Network meeting: Tour of SCHOTT AG
Our GAFP network meeting took place on June 30, 2025, bringing together junior and senior members from different years. Despite the hot weather, our members made their way to the SCHOTT AG factory halls. An international technology group that is primarily known for the production of specialty glass and glass ceramics and is one of the largest employers in Rheinhessen and Mainz. From raw material preparation, melting and molding to cooling – our members were given an exclusive insight into the production of Robax. The subsequent tour of the exhibition also provided an overview of the Group’s history and its innovations. Cold drinks, Spundekäs cheese and pretzels were followed by an opportunity to meet and chat in “Das Nest”. We would like to thank SCHOTT AG, especially Timo Weil, Head of Process Optimization & Projects at SCHOTT, and our former junior member Dr. Sebastian Leukel, Principal Expert Glass Development at SCHOTT, for making this day possible. >> To the picture gallery
Former junior member organizes conference with the support of the Körber Foundation
Dr. Laura Anna Klein, former junior member of the GAFP, is organizing a conference funded by the Körber Foundation on 10 June 2025 at the Erbacher Hof on the topic of “Democratic will and the will to democracy”. The conference will be followed by a public panel discussion on the topic of “Participation in democracy under the Basic Law”. Our former senior member, Prof. Dr. Friederike Wapler, will be among those taking part. Further information on the conference can be found at https://gafp.uni-mainz.de/wp-content/uploads/sites/110/2025/06/Ankuendigung_PDF.pdf and further information on registration and the speakers can be found at https://gafp.uni-mainz.de/wp-content/uploads/sites/110/2025/06/Poster_Academy.pdf.
Veronika Phung at the EAS
Veronika Phung, former junior member and former junior speaker of the GAFP, will be attending the European Association for Music in Schools (EAS) conference, which will take place in Évora (Portugal) from June 4-7, 2025. Together with a co-worker, she will give a presentation entitled “Participation and Accessibility in Learning Processes with Digital Items in (Inclusive) Music Classrooms”. Further information on EAS 2025: https://eas-music.org/2025-evora/.
Marie-Theres Nagel completes doctorate
Marie-Theres Nagel, former junior member of the Gutenberg Academy Fellows Program, defended her doctorate with the title “Validation of Assessments for Measuring Critical Thinking and Critical Online Reasoning in German Higher Education” on 29.04.2025 – the achievement was evaluated overall with “magna cum laude”. We congratulate her warmly!
Niklas Witzig completes doctorate
Niklas Witzig, former junior member of the Gutenberg Academy Fellows Program, defended his doctorate entitled “Essays in Behavioral Economics” on 29.04.2025. Both the written and oral performance were evaluated as “summa cum laude”. We congratulate him warmly!
Former junior member honored
Photo 1: Prof. Armin Scholl (laudator), Pascal Schneiders, Prof. Daniela Schlütz (DGPuK chairperson) | Photo 2: Daniel Stegmann, Pascal Schneiders, Prof. Birgit Stark
For his essay “Macht und Autonomie. A theoretical framework for the analysis of the platformization of journalistic items”, Pascal Schneiders, former junior member and former junior speaker of the GAFP, was awarded the DGPuK’s biennial theory prize at the annual conference of the German Association for Communication Studies (DGPuK). The article was published in 2023 in the UFITA Archive for Media Law and Media Studies. The article systematically traces the power relations between platforms and news media based on theory and examines the consequences for the autonomy of news media. The theory prize is awarded to contributions that have made an extraordinary contribution to the development of theory in Communication Studies and have enriched the theory debate in our subject with original approaches.
Also honored at the annual conference was the article “Ich mach mir die Welt, wie sie mir gefällt. Opinion-forming relevance from a user perspective”. It received the prize for the best Communication Studies journal article (1st place). The article was published in 2024 in Medien & Kommunikations Studies (open access).
Review of the 28.04.2025
On April 28, 2025, the grand opening of the new Gutenberg Academy (GA) took place, at which the GAFP, like many other institutions for the grant of ECRs at JGU, was represented with a stand at an information fair. Some junior members came to visit and helped the office and the junior speakers with the application of the program. Many thanks for this!
The official opening ceremony took place in the afternoon, with the cutting of a red volume. Prof. Dr. Stefanie Acquavella-Rauch was also present as our senior spokesperson and thus one of the representatives of the “subunits” (GSHS, Network NatLife and GAFP) of this newly established structure at JGU. Also Prof. Dr. Eva Rentschler, senior member of the GAFP and spokesperson of the Network NatLife. Further information under KOM and Press.
The day concluded with our annual GAFP admission event, during which not only 11 new junior members but also 4 new senior members were admitted. We are very much looking forward to the coming years with them and the intensive interdisciplinary exchange. Further information can be found under KOM and Press and Our Members.
Fiona Kazarovytska completes doctorate
Fiona Kazarovytska, former junior member of the Gutenberg Academy Fellows Program, defended her doctorate entitled “Identity Protection and Collective (Non-)Remembrance” on 20.02.2025 – her performance was evaluated summa cum laude. We congratulate her warmly!
Saskia Plura Saskia Plura at the 73rd Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting
Saskia Plura, junior member and former junior speaker of the Gutenberg Academy Fellows Program, took part in the 73rd Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting. In the interview, she talks about what inspired her to pursue a scientific career, how she got to where she is now in her appointment, her educational background and much more. You can find the interview at: https://www.lindau-nobel.org/blog-women-in-research-lino24-saskia-plura/.
