News & Stories: What fascinates you in your field of research?
Corina Klug: In principle, interdisciplinarity. My field of research is biomechanics and in particular the biomechanics of injuries. This combines medicine, physics, maths and mechanics. I do apply biomechanics in the field of vehicle safety to prevent injuries. I like that this is something meaningful, because we want to improve safety in everyday life, particularly in road traffic. It is an issue that affects everyone. It really motivates me to work on something that makes the world a little bit better.
Were you always interested in these technical and scientific topics, and was this encouraged when you were a child and a teenager? Or was there a particular experience that led to it?
Klug: As a child, I played with everything that was fun – regardless of gender roles – including dolls and Lego Technic. I made the decision to study something technical at university quite late, just before my matriculation exams. I was always good at maths at school and I had a teacher who really encouraged me. He tried to persuade me to study a technical subject, but I wasn’t very enthusiastic about it at first. It didn’t stimulate my imagination. I thought it was boring and it had too little to do with people for me. And I also had doubts as to whether it was really suitable for me and whether I could manage a technical degree programme without a technical secondary school (HTL) background. I wanted to study something in social affairs or medicine. Funnily enough, I ended up in the wrong lecture hall on an open day and heard a lecture on mechanical engineering and robotics. Suddenly, a technology degree was more within my grasp, especially when I looked at the list of elective subjects. I realised there I could learn about wind turbines as well as trains and cars in the same degree course. There are so many exciting topics and you don’t have to limit yourself to one topic at the beginning, but can learn in general how to conduct research and design such things.
Could there have been initiatives beforehand, during your time at school, that could have pointed you in this direction despite this chance happening?
Klug: I was at a secondary school (Realgymnasium). At the time, there was a lecture called “Women in technology” at my school, but it didn’t really appeal to me. Since I was used to female students being in the majority at my school, I couldn’t understand why girls were being specifically addressed here. I think I also generally had an antiquated image of what engineers and technologists are like and couldn’t identify with them. When I got to know engineers for the first time and realised what a fascination they had for the subject, everything changed.
I am always amazed at the doubts that young women who are interested in studying a technical subject are confronted with, even though there is no objective reason for these doubts.
Have there been more active attempts in recent years to modernise this rather outdated image of engineers?
Klug: There are many great initiatives. Everyone is very keen to explain things clearly and show what technology can do. But we can see from the student numbers that we still have a lot of room for improvement. We have the Kinder-Uni (children’s university) here and school groups constantly visit, but when we ask who is interested in mechanical engineering, it is mainly the children whose parents do something in this field who reply. They can imagine what it means. But the others often find it difficult. I hope the interaction with us will make it a little easier for them afterwards.
As far as traditional gender images are concerned, I often have the feeling that, especially when it comes to children’s toys, there is a greater distinction between supposed “girls’” and “boys’” things than when I was a child. This could also be a hindering factor.
So do you have the feeling that children are being increasingly pushed back into traditional gender roles?
Klug: It annoys me when I see toys labelled for girls that don’t have to be assembled as much as those for boys. The signal being sent to girls is that they are less able. I am always amazed at the doubts that young women who are interested in studying a technical subject are confronted with, even though there is no objective reason for these doubts.
As a woman involved in technology research, do you have or have you ever had the impression that it has been more difficult for you?
Klug: I was confronted with two challenges at the start of my studies. First, I didn’t go to a technical school (HTL) and had the feeling that I was inferior to my fellow students as a result. Secondly, I realised straight away that as a woman you stand out everywhere and therefore often get caught out, and being late can never be inconspicuous.
Over time, however, I have realised that these things can also have advantages. My secondary school education meant I had to catch up a lot in terms of construction and manual skills, but I was better at maths, which in turn helped me a lot in mechanics. In this respect, the success of my studies here has shown me that my fears were unfounded. I was able to gain practical experience by working as a student trainee alongside my studies. This allowed me to combine the theoretical with the practical.
Standing out as a woman helped in that I quickly made friends with my fellow female students – we were all in the same boat and they are still some of my best friends today. Even today, I still stand out as a woman in most meetings and am often underestimated – but over time you learn to use this to your advantage to get something done.
