Excellent research needs scientists who navigate challenges without losing sight of their ideals.

An image of Ilona Lipp with a nature background

What is this all about

Being a researcher means setting out to solve the big puzzles of the universe and the challenges facing our society. This vision is exciting and motivating, but the reality of working in academia often shifts the focus away from it. Doing research means relying on tools and technological infrastructure, on fruitful collaborations, on the conditions of academic employment and on the ability to handle a range of pressures. You do not have to face these alone. Having spent many years doing neuroscience and having developed a bird’s-eye view of the academic landscape, I now support individual researchers, research groups and institutions in doing the best possible research. If excellence is the summit, I see myself as a guide who knows the terrain and the routes, helping you find your own best path and navigate hurdles without overexertion and without losing sight of why you started.

Fostering excellent research

Everyone talks about scientific excellence. What is rarely talked about is that real excellence depends on research integrity. Excellence with integrity is what I work towards: ambitious research that is done thoroughly, reported honestly, and reliable enough for others to build on. That is hard to maintain in an academic system that often rewards paper counts more than it rewards good scientific practice.

Recent AI developments are a double-edged sword for research excellence. Used badly, these tools make it easy to mass-produce scientific-looking but poor research output. Used responsibly, they hold enormous potential to make research more efficient, more transparent and more reliable.

What I do

In my role, I 

  • train researchers in developing a fundamental understanding of the technology, so they can make full use of its potential without falling into its pitfalls.
  • facilitate discussions about integrity and bring a systemic perspective on the academic system, which is not something that happens to us but something we all take part in and are responsible for.
  • focus on the human side: supporting individuals in building a successful career in a fast-changing world, and helping teams develop a productive working style in which dilemmas can be voiced and disagreements lead to a more comprehensive picture of the research rather than to lingering conflicts.

Possible formats

Click here to download my Portfolio (PDF)

Why take the journey with me?

I combine three backgrounds that rarely come together. Firstly, I have a broad perspective on the academic system. I hold a PhD in brain imaging and after spending years as a full-time researcher in Austria, the UK and Germany, I have worked in science management on institutional strategy and support structures for good research. Through international networks, I am connected with many people who are working to improve the academic system. Secondly, I have a deep technical understanding of scientific programming and AI development. My own research involved scripting complicated analysis pipelines, including for training neural networks. Thirdly, I have a strong background in psychology, extended by certified training as a mediator, coach and interactive didactics. What the combination gives you is support in various formats that is technically sound, takes the realities of the academic system into account, and flexibly adapts to the people in the room. Learn more about my background and motivation.

Selected institutions I have worked with

  • BERD NFDI
  • COST Actions
  • Digital Research Academy
  • European University Viadrina
  • Friedrich-Schiller University Jena
  • German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Leipzig, Halle, and Jena
  • Leipzig University
  • Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences
  • Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics
  • Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology
  • Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics
  • Robert Koch Institute
  • Potsdam University
  • University of Applied Sciences Wismar
  • University of Halle
  • University of Hamburg
  • University of Göttingen
  • University of Münster
  • Weingarten University of Education