News
Like most research programs around the globe, our nGICE program has been delayed and otherwise affected by the Corona pandemic.
- Recruitment of PhD students and postdocs was performed via Skype in March.
- After the talks and further Skype interviews, 10 new co-workers - from Africa, Asia, Europe and South America - were invited to join nGICE. All accepted. There were also some projects where suitable candidates could not be found through the common advertising. These are now being re-advertised locally.
- During the autumn 2020, we will help our new co-workers establish and start their projects in the laboratories in Jena, Alnarp and Lund. Most new co-workers will be in place by October 2020, and all by the end of January 2021. At present laboratory work is possible at all our institutes.
- The onboarding and the methodology courses planned for the autumn will be delayed until 2021. We are aiming to have the onboarding course in Jena early February, but that depends on the corona situation.
- The board meetings are held monthly as planned, sometimes by zoom, sometimes in person. Meetings with all PIs have only been held by zoom, since January 2020.
- Until the original program can be applied, a monthly seminar series will be held by zoom. Through this activity the new co-workers will have the opportunity to present themselves and their projects to each other. There will also be continuous updates from the nGICE board regarding the work-situation at each institute.
Older news articles
The official opening of the Max Planck Center next Generation Insect Chemical Ecology was held on January 26-27, 2020, in Lund and Alnarp, Sweden.
Here are some impressions.
Grand Opening, January 2020.
Torbjorn von Schantz, Vice-Chancellor of Lund University, Martin Stratmann, President of Max Planck Society, and Maria Knutson Wedel, Vice-Chancellor of the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, sign the contract for a new Max Planck Center on "next Generation Insect Chemical Ecology" (nGICE). In the background: Bill Hansson, head of the Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena, who is one of the nGICE co-directors. Photo: Mårten Svensson
Grand Opening, January 2020.
The co-directors (cd) and group leaders (gl) of the Max Planck Center "next Generation Insect Chemical Ecology" (from left to right): Silke Sachse (gl, MPI-CE, Jena), Martin Andersson (gl, Lund University), Christer Löfstedt (cd, Lund University), Rickard Ignell (cd, SLU Alnarp), Mats Sandgren (gl, SLU Uppsala), Peter Anderson (gl, SLU Alnarp), Bill Hansson (cd, MPI-CE Jena), Markus Knaden (gl, MPI-CE Jena), Sharon Hill (gl, SLU Alnarp), Susanne Erland (nGICE coordinator). Photo: Mårten Svensson
Grand Opening, January 2020.
In her presentation, Dr. Sharon Hill from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Alnarp asked "Are we making the most dangerous animal in the world more dangerous?" Photo: Mårten Svensson
Grand Opening, January 2020.
The Vice-Chancellor of Lund University, Prof. Dr. Torbjörn von Schantz, represented one of the three partner institutions. Photo: Mårten Svensson
Grand opening, January 2020.
Dr. Maria Knutson Wedel, Vice-Chancellor of the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), talked about the role and responsibility of her university in the light of climate change. Photo: Mårten Svensson
Grand Opening, January 2020.
The President of Max Planck Society, Prof. Dr. Martin Stratmann, explained the role of Max Planck Society in the world of Science. Photo: Mårten Svensson