AcademiaNet is an international

database In computing, a database is an organized collection of data or a type of data store based on the use of a database management system (DBMS), the software that interacts with end users, applications, and the database itself to capture and a ...

containing profiles of

women scientists The presence of women in science spans the earliest times of the history of science wherein they have made substantial contributions. Historians with an interest in gender and science have researched the scientific endeavors and accomplishments ...

. It is a non-profit project with the goal to raise the share of women in leadership positions in academia. AcademiaNet was initiated in 2010 in Germany by the

Robert Bosch Stiftung The is a German foundation that owns a majority shareholding in Robert Bosch GmbH, from which it derives its funding. The foundation was established in accordance with the wishes of Robert Bosch, who died in 1942, and conducts and finances s ...

and the publishing house " Spektrum der Wissenschaft". The

Swiss National Science Foundation The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF, German: , SNF; French: , FNS; Italian: ) is a science research support organisation mandated by the Swiss Federal Government. The Swiss National Science Foundation was established under private law b ...

assumed responsibility of the platform in 2020.

Goals and functions

The share of women professors and executives at research institutions across Europe is low and rising only slowly. AcademiaNet is a resource aimed at facilitating the search for women researchers in view of academic appointments or as conference speakers, experts on scientific committees or peer reviewers. A search function allows users to find the registered scientists according to their field or discipline. As opposed to databases such as "Request a Woman in STEMM" by

500 Women Scientists 500 Women Scientists is a non-profit group dedicated to making science open, inclusive, and accessible. To achieve this mission, they work to increase scientific literacy through public engagement, advocate for science and equity, and provide self ...

or "WiLS database of women in science", women cannot create their own profile on AcademiaNet; they need to be nominated by a scientific partner based on clearly defined criteria.

History

The Robert Bosch Stiftung founded AcademiaNet in 2010. In her speech inaugurating the platform in November 2010, the German Chancellor and physicist

Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German retired politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. She is the only woman to have held the office. She was Leader of the Opposition from 2002 to 2005 and Leade ...

said that science would not achieve its full potential if it remained predominantly male and did not promote half of its talents. She also said that AcademiaNet offered more visibility to women scientists, who contribute with their expertise to scientific endeavours. Initially, the platform was in German and contained primarily researchers from Germany, who were nominated by institutions such as the Leibniz Association, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) or the Fraunhofer Society. Since 2012, the platform has become more international. The language of the platform is now English. In 2020, the management of AcademiaNet passed from the Robert Bosch Stiftung to the Swiss National Science Foundation, which continues to work with the publishing house "Spektrum der Wissenschaft".

Renowned members

A number of renowned female scientists are member of AcademiaNet. Here a list of some of the most famous among them: *

May-Britt Moser May-Britt Moser (born 1963) is a Norwegian psychologist and neuroscientist, who is a Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). She and her former husband, Edvard Moser, shared half of ...

, psychologist and neuroscientists, winner of the

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine () is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, acco ...

Janet Rossant Janet Rossant, (born 13 July 1950) is a developmental biologist well known for her contributions to the understanding of the role of genes in embryo development. She is a leader in developmental biology. Her current research interests focus on ...

, developmental biologist *

Françoise Combes Françoise Combes (; born 12 August 1952) is a French astrophysicist at the Paris Observatory and a professor at the Collège de France where she has been the chair of Galaxies and cosmology since 2014. On 15 September 2017 the 'City of Success ...

, astrophysicist *

Riitta Hari Riitta Kyllikki Hari (born 16 January 1948) is a Finnish neuroscientist, physician and professor at Aalto University. She has led the Brain Research Unit at the Low Temperature Laboratory since 1982. Hari was appointed as Academician of Science o ...

, neuroscientist and physician *

Caroline Dean Dame Caroline Dean (born 2 April 1957) is a British plant scientist working at the John Innes Centre. She is focused on understanding the molecular controls used by plants to seasonally judge when to flower. She is specifically interested in ...

, plant scientist *

Ottoline Leyser Dame Henrietta Miriam Ottoline Leyser (born 7 March 1965) is a British plant biologist and Regius Professor of Botany at the University of Cambridge who is on secondment as CEO of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). From 2013 to 2020 she wa ...

, plant biologist

Partner organisations

AcademiaNet is a non-profit project. It is funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation, the Robert Bosch Stiftung and 21 European research funding organisations, including the Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science, the Royal Society, the Spanish National Research Council, the Swedish Research Council and the European Molecular Biology Organization. AcademiaNet is also included in the search map of The Brussels Binder, a database for more women in European debates. More than 40 European science organisations nominate women scientists who meet the selection criteria of AcademiaNet. These organisations include: *

Academy of Finland The Research Council of Finland (, ) is a governmental funding body for scientific research in Finland. Until August 2023, its official English-language name was Academy of Finland. It is based in Helsinki. Yearly, the council administers over ...

, Finland *

French National Centre for Scientific Research The French National Centre for Scientific Research (, , CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe. In 2016, it employed 31,637 staff, including 11,137 tenured researchers, 13,415 engi ...

, France *

Foundation for Polish Science The Foundation For Polish Science () is an independent, non-profit organisation which aims to improve research opportunities in Poland, and to provide assistance and support to the scientific community there. It was established in 1990 and regis ...

, Poland *

National Fund for Scientific Research The National Fund for Scientific Research (NFSR) (Dutch: ''Nationaal Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek'' (NFWO), French: ''Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique'' (FNRS)) was once a government institution in Belgium for supporting scienti ...

, Belgium *

Austrian Science Fund The Austrian Science Fund () is the most important Austrian funding organization for basic research. The FWF supports research in science, engineering, and the humanities through a large variety of grant programmes, prizes and by funding infrastru ...

, Austria *

Fraunhofer Society The Fraunhofer Society () is a German publicly-owned research organization with 76institutes spread throughout Germany, each focusing on different fields of applied science (as opposed to the Max Planck Society, which works primarily on Basic re ...

, Germany *

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

, Scotland *

Danish Council for Independent Research The Independent Research Fund Denmark, until 2017 known as the Danish Council for Independent Research (Danish: ''Danmarks Frie Forskningsfond'', formerly ''Det Frie Forskningsråd''; ''DFF'') of Denmark funds basic research and gives advice to gov ...

, Denmark *

Wellcome Trust The Wellcome Trust is a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London, United Kingdom. It was established in 1936 with legacies from the pharmaceutical magnate Henry Wellcome (founder of Burroughs Wellcome, one of the predec ...

, United Kingdom * Estonian Research Council, Estonia{{Cite web, title=Eighty top Estonian female researchers being added to AcademiaNet, url=https://estonianworld.com/knowledge/eighty-top-estonian-female-researchers-added-to-academianet/, access-date=2021-04-27, website=Estonian World, date=30 April 2020 , language=en

Notes and references

External links

Official Website
Scientific databases Bibliographic databases and indexes Women in science and technology