Who we are – What we do

Chemists are employed in civil service such as in government monitoring agencies, environmental agencies of the German federal government, the states, and municipalities as well as in many other areas, e.g., the fire department and customs offices.

Accordingly, their spectrum of jobs is diverse, ranging from pure research, work in laboratories and scientific administration up to consultation, evaluation and monitoring work. 

The declared objectives of the work association “Chemists in Civil Service”, founded in March 1994 and advanced to the status of a GDCh-division in December 2004, are to:

• Specifically promote the scientific/professional interests of this group
• Utilize the expertise and influence of the group members in keeping with the agenda of the GDCh (e.g., in occupational-, environmental- and consumer protection)

Tasks

The division pursues the following tasks

• Strengthening the position of chemists in agencies in cooperation with lawyers, engineers and others
• Creating an information forum for raising professional competencies
• Promoting clarification and public relations through professional involvement in addressing current societal issues regarding chemistry topics
• Ensuring the quality of consultation of politicians and administrators regarding (environmental)-political decisions
• Promoting training courses in the natural sciences and technology with a focus on chemistry
• Informing about areas of employment in civil service
• Promoting young chemists through active dialogue beyond the professional limits of the university major
• Supporting the compatibility of family and career
• Promoting equal opportunity, in particular, in acquiring leading positions

Members

With their work, the members of this division are directly acting at the interface of industry, science and society. Besides chemical expertise, they require extensive knowledge about legal policies and societal-political backgrounds. The members of this division are publically involved in the discussion for objectifying publically relevant questions, whereby they act as a neutral and objective link here. 

Thus, the division “Chemists in Civil Service” would like to offer all colleagues working in

• Public institutions
• Publically funded research Centers and
• International organizations

a network for cooperation and support.