The year 2018 was...
Mette Bendixen
… the year where I moved to Boulder, Colorado with my husband Lars and my son Bille to start my Carlsberg fellowship at The Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR) at University of Colorado, Boulder.
…the year where I, for the first time, could add an award to my CV. I’ve never won anything before - besides from a blue plastic watch when I was 8 - but I was awarded the SCIENCE PhD Prize from University of Copenhagen for best PhD at the Faculty of Science.
… the year where my imposter syndrome has thrived the most, I think. Starting the fellowship I was awarded by the Carlsbergfoundation was nerve wracking in the sense, that I felt “You got the money, now go make some kick ass research”. I remember the first days in my new office - I spent quite some time putting up stuff on my walls to make my office seems like mine, so that I felt at home and safe to start working on something slightly outside my comfort zone. Luckily, as a postdoctoral fellow you have the freedom to pursue your ideas and that helped me a lot to get started. I started working on a Perspective, that got accepted right before Christmas. More to come on this!
… the year I engaged into diversity and general working conditions in academia. This led to a comment in Science “Funding agencies can prevent harassment” written together with my husband Lars, and I’ve gotten involved in establishing the network DANWISE (The Danish Society for Women in Science) which will be launched in the new year. More on this in the new year!
Exciting to see what 2019 will bring!
