Stifterverband certifies Helmholtz Centre Berlin for strategies in dealing with diversity
HZB is the first non-university research institution to be awarded the " Vielfalt gestalten " ("Shaping Diversity") certificate by the Stifterverband.
(from left to right: Volker Meyer-Guckel, Deputy Secretary General of the Stifterverband, Jennifer Schevardo, HZB Project Manager Diversity Audit, Jan Lüning, scientific director at HZB). © HZB
The Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) is the first non-university research institution to have undergone the Stifterverband's diversity audit "Vielfalt gestalten". The certification attests to the HZB's opportunity-oriented concepts and measures for diverse groups of people.
Regardless of whether employees come from abroad, have a migration background or work part-time, regardless of their age, gender or ideology - all employees should be able to participate equally in everyday work with their abilities. To ensure this, the HZB went through an 18-month process. In the process, the existing concepts to promote diversity were expanded and corresponding measures were implemented. These concern both organisational structures and personnel management. Services for employees and diversity-sensitive communication are also part of the diversity strategy.
"The Diversity Audit has given us important impetus and pushed forward issues that we have been dealing with as an organisation for a long time," says Thomas Frederking, Commercial Director of Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin. "We have updated our Code of Conduct, organised selection and recruitment processes in a more diversity-sensitive way and are currently revising the processes for conflict management. We have also taken a close look at our work and leadership culture and will establish corresponding guidelines. Many HZB employees contributed ideas during the diversity audit, which we are particularly pleased about."
"We are very glad that the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin is the first non-university research institution to receive the Stifterverband certificate 'Shaping Diversity'. After all, dealing with diversity remains one of the major development tasks in the entire scientific landscape," explains Volker Meyer-Guckel, Deputy Secretary General of the Stifterverband. "More and more institutions are realising that a diversity-friendly culture strengthens employee satisfaction and performance. The innovative power of an institution can be increased through different perspectives and experiences of all employees."
Since 2013, the Stifterverband has offered the diversity audit "Shaping Diversity" to universities as a service. Since then, more than 50 universities have successfully participated. Originally developed for universities, the audit was piloted for non-university research institutions in cooperation with the Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin.
- Susanne Nies appointed to EU advisory group on Green DealDr. Susanne Nies heads the Green Deal Ukraina project at HZB, which aims to support the development of a sustainable energy system in Ukraine. The energy expert has now also been appointed to the European Commission's scientific advisory group to comment on regulatory burdens in connection with the net-zero target (DG GROW).
- Long-term stability for perovskite solar cells: a big step forwardPerovskite solar cells are inexpensive to produce and generate a high amount of electric power per surface area. However, they are not yet stable enough, losing efficiency more rapidly than the silicon market standard. Now, an international team led by Prof. Dr. Antonio Abate has dramatically increased their stability by applying a novel coating to the interface between the surface of the perovskite and the top contact layer. This has even boosted efficiency to almost 27%, which represents the state-of-the-art. After 1,200 hours of continuous operation under standard illumination, no decrease in efficiency was observed. The study involved research teams from China, Italy, Switzerland and Germany and has been published in Nature Photonics.
- BESSY II: Phosphorus chains – a 1D material with 1D electronic propertiesFor the first time, a team at BESSY II has succeeded in demonstrating the one-dimensional electronic properties in phosphorus. The samples consisted of short chains of phosphorus atoms that self-organise at specific angles on a silver substrate. Through sophisticated analysis, the team was able to disentangle the contributions of these differently aligned chains. This revealed that the electronic properties of each chain are indeed one-dimensional. Calculations predict an exciting phase transition to be expected as soon as these chains are more closely packed. While material consisting of individual chains with longer distances is semiconducting, a very dense chain structure would be metallic.