{"id":204,"date":"2023-05-21T23:31:06","date_gmt":"2023-05-21T21:31:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/drs_podcast\/?p=204"},"modified":"2026-08-26T11:00:43","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T09:00:43","slug":"s02-episode-2-good-scientific-practice-a-chat-with-the-central-ombudsperson-at-the-fu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/drs_podcast\/2023\/05\/21\/s02-episode-2-good-scientific-practice-a-chat-with-the-central-ombudsperson-at-the-fu\/","title":{"rendered":"Good Scientific Practice? A Chat with the Central Ombudsperson at FUB"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/drs_podcast\/files\/2026\/05\/icon-Podcast-1024x1024.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1443\" style=\"width:148px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/drs_podcast\/files\/2026\/05\/icon-Podcast-1024x1024.png 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/drs_podcast\/files\/2026\/05\/icon-Podcast-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/drs_podcast\/files\/2026\/05\/icon-Podcast-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/drs_podcast\/files\/2026\/05\/icon-Podcast-768x768.png 768w, https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/drs_podcast\/files\/2026\/05\/icon-Podcast.png 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In this episode we talk to Professor Joachim Heberle, Central Ombudsperson for Freie Universit\u00e4t Berlin. He explains what an ombudsperson does, what to do if you are facing a case of academic misconduct, and answers some questions about what types of cases can be supported and how an ombuds process can help you in difficult times. The interview is in German, the English translation can be read under the recording.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Audio <\/h4>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/careerberlin.de\/drspdcst\/2023-04-05_Interview-Heberle.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><em>This interview was conducted in May 2023.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Highlights<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8222;It is, I think, fundamentally, always good to seek help. No one should think that they can handle all of these types of things on their own.&#8220;<\/p>\n<cite>from our interview with Professor Heberle<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">SUMMARY<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>[Note: This interview was conducted in German. You can find a full English translation\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/drs_podcast\/2026\/08\/26\/full-transcript-english-good-scientific-practice-a-chat-with-the-central-ombudsperson-at-fub\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"1741\">here<\/a>.]<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>English:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this episode, Professor Joachim Heberle, physics professor and central ombudsperson at Freie Universit\u00e4t Berlin, discusses the ombudsperson&#8217;s role in helping resolve conflicts, for example between students and supervisors in academia. The ombudsperson mediates disputes, particularly around authorship in collaborative research, and promotes early resolution through communication and confidential discussions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Prof. Heberle shares an example of the harmful effects of unresolved conflicts, and emphasizes that compromises are often needed, although they may not fully please everyone. While it is encouraged to seek personal and academic support, some issues, especially those related to labor law, require legal advice instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To prevent issues, he stresses the need for good supervisor relationships with doctoral students. Prof. Heberle also states that Germany is overall well-positioned in terms of scientific integrity but acknowledges areas for improvement. He highlights the need to raise student awareness of scientific integrity to teach students about good scientific practices early on.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Prof. Heberle explains how to contact an ombudsperson at FUB, noting that each department has its own ombudspersons for specific cases and that individuals can reach out anonymously, although revealing one&#8217;s identity eventually is encouraged for fairness. He views his role as ombudsperson as essential to maintaining scientific integrity and shares a personal experience involving support he received during a challenging situation earlier in his career. He encourages doctoral students to take advantage of available resources, such as the networking opportunities and workshops organised by the Dahlem Research School.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>German:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In dieser Folge er\u00f6rtert Professor Joachim Heberle, Physikprofessor und zentrale Ombudsperson der Freien Universit\u00e4t Berlin, die Rolle der Ombudsperson bei der Beilegung von Konflikten, unter anderem zwischen Promovierenden und Betreuenden im akademischen Umfeld. Die Ombudsperson vermittelt bei Streitigkeiten \u2013 insbesondere im Zusammenhang mit der Autorenschaft bei gemeinsamer Forschung \u2013 und f\u00f6rdert eine fr\u00fchzeitige L\u00f6sung durch Kommunikation und vertrauliche Gespr\u00e4che.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Prof. Heberle schildert die negativen Auswirkungen ungel\u00f6ster Konflikte und betont, dass h\u00e4ufig Kompromisse erforderlich sind, auch wenn diese nicht allen Beteiligten vollauf gerecht werden. Zwar wird dazu ermutigt, pers\u00f6nliche und akademische Unterst\u00fctzung in Anspruch zu nehmen, aber manche Angelegenheiten \u2013 insbesondere arbeitsrechtliche Fragen \u2013 erfordern stattdessen juristischen Rat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Um Problemen vorzubeugen, unterstreicht er die Bedeutung eines guten Verh\u00e4ltnisses zwischen Betreuenden und Promovierenden. Prof. Heberle stellt zudem fest, dass Deutschland im Hinblick auf wissenschaftliche Integrit\u00e4t insgesamt gut aufgestellt ist, r\u00e4umt jedoch ein, dass es noch Verbesserungspotenzial gibt. Er hebt hervor, wie wichtig es ist, das Bewusstsein von Studierenden f\u00fcr wissenschaftliche Integrit\u00e4t zu sch\u00e4rfen und ihnen fr\u00fchzeitig gute wissenschaftliche Praxis zu vermitteln.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Prof. Heberle erl\u00e4utert, wie man Kontakt zu einer Ombudsperson an der Freien Universit\u00e4t Berlin aufnehmen kann; dabei weist er darauf hin, dass jeder Fachbereich \u00fcber eigene Ombudspersonen f\u00fcr spezifische F\u00e4lle verf\u00fcgt und eine Kontaktaufnahme auch anonym erfolgen kann, wenngleich die Offenlegung der Identit\u00e4t im Sinne der Fairness begr\u00fc\u00dft wird. Er betrachtet seine Rolle als Ombudsperson als essenziell f\u00fcr die Wahrung wissenschaftlicher Integrit\u00e4t und berichtet von einer pers\u00f6nlichen Erfahrung, bei der er in einer schwierigen Phase seiner fr\u00fchen Laufbahn Unterst\u00fctzung erhielt. Er ermutigt Promovierende, die verf\u00fcgbaren Angebote zu nutzen, wie etwa die von der Dahlem Research School organisierten Vernetzungsm\u00f6glichkeiten und Workshops.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In this episode we talk to Professor Joachim Heberle, Central Ombudsperson for Freie Universit\u00e4t Berlin. He explains what an ombudsperson does, what to do if you are facing a case of academic misconduct, and answers some questions about what types of cases can be supported and how an ombuds process can help you in difficult &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/drs_podcast\/2023\/05\/21\/s02-episode-2-good-scientific-practice-a-chat-with-the-central-ombudsperson-at-the-fu\/\" class=\"more-link\"><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">\u201eGood Scientific Practice? A Chat with the Central Ombudsperson at FUB\u201c<\/span> weiterlesen<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7050,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-allgemein"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/drs_podcast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/drs_podcast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/drs_podcast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/drs_podcast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7050"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/drs_podcast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=204"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/drs_podcast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1744,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/drs_podcast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204\/revisions\/1744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/drs_podcast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/drs_podcast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/drs_podcast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}