Source: Own illustration
What resources and support services are available to help early-career researchers advance their academic careers? At the RWTH Young Academics Day on September 4, 2026, doctoral students and postdocs had the opportunity to learn about various support programs offered by RWTH and to network with one another. The RDM team was also present at the event.
Organized by the RWTH Center for Young Academics, the event brought together early-career researchers from various departments at SuperC. In addition to providing information on the various opportunities offered by RWTH, the event offered, in particular, an opportunity for exchange and networking.
Insights Into Scientific Career Paths and Science Communication
The event was opened by Professor Ulrich Rüdiger, President of RWTH Aachen University. In his remarks, he reflected on key milestones in his own scientific career and shared his experiences and recommendations with the young researchers in attendance.
Another highlight of the program was the keynote address by Dr. Jens Foell on the topic of “Science Communication as Knowledge Transfer.” In his talk, he explored how scientific content can be conveyed in a way that is understandable and tailored to the target audience, and which factors influence trust in science communication. He emphasized honesty, methodological rigor, and authenticity as particularly important. This included the accurate presentation of facts, their placement within the appropriate context, and a transparent approach to one’s own perspective. Trust, on the other hand, can be lost if political positions unduly shape communication, if generative AI is used in scientific work without proper consideration, or if the line between facts and opinions becomes blurred. Foell therefore advocated for openness regarding one’s own stance and for accepting that, in a polarized society, science communication cannot reach everyone equally.
In addition to the lecture program, participants had the opportunity to learn about numerous support services available to them throughout their academic careers at RWTH.
-
- Sources: Own illustrations
Research Data Management as Part of Daily Research Life
The RDM team also used the Young Academics Day as an opportunity to engage with doctoral students and postdocs and to draw their attention to the support services available for handling research data.
It is especially at the beginning of a scientific career that important foundations are laid for the future handling of research data. Questions regarding the structured storage and documentation of data, metadata, data management plans, or the publication and long-term reuse of research data often accompany researchers throughout the entire research process.
RWTH offers various services, tools, and advisory resources for this purpose. These include, among others, the RDM platform Coscine, the electronic lab notebook eLabFTW, RDMO for creating and editing data management plans, and RWTH Publications for publishing research data. These resources are complemented by consultations and a comprehensive continuing education program offered by the RDM team.
The Young Academics Day thus provided a good opportunity to make early-career researchers aware of these resources at an early stage and to highlight research data management as an integral part of scientific work.
Engaging with Early-Career Researchers
In addition to presenting the various resources available, the RDM team focused primarily on personal interaction. The on-site discussions provided an opportunity to directly address questions
and needs arising from day-to-day research while also pointing participants toward appropriate resources and services.
We would like to thank the RWTH Center for Young Academics for organizing the event and all participants for their engagement at Young Academics Day 2026.
Learn More
Would you like to learn more about research data management at RWTH, or do you have questions about our services and tools? The RDM team is happy to assist you with any questions regarding the handling of research data.
Responsible for the content of this article is Arlinda Ujkani
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.