Last week, the selected tandems of our Lower Saxony – Scotland Tandem Fellowship Programme came together for the first time to present their research projects. The conference took place in a hybrid format: The fellows from Lower Saxony met at Leuphana University Lüneburg while their tandem partners from Scotland joined via Zoom.
After the opening speeches by Dr. Marcus Beiner (Ministry of Science and Culture Lower Saxony), Prof. Dr. Jörg Philipp Terhechte (Academic Director ECAS), Prof. Dr. James Conroy (Academic Director ECAS) and Ramona Tax (Sen. Program Coordinator ECAS), Dr. Lea Hartwich and Dr. Helena Radke presented their project on generational injustice and collective action against climate change. The research will be conducted in Osnabrück and Edinburgh.
The second day of the conference started with a presentation by Dr. Lena Albers (Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg) and Dr. Catherine Weetman (University of Strathclyde) on the synthesis of new heteroalkenes containing group 14 and group 2 elements and their application as catalysts.
Before the lunch break, Prof. Dr. Monika Blattmeier gave an interesting input on patterns of organisational learning through visual performance management. Afterwards, the fellows who were present in Lüneburg had the opportunity to meet Björn Thümler, the Minister for Science and Culture of Lower Saxony.
In the afternoon, Dr. Martin I. Antov (University of Osnabrück) and Dr. Danying Wang (University of Glasgow) explained how they want to explore the causal role of synchronisation in the theta-band for contextual fear memories. Last but not least, Dr. Arran Reader (University of Stirling) and Dr. Laura Schmitz (Leibniz University Hannover) introduced their project on social interaction in times of social distancing and the impact of physical and emotional distance on the effectiveness of joint action.
The event was very enriching for all involved and a great kick-off for the first run of the Tandem Fellowship Programme. We are very excited to see how these interesting research projects will develop during the next months!