Minerva's daughters don't like monotony

Steffi Dehn is a technician and the new chair of the works council

In this interview, Steffi Dehn talks about what she likes about her job and why she is involved in the works council.

What brought you here? Tell us a little about your path to the institute!
Steffi Dehn: I was already very interested in the natural sciences back in school. After I completed a mandatory internship in the lab at Evonik, I knew for sure: This is it! Shortly before graduating from high school, I went to the employment office to find out about apprenticeship opportunities—and came across a job posting from the Max Planck Institutes in Mülheim. I applied right away and, luckily, was accepted. I’ve been working at the Kohlenforschung ever since.

What do you like about your work?
Steffi: I like that my work here is very varied. Whether it’s my own projects or those I’m working on in collaboration with my colleagues: no two months are alike. You always have to think outside the box and keep learning something new. And that’s exactly what I like, because monotony and stagnation would be terrible for me.

What are your career goals?
Steffi: I want to make sure I never lose my curiosity or my desire to learn something new—and simply never lose the joy I get from my work. After all, I still have about 30 years to go before I retire (laughs)!

What motivated you to become the works council chair?
Steffi: I’ve been on the works council for 12 years now and have watched from the sidelines, so to speak, to see what goes on there. And then I received so many votes in the last works council election, which made me very happy. And because I’ve made it a point to keep taking on new challenges, I accepted the job.

Do you have a role model?
Steffi: No, actually there isn’t anyone who inspires me in such a way that I’d want to emulate him or her.

What advice would you give to young girls who are interested in working at a research institution?
Steffi: I myself attended an all-girls school and, fortunately, never had anyone tell me: “You can’t do that because you’re a girl!” So my advice would be: If there’s something you want to do, just do it! In my experience, fear is actually justified in very few cases.

If you had one wish, what would it be?
Steffi: My personal wish would be good health, as well as enough money and time to see and discover as much of the world as possible.