Sylvia Maus

Science Manager Committees, Legal, Organization

What is special about your job for you? What excites you about it?

What makes my profession special to me is the combination of a strategic perspective and very concrete implementation. In the staff unit Committees, Legal, Organization, many threads come together: decisions made by senior management, requirements from research and administration, legal frameworks, and organizational developments. I find it exciting to work at this interface, where ideas are transformed into structures that sustain the center long term.

What particularly inspires me is the scope I have to shape and design. Organization is not something rigid, but something living: we can improve processes, facilitate collaboration, and thereby indirectly enable excellent research. In addition, I work with a wide range of people – from researchers and administrative professionals to external partners in ministries and partner institutions. This diversity, the shared effort to find good solutions, and the focus on what moves HZDR forward as a whole motivate me.

What made you decide in favor of science?

A key moment in my decision to move into research management was the realization that, alongside my passion for science, I also have a strong interest in shaping the structural and strategic processes that enable and promote research. During my time as a researcher, I became aware of how crucial a well-organized and supportive research environment is to the success of scientific projects. As a result, already during my doctoral studies – and later as a postdoctoral researcher – I took on numerous coordination tasks, primarily in interdisciplinary projects. In doing so, I discovered that I not only enjoyed pursuing my own research ideas, but also creating the framework that allows others to achieve their scientific goals. This realization, combined with the positive influence of role models and the prospect of long-term, secure employment within the research environment, ultimately led me to take the step into research management.

Who or what has particularly encouraged you in your career?

The initial impulse for me was participating in a one-year certificate course entitled Research Management for Early-Career Researchers. Over the course of a year, I was able to expand my skills, deepen my knowledge, and – most importantly – gain a much clearer understanding of what research and science management actually entails, not merely as part of my work as a researcher, but as an independent career option.

Later on, it was above all the exchange and collaboration with dedicated and highly competent colleagues here at HZDR and within research management networks that enabled me to build valuable contracts and benefit from the experience of others. I also experienced participation in the Dresden Cross-Mentoring Program as a particular opportunity. The close exchange with a mentor over an entire year, the cross-sector networking with other mentees, and the accompanying seminar program contributed enormously to my personal and professional development.

Finally, the support and trust of leadership played an important role. Especially here at HZDR, I am fortunate to have leaders who have actively supported my career development and who gave me room to grow precisely when it mattered most.

What do you think is needed to get more young women interested in science?

I firmly believe that many girls and young women carry a strong enthusiasm for science within them. The key is to encourage them to pursue this path. In my view, role models and female mentors play a particularly important role in this process. They can inspire young women and show them that a career in science is achievable.

We therefore need more women in leadership positions in science – not only because of their role-model function, but also because there is growing evidence that teams led by female leaders tend to be more diverse and that career prospects for early-career female researchers are improved. Networks and dedicated programs for women in science can help reduce barriers and provide support.

In my experience, flexible working conditions and support in balancing family and professional life are and remain essential in order to retain women in science over the long term. This also includes a certain degree of predictability in career paths. Finally, it is important for everyone – men and women alike – to raise awareness of gender-specific challenges in science and to actively work toward overcoming them.

What goals or wishes do you have for the future?

I hope that at HZDR – and in science more broadly – we will continue to shape the future with courage: organizationally, culturally, and strategically. My goal is to develop structures that support research even more effectively, facilitate collaboration, and make decision-making transparent. In short, to create frameworks in which people can do their best work.

On a personal level, I want to remain curious. I would like to continue engaging with topics that go beyond administration in the narrow sense and instead focus on long-term viability: new forms of leadership, efficient committee work, clear legal guidance in dynamic times, and an organizational culture that sees diversity as a strength.

I hope that I can continue to contribute, in a small way, not only to creating the conditions for significant scientific advances, but also to strengthening a culture of social responsibility within science. And I hope that together we succeed in presenting science as something that does not appear elitist or distant, but open, socially relevant, and human. When young women can feel that, they will not only show up, but stay.