Brassat, Katharina

A moment with...
Dr. Katharina Brassat

“Innovations and technologies are my metier: I work in Munich as an intellectual property professional and am training to be a patent attorney. Prior to this, I studied Chemistry at Paderborn University, completed my doctoral degree in Physics and researched nanotechnologies as a post-doc with a team.”

(1) What I love about my current job is...
...seeing innovations from a different perspective to a research perspective. I help inventors – from start-ups to global players – elaborate and protect their innovation ideas, thereby enabling more technologies to make the leap from idea to real-world application.

(2) I’ve long been passionate about...
...interdisciplinarity and communication. The two go hand in hand and are, in my view, key to mastering the major societal challenges of the future (and the present).

(3) One of the highlights of my career so far has been...
...realising that I can leverage the hard and soft skills I acquired during my time at Paderborn University to achieve successes in completely different contexts.

(4) When I look back on my career so far, I’d say that what has particularly shaped me has been...
...sharing know-how and ideas with a whole host of people from a whole host of scientific disciplines – including and especially technical specialisms beyond my own areas of expertise.

(5) I’d advise any young women wishing to pursue a career similar to mine to...
...seize every opportunity that comes your way – without thinking too much about it and hesitating.

(6) For me, gender equality will be achieved when...
...it no longer needs to be addressed.

(7) I associate my time at Paderborn University with...
...intensive days in the lab during my degree, international networking during my doctoral studies, freedom during my post-doc and how I developed professionally and personally through a combination of all three.

(8) For the next 50 years, I wish Paderborn University...
...to consistently focus on forging an innovative, international future with equal opportunities for all

Also worth seeing

Thissen, Anne
Dr Anne Thissen
Anne Thissen studied Sports Science at Paderborn University and did a doctorate at the University of Kassel. She now works as a pedagogical supervisor for second division football club SC Paderborn 07’s youth academy.
Helmling, Meike
Dr Meike Helmling
Meike Helmling currently works as Head of Business Area at Project Management Jülich in research funding for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). She completed her doctorate in Automotive Lightweight Design in Paderborn in 2017.
Donhauser, Sinah
Sinah Donhauser
Sinah Donhauser is a radio presenter and local journalist. She has hosted the morning show on local Paderborn radio station “Radio Hochstift” since 2018. In 2020, she received the German Radio Award. She studied Media Studies at Paderborn University from 2011 to 2015.
Hartmann, Doreen
Dr Doreen Hartmann
Doreen Hartmann is Head of Exhibitions at the Deutsches Hygiene-Museum Dresden (DHMD). Prior to this, she worked as a curator at the Heinz Nixdorf Forum (HNF) in Paderborn. Her interdisciplinary positioning between media, literature, computer science and art has opened a wealth of doors for her.
Dr Anika Thun
Anika Thun is currently Managing Director of Kalypso Media Group. She completed her doctoral degree on “Life in reboot times: an empirical case study analysis in the film and games industry” at Paderborn University in 2020.