Foto: Enno Kapitza für DLR

Institute Council

The Institute Council of the Institute of Communications and Navigation meets usually every six weeks and is chaired by the Institute’s director. The members of the Institute Council deal with the structure and processes of procedures within the Institute, accompany strategic processes, define framework conditions for scientific work and exercise professional self-regulation. Among other things, the council is currently working on improved processes for the training of new employees as well as realistic project and resource planning as part of the "More Time for Science" initiative.

Doctoral student representation

DLR maintains a cross-site doctoral student representation consisting of five members who are elected once a year by DLR’s doctoral students. In addition, an internal doctoral student representation advocates the interests of all institute’s doctoral candidates and is available to them and the institute as a contact. In cooperation with the DLR departments responsible for the development of young scientists, the doctoral student representation coordinates the networking of the doctoral students and promotes the external presentation of relevant topics. 

KN Women Scientists (KNWS)

KN Women Scientists is a group gathering women scientists working at DLR-Institute of Communications and Navigation. This group was initiated in 2020 to allow women scientists working at the Institute (~15% of staff) to connect and exchange about common working experiences. In 2021, the status of the group evolved as it became more active and involved into the ever-evolving challenges of KN women scientists. In 2021, two representatives were elected to manage the KNWS group and its project as well as to communicate regularly with the KN Institute’s board. That year, KNWS focused on two projects:

1. a seminar project on the theme of "Unconscious Bias & Working Together", for which an EAF Berlin seminar was customized to include KN women experiences. This seminar was funded by the Institute and made mandatory for all the group, department and institute leaders.
2. a KN women empowering program in which KN women candidates applies to work and exchange work experience with a KN department or institute leader over the course of a few weeks.

The KN women scientists group gathers every month and organizes a networking day per year allowing to strengthen the network and exchange between women in the group. The group receives invited speakers every 2-3 months and collaborate with the other women networks in DLR. In December 2021, the group was nominated for the FTA award in the category “#ImpactTogether”. The group also manages a LinkedIn page on “Visibility of Women in Aerospace”. The group reports regularly to the Institute’s leaders and beneficiates from their full support in their projects.

To contact us, please write to this year’s representatives: Cecile.Deprez@dlr.de or Amita.Shrestha@dlr.de