Interdisciplinary Minds
References
Young-Jin Hur, Ph.D.
Course Leader of MSc Psychology of Fashion, University of the Arts London, UK
“For curious and adventurous minds eager to connect the dots across diverse disciplines, this workshop is a must! Iris was a delight to work with on our fashion psychology course, and we would absolutely love to have her back anytime.”
Workshop: “Crossing Boundaries in Interdisciplinary Collaborations”
Sabine Toussaint, M.A.
Director, Office for Research Consortium Management, Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU), Munich
“As part of our‘Interdisciplinarity in Dialogue’program, Iris Mencke led a short online workshop for colleagues managing interdisciplinary research projects and centers. I was very impressed with how she handled the challenges of the format: her input was exceptionally well-prepared and practical, and she interacted with participants in a clear and empathetic manner. Truly helpful and inspiring, exactly what we were looking for—thank you very much!”
Workshop “Between Disciplinary Cultures and Trust”
Dr. Christina Dieckhoff
Coordinator for Young Researchers, Bavarian Research Institute for Digital Transformation (bidt), Munich
“Iris Mencke truly inspired us all with her workshop ‘Mastering Your Interdisciplinary Career.’ In particular, the ‘Traveling Concept’ and ‘Venn Diagram’ methods were very well received by our doctoral students and postdocs. The principles of the workshop were put into practice immediately afterward, as new, exciting, and highly innovative working groups were formed. Thank you very much for the inspiring insight into an important topic. We look forward to finding another opportunity to collaborate!”
“Mastering Your Interdisciplinary Career” Workshop
Khadija Hajji, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Researcher, Central European Institute of Technology,
Masaryk University, CZE
“I had the opportunity to attend a four-hour interdisciplinary workshop led by Dr. Iris Mencke. The workshop was well-structured, striking a thoughtful balance between theory and practical application. Dr. Mencke demonstrated both professionalism and approachability—she is clearly dedicated to her work while remaining warm and engaging throughout the session.”
Workshop “Pathways to an Interdisciplinary Career: Strategies and Competencies for Postdocs”
Dr. Mona Stierwald
Coachee, Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany
"During my coaching sessions with Iris, I quickly felt a sense of trust that allowed me to open up and explore the core of my issue. Her great empathy and sensitivity were particularly helpful."
Dr. Jonas Kuppler
Coordinator of the NFDI4Earth Academy, Interdisciplinary Training, GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences, Berlin
“The workshop provided valuable inspiration for our early-career researchers in Earth system and planetary sciences. It not only offered valuable guidance and food for thought regarding an interdisciplinary career, but also provided practical tools that can be applied immediately. We found the ‘Traveling Concepts’ particularly exciting, as they helped us see things from different perspectives.”
Workshop “Mastering Your Interdisciplinary Career”
Dr. Johannes Haetscher
Senckenberg Society for Nature Research, Frankfurt am Main
“As part of a collaborative project, Dr. Iris Mencke led a workshop at our institution on successful interdisciplinary collaboration between biology and engineering.”
Using the tools and methods from Dr. Iris Mencke’s toolbox and within the framework of a systemic approach, we were able to review the project’s progress to date. On the one hand, it filled us with pride to be able to look back on what we had achieved so far in a methodically structured way. On the other hand, however, the systemic support also enabled us to identify challenges and difficulties that we might not have recognized on our own. Of particular importance here was the fact that Dr. Iris Mencke is not only an outstanding coach but has also gained extensive experience in interdisciplinary collaboration herself. This played a decisive role in ensuring that our specific concerns and challenges were addressed in a way that would have been hardly possible in a less specialized workshop. The project participants concluded that this reflection format should have been implemented as early as the midpoint of the project, as the insights gained were so helpful.
“A particular added value was the collaborative documentation of the workshop results. In doing so, we abstracted what we had learned and reconstructed from its specific contextual references in order to make it accessible to other experts as well.”
Workshop “Between Theory and Practice: Findings and Future Perspectives from an Interdisciplinary Research Project”
