Onboarding Event for New Doctoral Candidates

On 13 October, the new doctoral students from various departments who had commenced their doctoral studies within the past twelve months were welcomed at the BTU’s International Meeting Centre (IBZ). The event was organised and run jointly by the Welcome Centre, the Graduate Research School and the Unit for Young Academics.

The event began with an overview of current developments at the BTU. This included an explanation of the research opportunities available to early-career researchers arising from the university’s research profiles and the associated projects designed to strengthen these profiles. This was followed by a presentation highlighting the key support services available to doctoral students. These include, amongst other things, further training and professional development opportunities, opportunities for stays abroad, and information on the election of the doctoral student representatives, which is taking place for the first time. Participants also had the opportunity to find out about the new project “Well prepared – Build your future career path within and beyond academia”, which is funded by the European Union and the State of Brandenburg. The aim of the project is to support international doctoral students at BTU in exploring career prospects within and outside academia in the region and in planning their careers at an early stage. In this context, the recently published career roadmap was presented, which provides step-by-step guidance on career paths, including key information, points of contact and resources.

As well as providing relevant information, the event also offered opportunities for personal discussion and networking. Following the official programme, a group discussion on the topic of ‘The PhD Iceberg’ – exploring the visible success of doctoral studies and the actual, invisible effort involved – led into the informal part of the event with coffee, tea and cake. 

This event was supported by DAAD financed by funding of the Federal Foreign Office.