Impressions from the 2025 German Conference of Women in Physics

September 18 saw the opening of the traditional German Conference of Women in Physics (Deutsche Physikerinnentagung, DPT) at Kiel University (CAU); the event, an annual fixture since 1997, is supported by the German Physical Society’s Working Group on Equal Opportunities. The Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education (IPN) helped to organize the conference this year, with Dr. Irene Neumann coordinating its involvement.

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Karin Prien, Federal Minister of Education, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, under whose auspices the event was taking place, opened the conference, delivering a message of welcome online. Further words of welcome, given in person at the conference, came from Prof. Dr. Regina Scherließ, Vice-Dean of CAU’s Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences; Prof. Dr. Nahid Talebi, director of its Institute of Experimental and Applied Physics; and Prof. Dr. Knut Neumann, head of the IPN’s Department of Physics Education.

Kicking off the conference with her keynote address on “Science for Society: Connecting Physics, Education, and Communication Research,” Prof. Dr. Melanie Keller, deputy head of the Department of Physics Education at the IPN, emphasized the centrality of science communication and education to research and society, and outlined the role of emotional processes in scicom.

Time for a networking chat before the conference’s opening ceremony
Time for a networking chat before the conference’s opening ceremony
Prof. Dr. Regina Scherließ welcoming the attendees
Prof. Dr. Regina Scherließ welcoming the attendees
Prof. Dr. Melanie Keller delivering the conference’s first keynote address
Prof. Dr. Melanie Keller delivering the conference’s first keynote address

The German Conference of Women in Physics provides female physicists from all specialties and at all stages of their careers – from students to professors and physicists working in industry – with a forum for communication and networking. This year’s event encompassed scientific presentations, workshops, and poster sessions, alongside discussions on current topics in physics research, career prospects, and issues of societal relevance, such as equality of opportunity, work-life balance, and career planning.

A range of organizations and sponsors worked alongside the CAU and the IPN to make the conference a success; they included Forschungszentrum Jülich, the DESY (Deutsches Elektoren Synchrotron) located in Hamburg, Universität Hamburg’s Quantum Universe Cluster of Excellence, and GEOMAR, the Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel.

Read more in English about the conference here.