A Statement from Jan
Long-Term Goals (ESMP Vision Statement)
Here at ESMP, we seek to:
- Produce the next generation of creative, knowledgeable, independent, honest and trustworthy researchers, innovators, entrepreneurs, team players and leaders, with successful careers in their areas of choice.
- Uncover and explain new and unexpected scientific beauty, by exploring the fascinating world of soft matter physics with the curiosity of a child and the analytical tools and critical thinking of a world-class scientist.
- Build ground for a new generation of applications of liquid crystals and other soft matter, filling key functions in the technologies and materials of the future.
Mission Statement
- Every group member should feel that their work is worth getting out of bed for in the morning, thanks to a friendly, open, inclusive, and sharing environment; a feeling of being valued; and stimulating challenges.
ESMP and You
I hope that the above goals give a clear idea of what the group as a whole is striving for, why our research and training activities matter, and what the intentions for the group are, now and on a long-term perspective. As a part of ESMP, they should act as a guiding principle and help you to align own activities with the targeted achievements of the group. In this context, it is important that you also have a clear idea of what your individual goals are. These must be of two types:
- Which are your personal goals on a long-term perspective? Why did you choose to do a thesis, Ph.D., or a post-doc, both in general and with us? What do you hope that this experience will help you to achieve? Where are you heading afterwards? Where do you see yourself in ten years from now? This is something you must come up with yourself. I am very happy to discuss it with you, or any fraction of it that you want to share with me, but fundamentally it is your responsibility and opportunity to formulate these goals. The more clearly you describe them to me, the more I can help you in achieving them.
- Which are the goals with the research project in which you are working? This can be my, your, or someone else's responsibility, depending on how your project is funded. Even if you are on a project where you are not the PI, of course you have considerable freedom to influence the goals. The important thing is that you, I, and all other team members have a clear and unified idea of what the project goals are and how we should achieve them.
Please think through your current understanding of your individual goals. If they are not clear, then you need to think about them and we need to discuss them. I am always happy to have this type of discussion. Having a clear idea of why you are here and why you do what you do is important. I hope the above helps in providing such an idea, and I am always grateful for suggestions to improve its clarity.
