Kassel researcher Dr. Ina Sieber honored as "Visible Women in Science"

The ZEIT publishing house has selected Dr. Ina Sieber from the University of Kassel as a Zia Fellow 2025 from over 400 applications. This makes her the first female scientist from the university to be accepted into the funding program. The one-year fellowship program "Zia - Visible Women in Science" supports 25 outstanding young female scientists from various disciplines. The aim of the initiative is to highlight the scientific achievements of women, promote interdisciplinary exchange and support young female researchers in their personal and professional development.

In addition to her scientific work, Dr. Ina Sieber is involved in several research institutions - including DIW Berlin - and also contributes her expertise to the German government's policy advice as a member of the German Advisory Council on the Environment.

"Being accepted for the Zia Fellowship is a special recognition of my work as a scientist for human-environment interactions at the Kassel Institute for Sustainability," says Sieber. "The program offers me the opportunity to gain new impetus for my research. At the same time, I want to help network female scientists and further strengthen their voices in academia."

The 35-year-old environmental social scientist researches sustainable development, human-environment relationships and the question of how nature and society can be made resilient together. Her research focuses on participatory processes, ecosystem services, climate adaptation and nature-based solutions in spatial planning. She combines science, practice and politics and makes an important contribution to socio-ecological transformation. Since July 2025, Sieber has also been advising the German government on environmental issues as a research associate at the German Advisory Council on the Environment and has already worked in an advisory capacity for the European Commission and GIZ. With publications in the journals Ecosystem Services and Regional Environmental Change as well as citations by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) and IPBES (Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services), her research is also internationally visible.

In addition to her scientific work, Sieber is actively committed to gender equality in science. This year, she was Women's and Equality Officer at the Kassel Institute for Sustainability. "Programmes like Zia are essential for promoting women's scientific careers, bringing diverse perspectives into research processes and creating structures that offer the next generation of female researchers real opportunities for development," she emphasizes.

Dr. Sarah Wedde, Managing Director of the Kassel Institute for Sustainability, also points out the importance of the award: "The selection of Ina Sieber as Visible Woman in Science 2025/26 shows how relevant and forward-looking sustainability research is. At the Kassel Institute, we are working to transform science and society together - because real sustainability also means changing the science system itself. Women* are still underrepresented in research - so it is all the more important to strengthen visibility and equal opportunities."

The Zia Fellowship 2025/26 includes workshops, mentoring and a variety of networking formats. It offers the fellows both professional development and public platforms to communicate research content, bring scientific topics into social discussions and increase the reach and impact of their work in the long term.