The second Lower Saxony – Scotland Tandem Fellowship Conference was held at the University of Stirling on 13 and 14 October 2022.
The Fellow Conference is an annual two-day hybrid event to inaugurate each new generation of tandem projects. At the same time, it provides a platform for the outgoing generation to share experiences and present the results of their completed fellowships. To promote the international research partnerships supported by the Lower Saxony – Scotland Tandem Fellowship Programme, the conference is organised in partnership with a different participating higher education institution each year – this time we were honoured to work with the University of Stirling, Scotland.
The event began with speeches by Karolina Michniewicz (Academic Coordinator at ECAS) and Prof. Neville Wylie (Deputy Principal for Internationalisation and Professor of International History at University of Stirling), who reflected on the great value of the partnership between Lower Saxony and Scotland as well as the University of Stirling’s commitment to its continued growth and development. The two Academic Directors of ECAS, Prof. Jörg Philipp Terhechte and Prof. James Conroy, then elaborated on the unique framework of the Tandem Fellowship Programme and emphasised the role of the Ministry of Science and Culture of Lower Saxony in enabling young researchers to work on joint groundbreaking projects.
Moreover, the participants even had the unique opportunity to meet the Minister of Science and Culture of Lower Saxony, Dr Björn Thümler, who personally attended the event accompanied by a Lower Saxony science delegation as part of his visit to some of Scotland’s most prestigious universities, including the University of St Andrew, the University of Glasgow and the University of Edinburgh.
Throughout the conference, each tandem from the outgoing generation (2021 – 2022) as well as the new generation (2022 – 2023), was given 30 minutes to subsequently present the results of their research conducted during the fellowship or to introduce their project and objectives for the upcoming collaboration. As of now, the following projects and researchers are part of the Lower Saxony – Scotland Tandem Fellowship Programme:
Tandem I:
Social Interaction in Times of Social Distancing: Investigating the Impact of Physical and Emotional Distance on Joint Action
Dr Arran Reader (University of Stirling) & Dr Laura Schmitz (University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf / previously: Leibniz University Hannover)
Tandem II:
Synthesis of new Heteroalkenes Containing Group 14 and Group 2 Elements and their Application as Catalysts
Dr Lena Albers (Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg) & Dr Catherine Weetman (University of Strathclyde)
Tandem III:
Causal Role of Synchronisation in the Theta-Band for Contextual Fear Memories
Dr Danying Wang (University of Glasgow) & Dr Martin I. Antov (University of Regensburg / previously: Osnabrück University)
Tandem IV:
“You’re stealing our future!” Fridays for Future and Collective Action against Climate Change
Dr Lea Hartwich (University of Osnabrück) & Dr Helena Radke (University of Edinburgh)
Tandem V:
GREAT SCOT-D Simulating Subsurface Conditions for Green Energy Technologies in Lower Saxony and Scotland using the Unique Great Cells of Edinburgh University and Georg-August Universität Göttingen
Dr Michael Chandler (University of Edinburgh) & Dr Marco Fazio (University of Göttingen)
Tandem VI:
Financial Globalization and Capital Flows in an Unbalanced World
Dr Ning Zhang (University of Glasgow) & Dr Qu Zhan (University of Göttingen)
Tandem VII:
Quantum Energy and Accelerated Mirrors
Dr Salvatore Butera (University of Glasgow) & Dr Yafet Erasmo Sanchez Sanchez (Leibniz University Hannover)
Tandem VIII:
Random Periodic Orbits and Periodic Measures in Interacting Particle Systems
Dr Benedikt Jahnel (Technical University of Braunschweig) & Dr Yue Wu (University of Strathclyde)
Tandem IX:
Migrant Care Workers (MCWs) in UK, Germany & Italy: A Comparative Analysis of Quantitative Data & Public Policies on Migration
Dr Andrea Teti (University of Vechta) & Dr Francesca Scrinzi (University of Glasgow)
The Fellow Conference once again proved to be an enriching networking experience, defined by excellent international research and a determination to discover new paths for academic cooperation between Lower Saxony and Scotland to develop and flourish.
ECAS is delighted to have had the opportunity of such a great collaboration with the University of Stirling with the common goal of providing a platform for all Fellows and their Academic Collaborators, the Members of the Selection Committee as well as the guests of the Lower Saxonian Delegation and all interested researchers from the academic network and beyond to network and explore further opportunities for joint international research.
Information on all the tandem projects listed above will be updated in the coming weeks and made available here: Lower Saxony – Scotland Projects.