: Stephan Wiegand ‘Research institutions are sometimes a bit like small countries,’ Heidrun Groß explains. ‘They have their own agenda and do their best to make sure they get their way. So, just as with countries, compromises have to be found that satisfy everyone. The processes involved are fairly similar.’ Groß speaks from experience. After all, she engaged in international affairs at university, in her PhD and as a postdoc. This knowledge is now helping her to deal with a project that has many partners on board. Since the beginning of the year, she has been responsible for coordinating the development of the National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) in Dresden. // The National Center for Tumor Diseases in Heidelberg is currently gaining a partner institution in Dresden. Administratively, Heidrun Groß plays a crucial role in the process. _TEXT . Simon Schmitt A FLAIR FOR DIPLOMACY ‘This means that at the moment, all administrative tasks converge on my desk, from coordinating appointments via drawing up contracts to designing a new website,’ says Groß, describing the range of her activities. Hardly surprising, because apart from NCT Executive Director Michael Baumann, she is currently the only member of staff at NCT in Dresden. But this does not worry the Saxony-born manager. ‘I gathered a lot of experience in science management during my time as the head of a transnational junior researcher group.’ She also acquired legal knowledge during her doctorate at TU Dresden, which focused on cultural diversity and copyright. Constructive cooperation And in this context she also developed a flair for diplomacy, which she illustrates with an analogy: ‘We can only make proper use of a table if the legs are all the same length. This reflects well the structure of the NCT. We have to take all the

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