Graduate Center Newsletter

This summer semester will once again offer a wide range of practical workshops for doctoral students. These offer a valuable opportunity to expand your own skills in various relevant subject areas in a targeted and sustainable manner.

The following workshops will be offered in the summer semester 2025

• Diversity & Inclusion on 05. & 06.03.2025 with Dr. Lilian Gehrke-Vetterkind
• Feminist Leadership on 02. & 03.04.2025 with Dr. Bele Grau
• Professional Presentations at Conferences and in the Academic World on 21 & 22.05.2025 with Dr. Carrie B. Dohe
• Basic Doctorate Course on 10.07.2025 with Dr. Sabrina Raffenberg and Iris Bosold-Grund
• Good scientific practice on 18 & 19.08.2025 with Dr. Christian Dumpitak

Early registration in the respective ILIAS course is mandatory. All doctoral candidates will receive the password separately by e-mail.

In addition, doctoral candidates who are also employees at Fachhochschule Dortmund can also attend workshops of the perspective management.

This year, we are continuing the "Fachwissen zum Mittag" lecture series, which we offer in cooperation with the library of Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts. In this digital event series, you can expect compact and practical insights into various aspects of academic publishing. Whether you are just working on your first publications or already have experience - the lectures offer valuable information, practice-oriented tips and the opportunity to clarify open questions. The focus will be on topics such as open access, publication strategies, literature management and dealing with publishing contracts. We will again be supported by colleagues from the library and external speakers who will share their expertise in selected presentations.

The events will take place at 12 noon as online lectures via Cisco Webex and will last around 45 minutes. They are designed so that they can be easily integrated into the daily schedule - perfect for an informative lunch break!

The following topics will be offered in 2025:

• Tuesday, February 25: Library and Graduate Center Support - How to see you through to publication
• Thursday, March 27: The scientific writing process - Despite blockades to publication
• Tuesday, April 29: Printing cost grant - Financial support for the publication of your dissertation
• Wednesday, June 4: Open Access - How to make your publications freely accessible to all
• October: Using AI in the publication process - What you need to consider
• November/December: Fachhochschule Dortmund's Research Information System (FIS) - How to enter your publications and reuse the data

Registration is possible via the link below. Once you have registered, you will receive Webex access in good time before the respective lecture. You will also find a detailed overview of the topics and dates on the website.

We look forward to your participation and exciting discussions about scientific publishing!

On January 27, 2025, the doctoral student representatives were newly elected. After Louisa Bennett, Johannes Wutzkowsky, Raphael Brüngel and Philipp Heisig represented the interests of doctoral students over the past two years, Robert Kremer, Kathrin Breitenbach, Benjamin Bracke and Sairah Bostanci are now taking on this task.

The Doctoral Candidates' Representation is committed to the interests of doctoral students, represents them with two seats on the Graduate Center Advisory Board and participates in the jury meetings for doctoral funding. It is also in close contact with the Graduate Center's coordinating management and organizes the doctoral candidates' plenary session at least once a semester.

An initial meeting with the new representative took place at the last doctoral student get-together on February 20, 2025. As in the initial round, this began at the Bergmann Kiosk on Wall in Dortmund's city center and, after 30-45 minutes of arrival tolerance, moved to the Kraftstoff on Rheinische Straße. This provided an opportunity to exchange ideas in a relaxed atmosphere and discuss questions relating to the doctorate.

The next four dates have already been set:

• Thursday, 08.05.2025
• Thursday, 18.09.2025 with doctoral candidates' plenary session
• Thursday, 06.11.2025
• Thursday, 26.02.2026

The Graduate Center would like to thank the previous doctoral student representatives for their commitment and wishes the newly elected group every success for the next two years! The doctoral student representatives can be reached at: promovierendenvertretungfh-dortmundde

Our Annual Report 2024 will be published soon! In it, we take a detailed look at the developments, changes and successes of the past year at the Graduate Center. What new offers were created? Which formats and workshops were well received? Where did doctoral candidates particularly benefit? We summarize what has happened, what challenges have been overcome and what goals we have achieved together.

This growth and continuous development would not have been possible without the committed participation and valuable contribution of the doctoral students. Their commitment, their ideas and their exchange enrich our Graduate Center and make it a lively place of science. We would like to express our sincere thanks for this!

Stay tuned and take a look at the annual report soon to get a comprehensive insight into the past year!

In autumn 2025, the Best Practice Day will once again take place as part of the "Leadership Skills" certificate program, but this time in a new format. This day offers a unique opportunity to gain a practice-oriented insight into the various facets of leadership positions. Participants will be familiarized with the diverse requirements, responsibilities and opportunities of leadership, but also with the challenges that a leadership role can entail.

Lectures and discussions with experienced managers from different areas will teach important leadership skills. The direct experience shared by the experts is particularly valuable, as is the opportunity to ask questions and learn from their career paths. The Best Practice Day not only promotes an understanding of strategic and organizational tasks, but also of the interpersonal and communication skills that are essential for successful leadership.

For the participants, the Best Practice Day is a valuable opportunity to deal intensively with the demands placed on managers and to prepare themselves for future management tasks. They can also expand their networks and benefit from the experiences of other participants. This practice-oriented event thus makes a significant contribution to personal and professional development.

