sDiv has just opened its first call for workshops, postdoctoral fellowships and sabbaticals. You can download the guidelines below and we will provide the templates here as well soon. Feel free to contact our sDiv coordinator, Dr. Marten Winter, if there are any questions.

Please submit your proposals before April 1, 2013.

1   About iDiv

The central mission of the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) is to promote theory-driven synthesis and data-driven theory in biodiversity sciences and to provide the scientific foundation for a sustainable management of biodiversity. iDiv is one of the seven National Research Centres funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG FZT 118). It is located in the city of Leipzig, jointly hosted by the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (FSU), the Martin Luther University Halle Wittenberg (MLU), the University of Leipzig (UL), and the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ. It is furthermore supported by the Leibniz Association, the Max Planck Society, the Klaus-Tschira foundation, and the Free State of Saxony.

The four overarching iDiv questions of biodiversity science are:

• How can we detect and quantify biodiversity (‘detection’)?
• How does biodiversity emerge (‘emergence’)?
• What are the consequences of biodiversity for the functioning of ecosystems (‘consequences’)?
• How can we safeguard biodiversity (‘conservation’)?

2   Goals of sDiv – the tool to create synergy

Addressing these questions and integrating their answers into a comprehensive theory of biodiversity and successful real-world applications represent a major technological and intellectual challenge. To master this challenge, iDiv will – in addition to conducting and promoting excellent science – explore new territory with respect to communication structures and outreach. One of our main measures taken to ensure close collaboration between theoreticians, empiricists, and practitioners inside and outside of iDiv is the establishment and maintenance of networks within the scientific community and with the public. Initiating collaborations between scientists across the world is one of the central tasks of the Synthesis Centre for Biodiversity Sciences (sDiv) (Figure 1).

Building upon experiences gained in other successful synthesis programmes, we have established sDiv that offers national and international workshops, short-term postdoc positions and a sabbatical programme to foster theoretical and synthetic thinking and to boost scientific developments. sDiv is an important instrument of iDiv to foster theoretical and synthetic thinking in biodiversity sciences by bringing together researchers from different projects and disciplines and providing conditions that promote the creative process.

As a unique feature, sDiv is physically integrated in the active research centre of iDiv where over 100 scientists cover a wide spectrum of modern integrative biodiversity research. It is at the core of the iDiv philosophy that synergy arises from the fact that sDiv visitors and resident scientists interact. This will be achieved formally by inclusion of at least on iDiv member in each working group and by mandatory reporting sessions open to all iDiv scientists during the course of each workshop. Interaction will be informally promoted by social rooms (recreation area, cafeteria, library). sDiv visitors will bring in fresh ideas and views and may be interested in collaborations with iDiv scientists beyond the scope of their workshop. The body of resident scientists in turn represents a unique concentration of expertise in biodiversity science and sDiv visitors are encouraged to approach them for help and discussions.

sDiv will fund up to twelve working groups per year. Working groups are established for one year and are supposed to typically organize one workshop in this period. Working groups will address key topics in biodiversity research, particularly in areas where synergies are to be expected from bringing together ideas, expertise and data. Outputs of these working groups will be high-impact publications, proposals for the acquisition of innovative research grants, standard protocols and experimental designs for all aspects of biodiversity research.

The postdoc programme will allow early-stage scientists to conduct synthesis projects in a stimulating and supportive international environment. Ideally, they will be integrated into iDiv working groups and will be responsible for crafting their results and ideas into high-impact publications. They will benefit from considerable autonomy e.g. to use iDiv resources.

By offering leading scientists the possibility for sabbaticals in an intellectually attractive environment, iDiv will contribute to the integration of biodiversity research that is still scattered and hindered by disciplinary boundaries worldwide.

sDiv will operate as a partner to the USA’s NCEAS successor SeSynC, where Prof. William (Bill) Fagan from the University of Maryland, one of our scientific advisory board members, serves as the associate Director of Research. sDiv plans to enlarge the existing cooperation network to other similar synthesis centers. The cooperation will include a mutual consultancy, exchange of applications and evaluation tools and, most importantly, joint working groups via cooperation workshops, particularly with respect to projects of high societal relevance.

sDiv is coordinated by Dr. Marten Winter, a scientist with a strong background in biodiversity research, supported by a full-time secretary. sDiv is supported with top priority by iDiv’s General IT Support Unit, the Bioinformatics and Biodiversity Informatics Unit as well as by the staff of iDiv’s theory and synthesis groups and the center’s administration.