Blog - hfp consulting

A good leader knows s/he doesn’t have all the answers

Sašo Kočevar, Managing Director at hfp consulting and a Senior Consultant shares his views on leadership in science.

Why is leadership needed in science?

Professional development (communication, conflict resolution, management skills) is a relatively new field. hfp consulting has been active since 2005, and since then the relevance of programs for PhD supervisors, PIs and so on has been acknowledged. And scientific leaders are becoming more aware of their responsibility in the training of … Read more “A good leader knows s/he doesn’t have all the answers”

Women in Malaria: empowering female leadership in science.

Interview with Elena Gómez-Díaz, Distinguished Researcher (ID) at the IPBLN-CSIC and one of the organisers of Women in Malaria (WiM) 2021, on how to improve the representation of women in science.

What are the objectives of WiM?

Basically, WiM aims to:

Promote inclusion. We want to combat the deeply set gender inequality and gender bias in research environments, which is particularly acute in the field of malaria research by giving voice to people… Read more

Our core facility management course: the result of a fruitful collaboration with GerBI-GMB e.V.

This core facility management course was developed for and with core facility managers.

Core facilities, designed to serve as central hubs for technical and analytic services, are shaping the future of science.

“In short, core facilities aim to make the best out of technology. On the one hand, core facilities serve as a meeting point for users, which enhances collaboration. On the other, core facilities offer three different service levels: first, they attend requests for … Read more “Our core facility management course: the result of a fruitful collaboration with GerBI-GMB e.V.”

I could apply CaDYS and ProDYS learnings since day one, both to my professional and private life

Julia Villarroel

Interview with Julia Villarroel, a former participant on both career development (CaDYS) and professional development (ProDYS) for young scientists’ courses.

What made you choose hfp consulting’s workshops?

I’m a scientist and a bioinformatician by training and once I had finished my bachelor’s degree, I started dreaming of pursuing the academic track and having my own lab where I could undertake my own research one day. Therefore, choices … Read more “I could apply CaDYS and ProDYS learnings since day one, both to my professional and private life”

Core Facility Managers need to be trained both in administrative and business concepts such as budgeting

Interview with Janina Hanne, Stefanie Weidtkamp-Peters and Elisa May, managing director, chair, and former chair/co-founder) of German BioImaging, the German Society for Microscopy and Image Analysis (GerBI-GMB e. V.) on core facilities and hfp consulting’s unique workshop for Core Facility Management

What inspired the idea of a management course specifically for core facilities?

Elisa: At the time –2008– I was tasked to start managing my core facility, there were very few … Read more “Core Facility Managers need to be trained both in administrative and business concepts such as budgeting”

Core facilities aim to make the best out of technology

Interview with Janina Hanne, Stefanie Weidtkamp-Peters and Elisa May, managing director, chair, and former chair/co-founder) of German BioImaging, the German Society for Microscopy and Image Analysis (GerBI-GMB e. V.) on Core Facilities

What are core facilities?

Steffi: In short, they are a place where advanced instrumentation is located, and with expert personnel, namely core facility managers, responsible for their maintenance and optimal performance. Core facilities aim to make the best out of technology. … Read more “Core facilities aim to make the best out of technology”

Most scientists need guidance in figuring out their careers outside academia

Tobias Maier, scientist and Senior Consultant answers some questions on the career development course outside academia at hfp consulting.

Why would scientists need to consider a career development course?

When most scientists enter academia, they basically follow a well-trodden path: they had good marks at school, liked scientific topics, enjoyed university and ended up doing a PhD because it is often the path of least resistance.

At a certain point, though, senior PhD students … Read more “Most scientists need guidance in figuring out their careers outside academia”

There’s no limit to what scientists can do beyond academia

Tobias Maier, scientist and Senior Consultant at hfp consulting answers some questions on career development.

What kind of careers can scientists consider beyond academia?

Actually, there’s no limit to what jobs scientists can do.

Not only can they access jobs related to academia such as facility manager, lab manager, and project manager but they can also do R&D in industry or, moving further beyond research-related activities, they can go into sales, marketing, communication, or … Read more “There’s no limit to what scientists can do beyond academia”

Key aspects for successful team collaboration in complex times

What makes diverse teams in collaborative projects successful?

Recently, I had the privilege of participating in the annual meeting of the African Cassava Whitefly Project, and could directly ask its members to share what they consider key to a successful team collaboration.

Outbreaks of the African cassava whitefly are responsible for serious crop losses resulting in hunger, recurrent famines and annual losses of more than US$1.25 billion. … Read more “Key aspects for successful team collaboration in complex times”

Leading in the midst of a pandemic

Do you see a crisis as a burden or an opportunity? Can you be a real leader when facing a critical situation? Strong leadership is not demonstrated simply by driving people towards a goal, but by showing the courage to lead. By being adaptable, by showing readiness for discussion with your co-workers, by taking time and talking to them. This is the only possible way of effectively leading in a pandemic.

Leadership in times of

Acknowledging the need to adapt is a basic leadership skill

Sašo Kočevar, Managing Director at hfp consulting and a Senior Consultant shares his views on leadership in science and adapting to times of crisis

What are the defining characteristics of a good leader in science?

Obviously, a prerequisite would be scientific excellence to be able to inspire others in the research topic common to the group. On the other hand, they have to be open and ready to listen to their coworkers to empower … Read more “Acknowledging the need to adapt is a basic leadership skill”

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