Spring School 2026 - Developing Career Opportunities in the One Health Context

The One Health research landscape thrives on its variety and diversity. While this offers numerous career opportunities, it can also lead to uncertainty and a lack of orientation among young researchers. The One Health Platform’s Spring School 2026 was therefore dedicated to career opportunities in the One Health context. Through presentations and group work, participants were able to reflect on their own career goals and skills. In addition, speakers from the One Health community provided insights into their fields of work and answered participants’ questions. Thanks to the speakers’ engaging presentations and the enthusiastic participation of all attendees, the event offered numerous insights, ideas, and tips for a wide variety of career paths in the One Health field.

The One Health research landscape thrives on its variety and diversity. While this offers numerous career opportunities, it can also lead to uncertainty and a lack of orientation among young researchers. The One Health Platform’s Spring School 2026 was therefore dedicated to career opportunities in the One Health context. Through presentations and group work, participants were able to reflect on their own career goals and skills. In addition, speakers from the One Health community provided insights into their fields of work and answered participants’ questions. Thanks to the speakers’ engaging presentations and the enthusiastic participation of all attendees, the event offered numerous insights, ideas, and tips for a wide variety of career paths in the One Health field.

Career—what is it? 

What did I want to be when I was a child? With this icebreaker question, the One Health Platform’s Spring School kicked off on April 9, 2026, at the Alfried Krupp Wissenschaftskolleg in Greifswald. The answers were diverse, ranging from astronaut to farmer. It became clear that our actual career choices often differ from our childhood aspirations. This is not surprising when you consider the many different career paths one can choose from and the internal and external factors that can influence these choices over the course of a lifetime.

At the event, participants therefore began by exploring the question of what criteria they consider important for a successful career. It quickly became clear that the definition of a “successful career” is highly individual, and that one should focus on one’s own preferences, abilities, and values. Factors such as money, power, or influence—which are often associated with successful careers—were rated by participants as less relevant than, for example, personal fulfilment and the meaningfulness of the work.

Well-Presented – Online Image and Perception in the Digital Space 

Since presenting one’s work and skills online has become crucial for one’s career, the participants engaged in subsequent group work to explore how others evaluate their skills based on their online profiles and to what extent these align with “One Health core competencies[1].” This yielded important insights for the individual participants regarding their public image and perception.

Insights into the Diversity of “One Health Professions”

The One Health research landscape offers a vast array of career paths thanks to its broad diversity of disciplines and stakeholders. To provide participants with some inspiration for their future career development, seven individuals from the One Health sector shared insights into their various professions. They not only described what they do but also how they got there and what skills are required to perform their jobs.

Dr. Jens Jäger, Representative for the Health Research Division of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres in Brussels, described his work in European research policy. In this role, he serves as a liaison between researchers in Germany and European institutions and acts as an information hub for a broad range of people and organizations.

Dr. Irina Czogiel also serves as a source of information for a wide variety of people in her work at the German Federal Ministry of Health (BMG). She gave participants insights into her areas of focus at the BMG: vaccinations, AMR, and One Health. She also highlighted potential career paths leading to a position at the BMG.

Dr. Dorien Braams’ job profile is very different from that of the previous speakers. As the founder and director of Praxis Labs research & consulting, she works at the intersection of science, politics, and practice. In her international projects, she serves as a consultant and helps ensure that the One Health approach is put into practice. In doing so, she strives to counteract the anthropocentric focus of One Health approaches. Her inspiring presentation showed just how varied career paths can be and that it can be worthwhile to take the initiative and venture into self-employment.

After a hearty lunch, Dr. Stefan Seiberling, Director of the Centre for Research Funding and Transfer at the University of Greifswald, shared insights into his profession and his personal career path from scientist to research manager.

Dr. Sandra Diederich, laboratory director at the Friederich-Loeffler Institute (FLI) and head of its BSL-4 facility, provided insight into an area to which very few people will ever have access: a high-security laboratory. She pointed out that working with highly pathogenic pathogens in the lab constitutes only a small part of her job. She spends a large portion of her working hours coordinating processes and managing the interdisciplinary team required to operate such a facility.

We live in a globalized world, and One Health research is also global in scope. Consequently, at some point in their careers, many scientists face the question of whether they should move abroad. Dr. Luca Zaeck, who is currently a postdoc at Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam, outlined what needs to be considered when making this decision. He described both the advantages and the challenges that, in his view, come with moving abroad.

International research is also a focus of Prof. Dr. Sascha Knauf, head of the Institute for International Animal Health/One Health at the FLI. He urged the use of the term “One Health” as defined by OHHLEP to avoid undermining the potential of the One Health approach. In his presentation, he discussed how the FLI is working to strengthen One Health capacities in an international context, using the example of the FLI’s joint research activities with Zanzibar.

Enjoying the Experience 

All speakers described their individual career paths and highlighted the skills they need to perform their jobs. Although these varied greatly, there was one point on which everyone agreed: the importance of valuing one’s own profession. After all, only when you are passionate about something will you enjoy doing it and do it well in the long run.

The Spring School offered participants a great opportunity to reflect on their own skills and career goals. They also gained numerous insights into different fields of work, along with an assessment of the skills required for each. Furthermore, they had the opportunity to ask the speakers about their personal experiences and to engage in discussions with the other participants. In this way, the Spring School 2026 provided the ideal setting for advancing their own careers in the One Health field. Moreover, the pleasant atmosphere and the enthusiastic participation of everyone present contributed to the event’s success.