For a long time, Dr. Janine Pelikan from the Institute of Market Analysis was the only deputy director in one of the 15 Thünen Institutes. For a few weeks now, she has had a colleague in Dr. Anja Kuenz at the Institute of Agricultural Technology. "I really enjoy the scientific work. And I enjoy being with my colleagues," says Janine Pelikan. But she emphasizes, "I also have a family that is a great support to me and provides a balance to the many challenges. It helps me to do a good job. Balancing my family and work is very important to me."

To ensure that the balance succeeds in everyday life, the family work is divided equally between the shoulders of father and mother. Her husband, also a scientist at the Thünen Institute, works part-time like Janine Pelikan. They both watch each other's backs so that, for example, business trips lasting several days are possible. "Of course, there is always a bit of time missing somewhere," says the agricultural economist, whose research area is international agricultural trade. Basically, she says, the good cooperation with Institute Director Dr. Martin Banse and with the team at the Institute of Market Analysis is important for her work. More women than men work there, and overall there is a great diversity in terms of age structure and nationalities among the employees. "This diversity enriches the work and promotes understanding for a wide variety of lifestyles," says Pelikan.

Before Janine Pelikan came to what is now the Thünen Institute in 2004, she studied agricultural sciences in Kiel and environmental economics for one semester in Norway, and earned her doctorate in Giessen. While she was still working on her doctorate, the then director of the institute and current president of the Leibniz Association, Prof. Dr. Martina Brockmeier, offered her a permanent position. For Janine Pelikan, her former boss is still an important role model today.