Role models

Attended a seminar by Prof. Elisabeth von Brand from Chili who was a keynote speaker at APEC Women Leaders Network Meeting. She got her PhD thesis at Tohoku University, Department of Agriculture, 20 years ago, and so she visited Sendai this time. 


She gave us two topics, one was about gender equality situation in Chili, and the other was about her carrier path. She got her three children, and the third one was just one-year-old when she became Dean of her department of marine biology.


She said it is important to find a partner who shares your dreams and is willing to share other responsibilities. She also mentioned that it is also critical to find role models to fit you. In her case, her first role model is her father who is also a researcher, although in different field. And the next is her biology teacher at elementary school. The third one is a teacher in biology at her university, who is already over 80 years old, but she is still doing research, attending conferences, and organizing meetings. Her final message was that balancing your file style is important to sustain your career development.


It is so nice to listen to a talk by such a well-balanced person.

Profile of Elizabeth von Brand