Working groups, general

The 5th SEC board (2023-2025) realized through numerous discussions, particularly with new members, that the SEC structure, which had grown organically over two decades with its mix of old and new projects, had become somewhat unwieldy. Since we also wanted to make it easier to get involved, we drew on the experience of the past three years to divide our activities and all projects into ten working groups. The process, the "what, why," and the "how"—that is, the working groups themselves—are described below.

This brings us to the "who": We invite you to actively participate and shape the project. We would be delighted if you would contact us, even as a guest.

And we look forward to a lively exchange, for example at our members' meetings, at our SEC annual meeting, following our monthly SEC Online lectures, and at the annual Working Groups Day.

Of course, we are happy to receive your questions in advance.

Eva E. Wille
on behalf of the SEC Board

Transformation of SEC working groups

1. Milestones

The "Branding and Strategy" board team, appointed by the SEC board at the end of 2024, was able to report significant results by mid-2025: A new mission, a new vision, and – derived from these – overarching goals for the SEC were presented as fundamental milestones in strategy development. These results were documented in the new SEC flyer, which was distributed to all members with the June newsletter.

2. Only change is constant.

The Senior Expert Chemists have always been open to change. Since their founding, the structure has been regularly adapted to meet the needs of its members and to address new political and social challenges. Working groups have been established, dissolved, or merged.

Therefore, the next logical step in strategy development was to analyze the SEC structure: Alongside the Board , the SEC Division was supported until 2025 by two working groups for public relations and education/vocational training. The members of these working groups form a vibrant community and inspire one another. Their goal is to raise the profile of chemically relevant topics in our society. This will be maintained and further strengthened in the updated structure.

3. Objectives

The SECs aim to support the GDCh's strategy, while simultaneously addressing new topics and collaborating with other GDCh Divisions and working groups. They seek to establish contacts and develop joint projects. Key objectives for further development include a broader range of topics and the continuous recruitment of young talent to foster greater engagement, enabling them to address all projects effectively.

The barrier to participation for all SEC members should be lowered. The new structure must allow for flexible work on time-limited projects in collaboration with other GDCh Divisions . This will be easier to achieve in smaller, more agile working groups than in the two existing large working groups. The positive experiences with pragmatic, small Online meetings on the projects "Chemistry Studies Back Then," "Branding and Strategy," and "Social Media Posts for Events," as well as the newsletter team, have encouraged us to pursue this approach.

The core of the transformation therefore consists of the further development of the two working groups as well as the ongoing projects in ten working groups. Each working group develops clear objectives, agreed upon with the SEC board . Progress on the work will be regularly reported to the SEC board and also among the working groups themselves.

4. Transformation

To facilitate the transformation and launch of the new structure, the "Branding and Strategy" board team initially developed a profile for each of the ten working groups around the turn of the year 2025/2026. Each profile includes information on the current status, objectives, planned projects, and the working group members who have already committed to participating. The profile is rounded out by outlining opportunities for collaboration with other GDCh Divisions. A first revision was carried out for the first SEC Working Groups Day on June 11, 2026.

All opportunities will be used to motivate members to participate in the ten working groups, starting with the General Assembly during the 10th SEC annual meeting in Bayreuth from May 4-6, 2026, and the annual meeting itself.

For practical reasons, the new working groups will generally meet Online. Once a year, there will be an in-person event, the "Working Group Day." On this day, the working groups will present their results to each other and to the SEC board, and the next steps will be agreed upon jointly.

5. Next steps

From now on, it is up to the SEC members themselves to get the new working groups up and running. You are all invited to participate in one or more working groups of your choice. Study the profiles and contact a spokesperson for the working group. Work in the groups will begin with an Online kick-off meeting, for which you will receive an invitation in February or March 2026. All working groups will have been formed and held an initial meeting by the next SEC board meeting in early April 2026 at the latest.

The date for the first "Working Group Day" has been set: June 11, 2026, when everyone will meet at the office in Frankfurt. This will also be an opportunity to review the success of the new SEC structure for the first time.

Wolfgang Gerhartz,
Petra Schultheiß-Reimann,
Franz Schütz,
Eva Wille