Doctoral Program at the Chair of Production Management

If you are interested in a doctorate/Ph.D. at the Chair of Production and Operations Management, please note the following:

Please check in advance whether you have the required degree (e.g. Diploma or Master degree from an University) to pursue a doctorate at the BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg. Graduates from an applied science university (in Germany FH) are requested to complete additional courses at the BTU. 

Application

If you would like to apply for a doctoral program under the supervision of Prof. Winkler, please mind the following pre- application requirements:

  1. CV in tabular form
  2. Copy of your degree 
  3. Describe succinctly the main topic of interest to be developed within the doctorate, which should be between one to two pages. 

Following the reception and evaluation of your documents, you will receive a feedback on whether or not your candidacy for the doctoral program is accepted. If your profile meets the research goals of the chair you might be invited to a personal interview in Cottbus. 
After the interview, you will be asked to prepare an exposé. The quality and content of the exposé is a central decision-making criterion for the acceptance as doctoral candidate.
 

Creating an exposé

The exposé is intended to outline the content of the doctoral thesis in terms of content and methodology.

Why should you write and exposé?

  • it serves to foreseen the challenges of the topic
  • it helps the supervisor to gain a better idea of the required capabilities and competences,
  • it helps clarifying the scope and feasibility of the proposed doctoral project,
  • it facilitate the verification of the scientific quality of the doctoral project.

Scope and content of the exposé:

Your exposé should be typed, in Arial, 12 pt, 1.5 line-spaced and should be between five to seven pages.

Cover sheet:

  • Personal information
  • Proposed (working) title of the dissertation,
  • Highlight the thematic area of the dissertation
  • Aspired academic degree 

Content of the exposé:

it should present the thematic and its essential aspects.

  • Relevance of the topic, positioning in the context of the relevant scientific knowledge (research position, integration into research projects, possible fields of application, etc.) (about 1 page) (obligatory)
  • Motivations to conduct the work (about 1 page) (obligatory)
  • Reference to preliminary work by other authors (if necessary, explanation conceptual modifications) (about 1 page) (optional)
  • Scientific questions and objectives and structure of the methodical approach (2 pages) (obligatory)
  • Rough outline to conduct the research  (5-6 main sections) (obligatory)
  • Bibliography (Main body of literature to support the solution to the envisioned problem) (optional)

Supervision agreement

If your exposé is sounding and suitable to the vision and values of the Chair of Production and Operations Management, you are invited to sing the supervision agreement. The agreement comprises the envisioned goals determined by the student in the exposé, in addition to the type and frequency of supervision. 

Hence, you will have to define your execution plan and coordinate with Prof. Winkler your timetable. Please note that in addition to the dissertation, further task are going to be assigned, which should be completed parallel to the working deliverables of your dissertation. Clarify with Prof. Winkler then:

  • The amount and type of courses you have to complete at the BTU,
  • Publications, conference participations and teaching activities are required,
  • If especial coaching is requires or some part of your work required especial counseling.

Attendance to the Doctoral Colloquium

The doctoral colloquium of the chair takes place twice a year (summer/winter) and it should be visited as regularly as possible. The aim is to present and defend the work progress in front of the other doctoral students.

Official application and admission as doctoral candidate at the BTU

After receiving the acceptance as a doctoral student from Prof. Winkler, you have to apply to the faculty council for admission as a doctoral candidate. 
You will have to fill out an application form and submit it to the faculty council. The faculty board will evaluate your documents and communicate you the acceptance or rejection of your candidacy.


Further information on the promotion at the BTU can be found on the following page:
Application and admission to doctorate programs.