“In the end, it’s always about people”

PhD Coordinator Daniela Morick on trust, communication and good conditions for doctoral studies

Daniela Morick is PhD Coordinator at the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing and Coordinator of the Cologne Graduate School of Ageing Research. In this interview, she talks about her wide-ranging responsibilities - from supporting PhD students and health management to mediation, and how good communication can create safe and supportive structures.

Daniela, how would you explain your job to your family?

I used to tell my children that I’m a bit like the headteacher at their school, but for grown-up children. I make sure everyone can start in the right ‘classes’, that there are good learning and working conditions, and I organize things like timetables, events and trips. And part of it is also listening when someone is sad, mediating when there are conflicts, and celebrating when someone has done something really well.

You wear many hats here at the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing - what else do you do?

It’s not actually that many hats, but a few nonetheless. I volunteer in occupational health management at the Institute. It’s very fulfilling because we can initiate things that improve the wellbeing of all staff: for example, organizing staff surveys, discussing measures with colleagues or planning health days. In the steering group, we discuss topics such as mindfulness courses, yoga, running training and much more.

One of my most formative experiences was actually my time on the COVID-19 crisis team, even if that sounds a bit macabre. But there, together with many colleagues, we were able to make decisions on the COVID-19 rules at the institute. It was intense, a great responsibility and very exciting.

I’m also a qualified mediator, coach and Mental Health First Aider, and I run a communication course. This fits surprisingly well with my role as PhD coordinator and in health management. Ultimately, all these roles are about people, communication and creating the right conditions.

What did you want to be when you were a child, and how did you end up here?

I wanted to be lots of things: a doctor, a lawyer, an architect, and later on a psychologist. After studying chemistry, I actually thought I’d go into industry. To be honest, I hadn’t realized back then that science management would suit me so well. When I got the job offer, my first thought was: ‘That’s not a proper job for a chemist – they must have made a mistake.’ Well, today it has actually become my absolute dream job in so many ways. Crazy, isn’t it?

What personal skills, apart from your formal training, help you in your job?

Creative chaos: It’s always been a bit chaotic in my head, but that’s often exactly where good ideas come from. At the same time, it meant I had to learn early on to plan and organize myself, and that helps me a lot in my work today.

Diplomacy and a change of perspective: I’ve always been good at putting myself in other people’s shoes. In my ‘sandwich position’ between PhD students, PIs and administration, that helps enormously. If you understand why people see the same situation in completely different ways, it’s much easier to find solutions that everyone can agree on.

Curiosity: I’ve always been curious and keen to learn and try new things. The great thing is that I was able to undertake lots of training courses – from research management to coaching through the MPI, and was given the chance to try out many new processes at the Graduate School. Some worked brilliantly, others didn’t work at all. But I learnt an incredible amount from all of them, and I’m very grateful for that, because it also showed a great deal of trust.

Which three words best describe your working day?

CECAD coffee, colourful email tags, safe space, figure-it-out-ability.
(OK, that’s four, but I deliberately left ‘maths’ off the list.)

Is there a situation you particularly like to look back on?

There are lots of conversations, especially with our PhD students, that mean a great deal to me. When people share something very personal with me, I see it as a huge sign of trust. And when they tell me later that they’re feeling better or that they’ve been able to make a change, I’m incredibly happy and proud of their achievement.

Sometimes I also receive very kind emails from people saying thank you. I keep them all, for when I’m having a bad day. Once, a PhD student wrote to me saying that in difficult situations he sometimes asks himself, ‘What would Daniela do?’, and that this helps him find solutions and not bury his head in the sand.

I think my contribution to ‘making the world a bit better’ is probably very small. But when I hear things like that, I’m simply incredibly grateful for what and whom I’m able to reach through my role.

If you could ‘just’ do one of your tasks for a day, which one would it be?

I’d probably lead a mediation session and do some coaching. That way, others do the actual work and I just ask questions, bring a bit of calm to the situation and sip my coffee. But seriously: mediation and coaching are incredibly powerful methods, and I find this work very fulfilling and meaningful.

Is there anything you’d really like to start or improve over the next few years?

I have lots of ideas, sometimes perhaps more than the calendar allows. But even so, I want to continue campaigning for good conditions for our PhD students and create structures in which they can work effectively and safely.

In recent years, for example, we have adjusted contract lengths to match the actual duration of doctoral studies, separated supervision from the peer review process, and made personalized supervision agreements the norm. These are important measures for making doctoral processes more transparent and improving conditions for doctoral students overall.
I think it’s very commendable of our management to act with such sensitivity and foresight in this area. I believe our MPI is already quite advanced in many respects. But there’s always room for improvement, and I’m sure we’ll be able to identify and address one or two remaining blind spots.

What motivates you to keep going, even on tough days?

Do you mean the ‘stay-awake’ coffee? No, joking aside: I love gamifying tasks. When I notice my motivation flagging, I look for a task that’s fun, such as organizing a scavenger hunt for new PhD students or designing a video or animation for our LinkedIn channel. Or answering interview questions like these.

And, fundamentally, it’s the people I work with who motivate me. I learn an incredible amount from our PhD students: their courage, their creativity, their perseverance. Working with people like that is a pretty good reason to keep going, even on tough days.