There was a study that focused on networks in the field of physics research. According to this study, male scientists are more likely to promote young male scientists because they are in the same networks at an earlier stage and increase each other’s visibility. Have you had similar experiences?
Klug: I have always been part of various networks from the very beginning. Whether as a student representative or in the mentoring programme at the company where I worked or today in the Leading Women programme at TU Graz. I would say that networking is generally one of my strengths. I was pleased to be able to take part in these various initiatives that aim to counteract these effects.
I’ve always had a good network of different people and was lucky enough to meet people who believed in me and stood up for me.
But what the study definitely shows, and what I have noticed more than once, is that when it comes to employment or the promotion of a person, for example, people often tend to choose someone with whom they can identify more. This is simply a human characteristic. It is important to keep this in mind. At TU Graz, we have the staff unit Equity, Youth, Care which also reminds you to think about the criteria according to which a decision has been made. Was it because I identify more with this person? Because she is more like me than others? Or because she really is the most qualified?
It also takes a lot of self-confidence as a young female researcher to join a table of men only at a conference or to go for a drink in the evening, especially if you don’t know anyone. On the other hand, if you’re not the only woman, you’ll quickly find a connection with the other female colleagues.
Universities of technology such as TU Graz are endeavouring to increase the proportion of female students and female researchers, ideally to 50 per cent. How do you see the development and where could we start to accelerate it?
Klug: When I started studying at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Economic Sciences, there wasn’t a single female professor here. There are now seven of us in the association of full professors, which makes me very happy. But we are still a long way from 50 per cent. Nevertheless, it’s nice to know that you’re not alone. That gives you a certain sense of security and is also good for the dynamics. On the student side, I am shocked that there is no major upward trend in the field of mechanical engineering, although we do have some good initiatives. There’s the really cool “MINKT” lab (in English STEAM lab for STEM subjects plus Art), there’s the children’s university, lots of school groups come by. But maybe it will just take a while before we see the girls taking part here as first-year students. I was thrilled this year that we were able to supervise three really great students as holiday interns, who were so brilliant with their work that they put many a BSc student in the shade.
Who or what has helped you the most in your studies and career in research?
Klug: I’ve always had a good network of different people and was lucky enough to meet people who believed in me and stood up for me. The instrument of women’s tenure track positions has helped me a lot in my academic career. Since there are few tenure track positions and few women at TU Graz who want to pursue such a path, it was quite a rarity that the timing was right.
This was also the case at our institute – without the women’s tenure track positions, there would have been no job for me and I would certainly have left TU Graz. At the beginning I struggled with whether I really deserved it or whether I only got the job because I’m a woman. It wasn’t until I got to know the other women tenure track holders that I really understood it. There is no one here who is worse than the other tenure track holders and does not deserve this position – on the contrary, the qualification stipulations are often exceeded many times over. This instrument has made it possible to utilise unique opportunities to retain highly qualified and talented women at TU Graz. I am proud to be one of them.
People often forget that you can achieve a lot with technology.
If you want to inspire young people, especially young women, to study engineering or pursue an academic career in technology, what would you advise them to do?
Klug: My own biggest driving force is that I want to change something for the better. At the end of my career, I want to be able to say that I haven’t just worked to earn money, but that I have achieved something that is sustainable and improves our society. People often forget that you can achieve a lot with technology. If you make things more efficient and resource-friendly, if you make them safer and fairer and implement this in technical innovations, you immediately have a huge reach and can achieve a global impact. My aim is to help ensure that children all over the world get to school more safely, that men and women are equally protected in vehicles and that the risk of injury in the event of an accident is reduced for everyone.
I am glad I studied a technical subject so that I have these opportunities and can work creatively in the international network. I really enjoy teaching because it allows me to scale up the impact and I’m always happy to see what yesterday’s students are achieving today.
This interview is part of the TU Graz Dossier "Women in Research". You can find further Dossiers at www.tugraz.at/en/go/dossiers