We are introducing a new event to strengthen the exchange between supervisors and doctoral candidates: "Bring Your Mentors". The aim is to create a space in which doctoral candidates can present their projects and their supervisors from the university and university of applied sciences can give feedback together. Supervisors often work cooperatively without exchanging ideas during the course of the doctorate, which leaves valuable opportunities for more comprehensive supervision and mutual support untapped.

The first network colloquium will take place on Wednesday, October 15, 2025, from 10 am to 1 pm in room 2.41 at Joseph-von-Fraunhofer-Str. 23, 44227 Dortmund.

Participation in this event can be credited as a substitute for the regular colloquium to obtain the final certificate. Attendance of the event is mandatory for doctoral candidates in the funding program. Alternatively, university supervisors can also be involved in a hybrid format if desired.

Interested doctoral candidates can register informally by e-mail to promotionskollegfh-dortmundde by August 31, 2025, contacting both supervisors in CC. We look forward to numerous registrations and a productive exchange!

In 2025, Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts will once again be awarding the doctoral prize of 1,000 euros for outstanding cooperative doctorates.

Applications are open to doctoral candidates who completed their dissertation in 2024 with at least magna cum laude and carried out their doctorate in cooperation with a professor at Fachhochschule Dortmund. Selection takes place in a multi-stage process: After a pre-selection by the Senate Commission for Research, Development and Transfer, a jury of representatives from universities and research institutes decides on the awarding of the prize. Among other things, the scientific quality, social relevance and degree of innovation of the work are assessed.

Last year, the prize was awarded to Dr. Sven Becker, who made an outstanding contribution to his field with his dissertation. Becker's dissertation deals with an everyday problem in medical practice: the time-consuming and complex determination of bone age in children. Anyone wishing to apply for the 2025 prize can do so until April 11, 2025.

We look forward to receiving numerous applications and wish all participants every success!

Further information on the call for entries and the application process can be found at the following link:

We would like to once again draw your attention to the opportunity to acquire a final certificate during your doctorate. By participating in our modularized workshop program, you can specifically expand your methodological, technical and interdisciplinary skills and structure your doctoral process.

Participation in a total of eight workshops is required to obtain the certificate. At least one event from each of the four central modules must be attended. The assignment of the workshops to the modules can be found in the respective announcements in the ILIAS portal. In addition, regular participation in a colloquium and attendance of the following four core courses is mandatory:

• Basic doctorate course
• Advanced doctorate course
• Disputation course
• "Good scientific practice"

Take the opportunity to further your education and supplement your doctoral project with valuable additional qualifications! It is mandatory for doctoral candidates to obtain the final certificate.

All further information on the modules, content and requirements can be found under the link below and in the respective courses on ILIAS:

The PK NRW now offers a wide range of financial support options. Doctoral candidates doing their doctorate at PK NRW can, for example, apply for doctoral positions or apply for grants for publications and conference travel. You can find more information at:

This central event offers a first introduction to the cooperative doctorate and the doctorate according to NRW's own doctoral law as well as to funding opportunities. It is aimed at those interested in doing a doctorate and is an opportunity to exchange ideas with other doctoral candidates. The event will take place online on April 30 and August 27, 2025, both from 10-12 am. Registration is via Ilias(Opens in a new tab) .

Once a year, the application process for doctoral funding at Fachhochschule Dortmund is presented at this event. In addition, there will be a consultation hour for the preparation of application documents on September 2, 2025, from 10-11 am. You can register for this by sending an email to promotionskollegfh-dortmundde  If you missed the session, you are welcome to contact us for individual counseling.

This regular event for professors deals with current topics relevant to doctoral studies. Experts from the field and the head of the college provide insights into new developments and challenges. The respective dates can be found on the website(Opens in a new tab) .

The writing club is aimed at doctoral students who are in the writing phase of their doctoral thesis, exposé, paper, third-party funding application or other writing projects. In a trusting and productive atmosphere, participants can work together on their texts, overcome difficulties and receive valuable feedback. The meetings take place regularly in presence at Joseph-von-Fraunhofer-Str. 23. If you are interested, please promotionskolleg@fh-dortmund.de at promotionskollegfh-dortmunddepromotionskollegfh-dortmundde

This event is aimed at (expectant) parents who are working on their doctorate and provides information about support services offered by the Graduate Center. These include, for example, literature research and procurement, transcription or editing. The next appointment will take place online together with Corinne Rinck, Leonie Redeker and Rabia Kocabayraktar on May 15, 2025 from 10:00-11:30 am. Prior registration via Ilias(Opens in a new tab)  is mandatory.

In May, the Sustainability Week will take place at the UAS, during which we would like to showcase doctoral projects on the topic of sustainability as part of a poster exhibition. The exhibition will be shown at the Impact CUP, which will take place on Thursday, 22 May from 5 p.m. in the kostBar.

Do you think your doctoral project is ideal for this? Then please send us an e-mail to promotionskollegfh-dortmundde  The whole thing is a great opportunity to present your research to a wider audience and make contacts with other researchers.

The DART Symposium is a biennial event at which doctoral candidates from NRW and across Germany have the opportunity to network and exchange ideas. On 17.09.2026, doctoral candidates will once again be invited to inspire and support each other. Further information will follow shortly.

Are you interested in supporting the Graduate Center with the organization to gain insights into the planning of a major event and to expand your network inside and outside the university? Then get in touch with us via promotionskollegfh-dortmundde

Impressions of the DART Symposium 2024 can be found here(Opens in a new tab) .