Learn about our community: spotlight on Dr. Amandine Colson
Dr. Amandine Colson works as postdoc at the German Maritime Museum in Bremerhaven since March 2025. She combines a training as a conservator at the École de Condé in Paris with an interdisciplinary background in the natural sciences and humanities, as well as long-standing experience in international collaboration. She is currently working on the “Historical Maritime Soundscapes” project, exploring innovative ways to preserve and make maritime heritage accessible.
Dr. Amandine Colson
German Maritime Museum – Leibniz Institute for Maritime History
Leibniz Section A
Department: Program Area II – Digitally and Materiality
Profession: Cultural heritage scientist
What makes your institute a special place to work?
The German Maritime Museum is located at the heart of contemporary shipping and shipbuilding activities in Germany and gives us the opportunity to engage with local communities and visitors passionate about maritime history. At the same time, we have both the opportunity and responsibility to critically reflect on the past and on many factors that shaped Germany and Europe through seafaring.
What particularly fascinates you about your research?
I enjoy combining my personal interests with the study of museum collections from the lens of cultural history. I am currently working on “Maritime Soundscapes”, adopting a multidisciplinary approach that bridges sound studies, cultural history, and museum studies. My research aims to contribute to the preservation of tangible and intangible maritime heritage.
How is your work relevant for society?
When we think about cultural heritage, we often focus on visual arts, such as paintings. Most museums are primarily visually oriented, presenting objects and texts to visitors. However, human perception involves five senses. My research encourages visitors to reflect on their own sensory experiences and highlights that maritime history encompasses far more than you can physically see.
What would you change to improve the situation of postdocs in Germany?
Although the institutes have legal constraints, employment contracts should be extended to the full six-year duration. This will allow researchers more time to develop new ideas, apply for subsequent funding and make informed career decisions. Additionally, institutes should provide individualized career development support to ensure that effective strategies are in place from the outset, avoiding loss of valuable time.
In your perfect research world, what would be different?
Institutes would collaborate more closely, not only by sharing infrastructure, but also by creating conditions that allow researchers to stay in a given region for longer. Transversal skills such as project coordination or grant writing are widely applicable and increasingly essential. Institute strategy would be clearly defined, while allowing sufficient flexibility to support both institutional success and the individual advancement of researchers at different career stages.
In this series, we showcase postdocs working on society-relevant research questions at Leibniz Institutes.
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