On the occasion of his birthday tomorrow, we would like to introduce Thomas Streck. Nowadays, he is working as a research assistant, but he has been already employed at the Chair of Microeconomics since 2015. So... we might as well celebrate his 5-year anniversary soon! But before that, let's get to know him:
I decided to work at the Chair of Microeconomics because…
...I just blundered into it.
In a typical day at work, my main tasks are…
…preparing tutorials and interacting with many students, as I take care of modules with a large number of students. Therefore, my job also includes coordinative and administrative tasks.
With respect to research, my main interests include…
… bargaining and matching theory. We are currently part of the Collaborative Research Centre 901, where we want to design a market for individualized IT services in dynamic markets. The idea is to create an automated process that uses matching theory to find business partners and bargaining to reach an agreement. I am currently working on “fair” bargaining solutions and how they could be implemented in an automated negotiation.
What turned out to be the most difficult for me since working from home…
... was that online meetings do not replace the interaction you have in a classroom. There are many social components (for example student’s facial expression that is kind of a feedback) that I cannot observe from home, such that it is difficult to track the student’s development. Progress in my research also tends to have slowed down, as I am dependent on the feedback of more experienced colleagues.
My most special experience since being part of our team is…
… the possibility to connect with researchers from all over the world. It is impressive to meet people in the same research field, but you still just understand a tiny share of their presentations. It sometimes makes you want to advance, but actually, you have to appreciate that there are so many possible versions in practice, which stem from the same theory.
In the future, I would like to achieve/work on…
...I could imagine that my results could be appealing for (public) institutions that set up playing rules or incentives to cooperate with each other… and I still like to teach.
Last but not least, my favourite sports club, movie/series, travel destination is…
...FC Hansa Rostock
...Adam’s Apples/Community
...Siberia
