Anna Roig Sanchis:

I tend to be quite critical of my own work, so when I got the position, I had this feeling of, well, perhaps I’m doing something right! On the other hand, it obviously gives me more stability and, above all, greater peace of mind. Although I now have more responsibilities in addition to research, I feel less pressure on a day-to-day basis, since I don’t have to think about how much I have produced for my next job application (at least for some time...).

Marie Trin:

Being a young researcher is a strange life: moving every two years and spending as much time at conferences as at home. I think this position means a return to normalcy for me. I really enjoyed traveling and discovering new places, but I’m sure I will enjoy the stability that this job offers me. From a mathematical point of view, I will be able to work on longer-term projects, apply for grants, and also start having students. I am really looking forward!

Anna Roig Sanchis:

I’m looking forward to getting involved in the department’s mathematical life and being part of this new community. Perhaps I’ll miss the freedom I had to travel and attend conferences or research stays whenever and wherever I wanted. And, of course, I’ll miss my former colleagues.

Marie Trin: 

What I am the most looking forward to is to teach and do popularization again. I stopped these two activities when I arrived in Leipzig and I really missed it. However, no teaching also meant a lot of freedom, maybe I will miss it, time will tell! I am obviously going to miss the group from Leipzig and my colleagues like Anna but I am of course looking forward to work and collaborate with the members of my new group.

Anna Roig Sanchis:

The group I was part of in Leipzig had quite a few young people in the same position as me, like Marie. Being surrounded by them allowed me to discover areas of mathematics that were close to my own research but that I was not familiar with, and to expand my mathematical network. It was also there that I really started learning how to collaborate with others while becoming more independent in my research. So, it was a really fruitful time!

Marie Trin:

My stay in Leipzig was an amazing experience. I would recommend anyone who has the opportunity to join Anna Wienhard’s group to do it. Being surrounded by so many different profiles allowed me to learn so many new math and also to learn about the mathematician that I am. My two years in Leipzig gave me the opportunity to broaden my research interests, diversify my area of expertise and gave me confidence in my hability to do math on my own. These years have made me a better researcher.

Anna Roig Sanchis:

Perhaps I would say not to compare yourself to others: everyone has their own path, their own pace, their own strengths, and their own weaknesses. I think that, whoever you are, there will always be ups and downs along the way, so celebrate the good moments and rely on your colleagues, professors, and the people around you when things get harder!

Marie Trin:

I would give them an advice that I recieved from my PhD advisor when I started research: take care of your mental health! There is a lot of presure for publishing and having results especially in the begining of your carreer. It is then very tempting to work much more than reasonnable. It is so important to take time for you, to have hobbies and learn to deal with stress and presure: give priorirty to your health over math! (easy to say but not to do, I was quite bad at it)