International Women's day 2022
There has never been any doubt about the technical progress and innovative performance of the polymer and packaging industry. And PRESERVE, with its consortium, is also united in the tradition of innovation and thus in the challenges for better recyclability as well as for the development of high-performance, bio-based packaging solutions of the future.
In terms of social progressiveness, however, things have been rather moderate for decades due to the rather conservative organisational structures, especially in plastics and packaging processing.
On the occasion of International Women’s Day and looking back on the 7th International Day of Women & Girls in Science on 11 February, colleagues of the PRESERVE partners in development positions give their insights into three personal questions, which are representative of many other women who help PRESERVE to be successful and who can also be a role model for future female students to choose a career in interesting and innovative technical/scientific professions.
Hereinafter we present the testimonial from Dr. Elodie Bougnicourt, Sustainibility Manager EMEA for Graphic Packaging International.
How would you describe your previous and present career path development? Have you always considered a scientific or technical career?
I have since quite an early age considered a technical/scientific education which led me to start a PhD in polymer and composites 20 years ago after materials science and engineering studies. Since then, I have occupied different positions in R&D and management of collaborative research and innovation projects, always with a strong interest in materials that would have a more beneficial impact on the environment. As such, in 2020, I naturally decided to opt to my current position as sustainability manager for a company involved in renewably sourced and circular packaging.
What aspect do you love most about your work and why?
Sustainability is a very broad area including some technical and “soft” aspects and I get to learn a lot every day. What motivates me the most is the ability to make a difference when pushing for meaningful actions for our future. Like innovation, sustainability is a journey that never stops, and, in fact, sustainability drives most of our new product developments. Also, when considering innovation and sustainability, leveraging partnerships across the value chain with common goals is fundamental and I enjoy participating in such collaborations.
What would you recommend to young female students when they decide to go for a scientific or technical career?
Diversity, inclusivity, and equitable work practices are integral to the policies at many large corporations like ours. We have an initiative dedicated to female leadership at GPI and we are a member of an association that supports the presence of Women in Manufacturing sectors. All genders have a lot to bring in every field including in scientific and technical ones. I would encourage any young woman to follow her heart without bias so she can demonstrate that diverse talents lead to the most innovative, productive and richest environments.
After Dr. Elodie Bougnicourt, we present the testimonial of Ana Carolina Guerra Dugarte, EM Research & Development at Südpack.
How would you describe your previous and present career path development? Have you always considered a scientific or technical career?
Currently I work for the R&D department of Südpack. Reaching this position has been a long personal journey, I studied Materials Engineering in Venezuela, a few years later I moved to Germany and did a master's degree in materials science. During my studies, I accepted a position as an intern at the Südpack laboratory and found out, that this company was the right match for me. I have always liked scientific and technical activities; in the R&D department are these tasks the most important and frequent.
What aspect do you love most about your work and why? (Technical/scientific or non-technical/scientific)
In my job I love the new challenges every day. It could be a new development for a customer, finding out how we can make materials more environmentally friendly or characterizing an unknown material.
What would you recommend to young female students when they decide to go for a scientific or technical career?
If you feel that scientific or technical tasks make you happy, do not hesitate to take this path. Thanks to many important women in the past and companies like Südpack, which fully support women, today we can also have a successful career in these fields.
Last but not least, we interviewed Lola Gómez Jiménez, packaging researcher at AIMPLAS.
How would you describe your previous and present career path development? Have you always considered a scientific or technical career?
Since I was very young, it was clear to me that I wanted to study a science career. Science subjects were more practical and creative where less memorisation was required. Although I had always wanted to be a mathematics teacher, I decided to study Chemistry because of its practical nature and wide range of career opportunities. I did a PhD in Computational Chemistry because of its abstract nature, but I missed experimental work. After completing a master's degree in Polymer Materials and Composites, I started working at AIMPLAS (the Plastics Technology Centre) as a researcher in the Packaging Department, a position closely linked to the research career that I have always wanted to develop.
What aspect do you love most about your work and why?
Working in a technology centre like AIMPLAS encompasses many important aspects for me as an expert, such as scientific research, where we try to provide solutions to society's major challenges through the development of international and national projects. Every day you face new challenges, mainly focused on finding more sustainable solutions, making you rethink new ideas and generate new knowledge. In addition, I highly value close contact with companies which allow me to get to know the market's needs first hand.
What would you recommend to young female students when they decide to go for a scientific or technical career?
I always say that what motivates me about science is being able to maintain the curiosity that children have in my day-to-day work. So, if you have that enthusiasm and motivation, go for it. But I would recommend them choosing a company that promotes the recruitment of women, with equal opportunities of success as men, and that values their potential at a professional level. AIMPLAS is an example of this, where 62 % of the staff are women who hold positions at all levels of the organization contributing to the 2030 goal of gender equality.
Gender equality figures are also collected within the framework of Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe, which are determined and continuously updated by the partners together with the interim reports of the actual research work. In addition, other social factors also play a role in the European research framework programmes, such as improving equal opportunities for inhabitants of different regions (urban and rural disparities) and the participation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in innovative research and development.
Christian Schulz, PRESERVE Communication and Dissemination Manager, EUBP
