Source: Fachhochschule Potsdam, © Andrea Hansen
"My tip for young researchers: Be passionately interested in your own research topic and keep an eye on the overarching contexts"
Do you already know which career path is right for you? Do you know how to get there and which steps are up next? The BAM career fireside chats series invite alumni and other partners of BAM to an informal chat focusing on their career paths. Developed for BAM’s early career scientists, this series aims to help PhD students and postdocs figure out which career path would be best suited for them. We invite a wide range of professionals from different sectors, including science, industry and the public sector. Additionally, we aim to include different professional backgrounds. We ask our guests about their experiences and invite the audience to ask questions.
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Klaus Pistol, you studied civil engineering, economics and mineralogy at the University of Leipzig. Since 2018, you have been teaching and researching building materials at the Potsdam University of Applied Sciences. How does this step fit in with your professional career?
Even during my studies, I was particularly interested in building materials, because the scope for design and construction in architecture and civil engineering depends essentially on the properties of the available building materials. Since I could not always benefit from good didactic teaching of basic relationships during my studies, I discovered the task of passing on my acquired knowledge about the structure-property relationship of building materials to young students in a way that was as comprehensible and practical as possible. So, it made sense for me to apply for a professorship in building materials at an university of applied sciences.
What special memory/experience as a doctoral student at BAM did you take with you?
When I get involved in academic self-administration in my current work at an university, I benefit from the experience that BAM has an official organisational structure. This is particularly valuable because by knowing the possibilities and limits on the way to realising one's own ideas, the motivation to achieve the goals does not suffer.
What advice would you give to young researchers for their career planning?
I would advise young academics to think less about career planning during the period of academic qualification, but rather to be passionately interested in their own research topic, which is usually narrowly defined, and to keep an eye on the overarching contexts of their own research. They should understand the work in research as a privilege and think about how they can use the acquired competence as a contribution to the further development of society after the doctorate.
Are you a former BAM researcher? Did you work at BAM while pursuing your Ph.D.? Did you partner with BAM on a research project?
Stay in touch with BAM by joining the Alumni@BAM network! Simply register online here.