About the Graduate Centre
The Graduate Centre (GradZ) is the central coordination and support unit for early-career researchers at HTWK Leipzig. Since its opening in June 2016, it has aimed to provide the best possible support to early-career researchers during their doctoral and postdoctoral phases, as well as in their career development.
The focus is on PhD students at HTWK Leipzig. Other services are aimed at postdocs, PhD supervisors, research assistants and those interested in pursuing a PhD.
The core responsibilities of the Graduate Centre include:
Providing information and advice on matters relating to doctoral studies
Advice on funding and financial support options
Interdisciplinary training through the CompeTE+ programme
- Promoting interdisciplinarity and networking
Aims and objectives
The Graduate Centre is responsible for coordinating and implementing the strategy for supporting early-career researchers, which is based on the guidelines for supporting early-career researchers at HTWK Leipzig.
The aim is to enhance the quality of (co-operative) doctoral studies at HTWK Leipzig and to create excellent conditionsfor doctoral research and academic development for early-career researchers.
Through targeted measures to support early-career researchers at HTWK Leipzig, the aim is to support these researchers in their career development and prepare them to take on key positions in academia, industry and public administration.
The Graduate Centre …
- supports the faculties in promoting early-career researchers.
- develops and coordinates measures for cross-faculty and interdisciplinary information, advice, training and networking for early-career researchers.
- coordinates central funding instruments and programmes for the promotion of early-career researchers.
- works to ensure quality-led academic supervision of doctoral candidates and compliance with the rules of good academic practice.
- evaluates, reviews, documents and communicates activities relating to early-career researchers.
- acts as a point of contact for doctoral candidates in the event of conflicts arising from their doctoral supervision.
Structure
The Graduate Centre operates on an inter-faculty and interdisciplinary basis. Structurally, the GradZ is attached to the Research Department. The Vice-Rector for Research and Sustainability, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Faouzi Derbel, serves as its academic director.
The Graduate Centre’s Academic Advisory Board comprises professors, postdoctoral researchers and PhD candidates, and supports the implementation of HTWK Leipzig’s strategy for promoting early-career researchers.
GradZ Scientific Advisory Board
An academic advisory board, comprising representatives from the university, guides and supports the work of the Graduate Centre.
In this capacity, the members of the Advisory Board advise the Graduate Centre on the conceptual planning and strategic direction of early-career development at HTWK Leipzig and are involved in drawing up binding procedures for early-career development.
The Academic Advisory Board comprises professors, representatives of PhD candidates and PhD graduates at HTWK Leipzig.
The Academic Advisory Board currently comprises the following members:
- Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jens Jäkel
- Rosa Elena Ocaña Atencio (PhD student)
- Prof. Dr.-Ing. Alexander Stahr (Chair)
- Prof. Dr. rer. pol. Bodo Sturm
- Dr.-Ing. Florian Wallburg (postdoctoral researcher, Deputy Chair)
