no
II JOlTlt Rc,carch ProJect,
and agreed upon at the start of a joint research project. Three spokespersons were
initially nominated for ELA W AT, which proved to be a poor idea as the result was
at times an uneven presentation of the project to the public.
The Research Centre Terramare was the main applicant for this joint project
and arranged the entire logistics, organisation of boat times, employment of student assistants and the financial administration. This proved to be an efficient way
of administering and organising a joint project.
The single sub-projects of ELA W AT were structured with a sub-project leader
at the head, scientific (mostly PhD students) and technical staff. Mainly the scientific staff of the various sub-projects collaborated well and shouldered the load of
the field work, thus filling this joint project with life and substance. Some of the
sub-project leaders were not much engaged in the project. It would have been
beneficial when sub-project leaders had participated more in the project and would
have had the time required to do so. In a joint project the demand for scientific
supervision is high, as the concerns of the joint research venture with an overall
topic and questions encompassing several sub-projects dominate over the scientific
interests of single sub-projects. Sub-project leaders have to be aware of this challenge. However, the effort to fulfil this task certainly reaches the limits of their
work capacity. And since, nowadays, tenure track positions for academic staff are
rare in German universities, this deficit could not be offset in any way.
To enhance the understanding between the different disciplines and thus promote their collaboration, a number of common activities were started right from
the beginning of ELA WA T. These included seminars where colleagues reported
about their studies and the respective scientific background, methods and objectives of their work. Further seminars dealt with the ecological theories and concepts relevant to the project. The statistical sub-project carried out seminars to
teach methods of data analysis and data handling.
A further level of interdisciplinary collaboration was realized by working
groups, set up at the start of the project according to its major scientific topics. In
the course of the project, some new working groups were formed and others
merged. At these meetings, reports were given on the progress of work, results and
literature reviews were presented and arrangements were made for the next combined field work or later on for the joint analysis of data. The speakers of the
working groups took part at the meetings of other working groups, thus allowing
for cross-relations. The working groups were also a good forum to get to know
each other, which fostered the good and friendly atmosphere of collaboration
realized in ELA WA T. Working groups are thus a suitable means to facilitate the
organisation of a joint project.
All these activities succeeded in promoting collaboration and increasing knowledge. Still, although everyone involved in the project welcomed the seminars and
working groups, they were overshadowed by the time they demanded. As the
institutions collaborating in ELA WAT were scattered over all of northern Germany, a lot of time and travel was required to take part in these meetings. This
time was missing elsewhere, a matter which is of concern for joint projects. It was
beneficial for the organisation and corporate identity of ELA W A T when the new
building of the Research Centre Terramare, opened in 1994, could host the seminars and meetings.
II JOlTlt Rc,carch ProJect,
and agreed upon at the start of a joint research project. Three spokespersons were
initially nominated for ELA W AT, which proved to be a poor idea as the result was
at times an uneven presentation of the project to the public.
The Research Centre Terramare was the main applicant for this joint project
and arranged the entire logistics, organisation of boat times, employment of student assistants and the financial administration. This proved to be an efficient way
of administering and organising a joint project.
The single sub-projects of ELA W AT were structured with a sub-project leader
at the head, scientific (mostly PhD students) and technical staff. Mainly the scientific staff of the various sub-projects collaborated well and shouldered the load of
the field work, thus filling this joint project with life and substance. Some of the
sub-project leaders were not much engaged in the project. It would have been
beneficial when sub-project leaders had participated more in the project and would
have had the time required to do so. In a joint project the demand for scientific
supervision is high, as the concerns of the joint research venture with an overall
topic and questions encompassing several sub-projects dominate over the scientific
interests of single sub-projects. Sub-project leaders have to be aware of this challenge. However, the effort to fulfil this task certainly reaches the limits of their
work capacity. And since, nowadays, tenure track positions for academic staff are
rare in German universities, this deficit could not be offset in any way.
To enhance the understanding between the different disciplines and thus promote their collaboration, a number of common activities were started right from
the beginning of ELA WA T. These included seminars where colleagues reported
about their studies and the respective scientific background, methods and objectives of their work. Further seminars dealt with the ecological theories and concepts relevant to the project. The statistical sub-project carried out seminars to
teach methods of data analysis and data handling.
A further level of interdisciplinary collaboration was realized by working
groups, set up at the start of the project according to its major scientific topics. In
the course of the project, some new working groups were formed and others
merged. At these meetings, reports were given on the progress of work, results and
literature reviews were presented and arrangements were made for the next combined field work or later on for the joint analysis of data. The speakers of the
working groups took part at the meetings of other working groups, thus allowing
for cross-relations. The working groups were also a good forum to get to know
each other, which fostered the good and friendly atmosphere of collaboration
realized in ELA WA T. Working groups are thus a suitable means to facilitate the
organisation of a joint project.
All these activities succeeded in promoting collaboration and increasing knowledge. Still, although everyone involved in the project welcomed the seminars and
working groups, they were overshadowed by the time they demanded. As the
institutions collaborating in ELA WAT were scattered over all of northern Germany, a lot of time and travel was required to take part in these meetings. This
time was missing elsewhere, a matter which is of concern for joint projects. It was
beneficial for the organisation and corporate identity of ELA W A T when the new
building of the Research Centre Terramare, opened in 1994, could host the seminars and meetings.