As Senior Officer in the EMBO Young Investigator and Installation Grant Programmes Lena dedicates much of her time to overseeing different steps of the annual selection processes for the two programmes. “There is a lot of hands-on work and communication between the involved parties – potential candidates, reviewers, committee members, and I provide them with information, documentation and support,” she says. Selection procedures involve a lot of documentation and paperwork, as well as a well-built timeline for the whole team to make sure all deadlines are met.
There is a lot of hands-on work and communication between the involved parties – potential candidates, reviewers, committee members, and I provide them with information, documentation and support
In addition to the daily administration of the two programmes and their benefits, Lena is involved in the continuous assessment and improvement of the processes. Currently, they are working on establishing a mentorship platform, where members of the community of awarded young investigators will be able to easily locate an EMBO Member from their field to seek one-off advice or engage in a mentorship relationship. Another big project is implementing a digital submission platform where active members of the community can apply for networking benefits. In all these endeavours, Lena enjoys the collaborative work: “In the team, we have a lot of great ideas that we constantly are talking through, and I enjoy working out technical details behind the scenes on how to put these ideas into reality to the benefit of the EMBO communities.”
Lena feels the skills she acquired during her PhD and as a research scientist prior to working at EMBO serve her well in her current role. “A structured researcher mindset helps a lot in my role. You take an idea or a task of any size, from conference organization to the annual selection planning and work out a step-by-step protocol on how to implement it – structuring each step and rolling out the timeline, all while keeping good documentation to stay auditable and accountable. You also have an open mind and seek ways to improve things.”
Flexible working environment is quite important for me, and this is where EMBO shines
At EMBO Lena appreciates the flexibility she has when structuring her workdays. “Flexible working environment is quite important for me, and this is where EMBO shines”. She also enjoys the supportive and friendly working atmosphere, where people teach their tricks of the trade to each other, all working towards one goal of delivering support to the EMBO communities. “Everyone is forthcoming with sharing experiences or tools that could be helpful, and people give credit where credit is due.”
