I have just begun a fellowship at the Wissenschaftskolleg in Berlin. The WIko, or Institute for Advanced Study Berlin, is a place for academics, both junior (me) and senior (me at the end of each day), to focus on a particular project, interact with other researchers, and generally think. It sounds pretty daunting. For one, I now apparently have to do the ambitious project that I suggested. Part of the attraction is not only a chance to retreat from the normal work that can accumulate but also to learn about other researchers, have time to explore new topics, and to spend some small amount of time in one of the great European cities. The Wiko has been fantastically organised in that their staff have answered our avalanche of questions quickly and patiently, have arranged all sorts of details that I would never have thought about.
We arrived last week and almost everything is humming along smoothly. The facilities are fantastic and they even give me intensive German classes which is a great bonus. Work-wise, it’s also really nice to be in Germany. There are a number of groups both around Berlin and further afield which I’ll be able to visit. Some of which have already invited me to go and give seminars. This fall might be quite busy with visits to the Freie University of Berlin, University of Kiel, the Max Planck Institute in Plön, Leipzig for a bee meeting, and the University of Copenhagen. The rest of the year should be exciting!
Things to do while at the Wiko
- Learn Python.
- Work on my ridiculously ambitious project.
- Get a few papers out that have been waiting in the wings.
- Improve my German.
- Learn Python.
- Push forward on some collaborations that have been relegated to the back burner to make time for experiments etc.
- Explore Berlin.
- Learn Python.
- Other stuff.
- Also, learn Python.
In case you missed it. I really want to use this time to get better acquainted with Python.
