Francesco Cannizzaro is a Scientific Coordinator at the Freie Universität Berlin. He holds a PhD in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering from Eindhoven University of Technology where he developed first-principles microkinetics models of the catalytic hydrogenation of carbon dioxide to methanol. During his postdoc at the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society, he developed active learning protocols for the automatic exploration of catalytic reaction networks. In his current position as Scientific Coordinator at the Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Freie Universität Berlin, he manages international research collaborations between Germany and the US. Furthermore he coordinates funding and talent acquisition strategies, public relations and outreach as well as the organization of scientific meetings. His path illustrates how moving from research to scientific project management can work in practice.

How did you find your way into science project management? Was it a deliberate career goal or more of an unexpected opportunity?

While it gradually became clear to me that I did not want to pursue a career as a professor, my genuine care for academia as a place of science and innovation stayed strong. During my postdoc, next to my main research, I helped coordinating the simulation efforts between our institute and the company Reacnostics GmbH while supervising a PhD student. I enjoyed coordinating scientific meetings and exchanges, and keeping the project on track. Extra curricular activities played a key role in my transition to science project management. In 2024, I participated in the organization of the science communication festival “Pint of Science” Berlin bringing together local innovators to explain their research to the general public in cozy bars around the city. By acting as a speaker for the event, I also contributed to promoting the dissemination of scientific findings to broad audiences and felt very proud of it. But it was only after talking with the Science Coordinator of the Theory Department of the FHI where I was doing my postdoc, that I started connecting the dots. As she walked me through her role and day-to-day activities, a lightbulb lit up in my head: what if this could be the next step in my career?

What were the biggest challenges when you first moved into science management? How did you navigate them?

Before even getting started to work in science management, there were plenty of challenges to address. At the beginning, I had to navigate the different job titles and keywords. Science management encompasses different fields and tasks between science, communication, project management, doing research in some cases, and administrative duties. Each workplace, each PI and group determines the specific mix and each mix requires a different set of skills. This means that there is no such thing as a “Science Coordinator” or “Program Manager” in absolute sense, it will depend a lot on the institutions and the scientists that require this type of position. After a first moment of confusion, I tried to look at this with curiosity. At the end, the variability and diversity of the role started to excite me more than making me scared.

How did the shift from being a researcher to managing research processes and structures change the way you see the scientific ecosystem?

Previously my job was one of a standard researcher: make results, write papers, go to conferences and supervise students. I was a “user” and academia was my “software”. Pivoting to science management enacted a paradigm shift. Now, essentially, it feels like my job is academia itself. In a way, the switch from active research to managing research has led me to a meta-state where I get the chance to be one of the “developers” of the academic software – so to speak – itself.

What does a typical day in your role look like? How would you describe the core responsibilities of a science manager?

My job concerns anything that has to do with increasing the impact of our science and it starts right after the results are freshly baked out of the lab. A good part of my time is dedicated to the dissemination and communication of our research. I manage our group’s website and the one of a DFG-funded consortium we are coordinating. Next to it, I created new social media pages (LinkedIn and Bluesky) for our group where I showcase our most recent results, but also the behind the scenes of lab life engaging with peers, collaborators, funders and potential new hires around the world. I am  also a point of reference for our network of collaborators, mainly in Germany and in the US. I act as a point of contact, managing our relations and organising scientific gatherings (online and in presence). Next to the dissemination of our research results, I curate their exploitation, meaning how to bring the innovation from the lab to the world outside by means of start-ups and spinoffs.  As you can imagine, given the wide variety of activities I am involved in, there is no such thing as a “typical day”, which makes every day fun!

Which skills or experiences from your academic background have proven especially valuable? Were there competencies you needed to develop quickly on the job?

Literally everything. To list a few:

• the ability to quickly learn new topics,
• the self- and people-management I learned during my PhD,
• the communication skills I learned by giving presentations at group meetings and conferences,
• the language skills I gathered through years of international scientific career, and generally, the experience of having worked in academia for a long time and at different institutions (4 universities and 1 Max Planck Institute in 4 different countries).

But there were also skills that I had to build, namely:

• the ability to deal with multiple institutional stakeholders,
• patience and diplomatic negotiation,
• Language skills: learning German seems to be a life-long commitment

How has this career shift influenced your long-term goals? Is there anything you wish you had known earlier?

These kinds of positions do not come with a tenure track and thus do not lead to a permanent position (with some rare exceptions) in Germany. Luckily I received a fair warning about this from my postdoc advisor at the FHI which I took seriously into account.

What do you find most rewarding about your role — and what aspects are still challenging?

• Working alongside scientists and in an international environment.
• Support the communication and dissemination of research results to a broad audience.
• Write press releases, engage in social media, and meet new people.
• Develop strategies for the exploitation of research results, i.e. how we can bring the innovation from the lab to the outside world.
• Explore strategies for funding acquisition, check requirements, brainstorm possible project ideas, gather information and help writing a compelling proposal
• Help with the selection of candidates for early-career research positions and help them grow.

Finally, what would you tell someone who is unsure whether leaving the lab to support science from a different angle is the right choice for them?

• A tenure track in academia leading to a professorship is not for everyone. You might not be fit for this role or the circumstances between you and the permanent position might be too unfavorable. But this does not matter. You are only scratching one item out of a long, very long list of fascinating and rewarding career opportunities, both inside and outside of academia.
• Start thinking about your priorities in life, your strengths and weaknesses and try to imagine a career for you. Identify what gaps you might currently have in your CV, then start studying to bridge these gaps, do networking, and ask the people you meet how their transition was. If you feel stuck, reach out to career coaches at your institute.
• If your professor leads you to think that “leaving academia=failure”, don’t listen to them, they are 1000% wrong.

Photocredits:

Header: © Xiao Jakob Schmitt 

Portrait:  © Steffen Kangowski