For the second year running, a recent graduate of ours is heading to Antarctica on an international programme fostering leadership skills in women scientists.
Hannah Laeverenz Schlogelhofer
Hannah Laeverenz Schlogelhofer (pictured below, in the lab) is currently preparing for her trip to Antarctica in February 2018 with the Homeward Bound programme. She is the second recent alumna of ours to take part in this ambitious programme which aims to "heighten the influence and impact of women with a science background in order to influence policy and decision making as it shapes our planet". Alison Davies, pictured above, who graduated in 2014 and now works for the Met Office, was also selected for the Homeward Bound programme and visited Antarctica in December 2016, a trip she described as the fulfilment of a long-held dream.
Hannah took her Natural Sciences degree here, graduating in 2013, and later returned to the department to work on a project with Dr Silvia Vignolini as part of a Nanotechnology doctoral training programme. She is currently studying for a PhD in Cambridge's Physics and Plant Sciences Departments in the nutrient interactions between algae and bacteria and the cooperative networks that they form.
The trip to Antarctica, she says, is about much more than the location and the challenges of traveling there. In the year before the trip, as part of her preparation, she has been taking part in in-depth leadership training. "We're learning about ourselves, as to know how to lead others, you first have to know yourself. That has included a 'life skills inventory' that assesses our personality and behavioural traits from a 360-degree perspective."
She sees the ideas she is gaining from this, and the networks and opportunities the Homeward Bound community can offer her both now and in the future, as hugely valuable.
“The opportunity to be part of a growing network of women in science is key. Homeward Bound aims to take 1,000 women on this journey over 10 years. The idea of this network seems to me so visionary and supportive – particularly to someone like me who has always really enjoyed academic life but is not yet sure where it will take me in the future.”
"Getting to see and experience Antarctica for myself was incredible and humbling as it feels like one of the last true wildernesses." Alison Davies.
Alison Davies
Alison studied Natural Sciences from 2010-2014, specializing in Chemistry for her last two years, and now works as an Operational Meteorologist with the Met Office. For her, the three-week trip on a ship to explore Antarctica on the Homeward Bound expedition in December 2016 (see the picture at the top of the page) was the fulfillment of a long-held dream.
“I'd wanted to go to Antarctica since I was really young and saw documentaries about it,” she says. “Experiencing it for myself was humbling as it feels like one of the last true wildernesses. It was a magical place: silent, except for the noise of the boat and the occasional crash from newly-formed icebergs calving from the glacier front.”
But the trip, which comes at the end of a year-long initiative to foster leadership skills in women scientists and create an international network to support them, was not the only highlight for her, she says. “The other woman in my cohort were really inspirational and had a huge range of ages, backgrounds and areas of expertise,” she says.
“I am ambitious, but I realise that reaching a senior position needs a range of skills and experience. So for me it was really beneficial to start thinking about my skills beyond my academic ones, such as emotional intelligence, visibility, presentation skills and networking. The programme has given me so much to think about and work on – and a group of amazing women to discuss it with when I get stuck.”
Homeward Bound is an ambitious international programme aiming to heighten the influence and impact of women with a background in science, technology, engineering, medicine and maths on policy and decision-making.
Around the world, the organisation says, “women are under-represented in leadership positions. Though they are a significant percentage of college graduates and the workforce, they are in the minority when it comes to executive decision-making roles.” Homeward Bound hopes that by giving them leadership and strategic skills, a sound understanding of the science, and a strong network, “they will be able to impact policy and decisions towards a sustainable future.”
- Follow this link to find out more about the Homeward Bound programme.
- See more about Hannah's upcoming Antarctica trip here
Top image: Alison Davies in Antarctica in December 2016. Image courtesy of Alison Davies. In-text image of Hannah Laeverenz Schlogelhofer courtesy of Homeward Bound.