HQP Masterclass – A Chance to Learn from the Pros!

On October 27  , our HQPs (Highly Qualified Personnel) were given the opportunity to participate in a Masterclass with our own Principal Investigator, Dr. Christian Messier, as well as his friend and colleague, Dr. Jürgen Bauhus, Professor of Silviculture at the University of Freiburg. Christian and Jürgen were presented with several prompts to guide them as they shared their professional development stories with the HQPs. Afterwards, there was ample time for questions and discussion.  

For many of our HQPs, this Masterclass was their first time meeting Christian face-to-face, so it was very important to us to create this opportunity for them to get to know him a bit better, as well as his colleagues.

Tali Pukier, a UBC MSc student supervised by DIVERSE’s Theme 5 Lead, Dr. Harry Nelson, shared: “learning from Jurgen and Christian in this candid-setting also made me more confident to reach out and ask them questions.”  

Christian and Jürgen are both well-known names in their respective areas of research, though they described their academic and career journeys very differently. Jürgen described his as very straightforward and linear (and he stressed how lucky he felt for that to be the case!), whereas Christian described more redirections and curves in the road. One thing Christian heavily emphasized, was how important spending time abroad shaped and influenced him as a researcher. 

“I appreciated how Christian stressed the how his time abroad in Finland gave him a nuanced perspective about topics in forestry and was a fulfilling cultural experience as a young professional.” Tali shared of Christian’s story.  

Another student, Kyle Dues, who is completing his PhD at the University of Alberta under Theme 6 Lead Dr. Brad Pinno, also gave us his thoughts on the Masterclass.  

“The event brought together two world class researchers with unique perspectives and diverse backgrounds, resulting in a genuinely insightful conversation. The intimate, low-pressure setting created a comfortable atmosphere that allowed for true back-and-forth dialogue”, Kyle says. Kyle shared that 2 key pieces of advice stood out and continue to resonate with him now: 

1. When presented with multiple opportunities for our future, we should always choose the harder path, and; 

2. While there is never a shortage of people who want to be involved, there is a shortage of those willing to take responsibility. 

Hopefully, the lessons and takeaways the HQPs learned from this Masterclass will help them navigate the road ahead in their respective research and career journeys. Our HQPs are the backbone of our project; without them, the work of DIVERSE would not be possible. Our hope is to foster students and post-docs who will continue on to be the next generation of amazing researchers like Jürgen and Christian.