Graduate Center Newsletter

A wide range of practical workshops for doctoral students will once again be offered in the coming winter semester. 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 winter semester 25/26:

• Change management on 18 & 19.09.2025 with Prof. Dr. Martin Zierold
• Quantitative research methods - part 2 on 24.09.2025 with Prof. Dr. Marco Schwenke
• Poster design on 04.11.2025 with Elisabeth Werner
• Advanced course on 11.12.2025 with Dr. Sabrina Raffenberg and Iris Bosold-Grund
• Disputation training on 05. & 06.02.2026 with Dr. Anja Berninger

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

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

Just in time for the start of the new semester, our new ILIAS folder is online! You will now find all information about the Graduate Center in a clear and well-structured form - from upcoming workshops to information on doctoral funding and materials on the topic of doing a doctorate with children. Our current brochures are also available for download there and provide a compact overview of all offers.

The new folder has been specially designed to make it easier for you to find your way around and to bundle all relevant content in one central location. Whether you are new to the College or have been with us for a while - it's worth a look!

Our new event "Bring Your Mentors" will take place for the first time on Wednesday, October 15, 2025, from 10 am to 1 pm in room 2.41 at Joseph-von-Fraunhofer-Str. 23, 44227 Dortmund.

The event is intended to strengthen the exchange between supervisors and doctoral candidates. 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 unused.

Participation in this event can be credited as a substitute for the regular colloquium to obtain the final certificate. Attendance at the event is mandatory for doctoral candidates in the funding program.

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

Our Annual Report 2024 has been published since May. 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 students 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 thank them for this!

Take a look to get a comprehensive insight into the past year!

This year, our summer festival took place for the first time together with the SommerFHest of the entire Fachhochschule Dortmund on July 4th at the location in Sonnenstraße.

In pleasant temperatures, the Graduate Center opened the stage program at 3:30 pm. The newly registered doctoral students and the current doctoral student representatives were welcomed. We also had the pleasure of introducing the newly funded doctoral candidates and announcing the winner of the Doctoral Prize 2025. Afterwards, we provided suitable musical accompaniment and a relaxed atmosphere.

Our stand was particularly creative: under the motto "If my research work were an ice cream, it would be ...", young and old were able to let their imaginations run wild and create our research ice cream together. The answers ranged from "ice cubes - tasteless and cold" to a "bum-bum ice cream. It started very differently and the end was a surprise". As a thank you, all participants were given a refreshing water ice.

In our reading corner, those interested could also take a closer look at the topic of doctorates. Dissertations by former doctoral students, information material on various funding and advisory services as well as our brochures and the current annual report were on display.

We would like to thank all of our guests for coming, the pleasant conversations and the good mood they brought with them. See you next time!

On September 9, 2025, the Best Practice Day will once again take place as part of the "Leadership Competencies" certificate program. 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.

Every year, particularly good Master's graduates can apply for doctoral positions with their doctoral supervising professors at Fachhochschule Dortmund. Funding is provided for cooperative doctorates and doctorates in accordance with the Graduate Center NRW for a total of 3 years with a 50% position as a research assistant (pay group 13 TV-L).

The next application deadline is October 1, 2025. Further information and the required documents can be found in the call for applications under the following link.

On June 26 and 27, 2025, the Hochschulallianz Ruhr hosted the workshop "Good Scientific Practice" with Dr. Christian Dumpitak. The Ruhr University Alliance is a joint initiative of Bochum University of Applied Sciences, Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts and Westphalian University of Applied Sciences, which have been working together for several years in the areas of teaching, research and third mission.

The workshop took place in the Think Tank of the Applied Excellence Department in Herne, where the participants were given a basic introduction to the principles of good scientific practice as required by the German Research Foundation (DFG).

Following the workshop program, a networking event took place at the venue on June 26, where valuable contacts were made.

We are proud of the strong collaboration and look forward to continuing to offer such a valuable program together in the future.

In the week from 19 to 22 May 2025, the Sustainability Week took place, organized by the Sustainability Offices and the General Student Committees (AStA) of the Fachhochschule Dortmund and the Technical University of Dortmund as well as the Studierendenwerk Dortmund and the university group CampusForFuture. The week offered a mixture of workshops, lectures and action and information stands. At the Market of Opportunities on the first day, we provided information at our stand about the possibility of a doctorate at Fachhochschule Dortmund and about sustainable options. On the last day, some of our doctoral students presented their sustainable doctoral projects as part of a poster exhibition at the Impact Cup awards ceremony in the kostbar.

At the information event "From practice to teaching: paths to a Fachhochschule Dortmund professorship" on May 20, 2025, professors gave inspiring insights into their personal path to Fachhochschule Dortmund. Topics included the diversity of teaching, freedom in research and collaboration with students and Business Studies.

Thanks to a short presentation by Angelika Schneidmüller and us as a Graduate Center, the general conditions of a professorship or a doctorate were not neglected either. Together, we are continuing to drive forward the topic of the professorship career path.

The alumni of the Graduate Center are a central part of our community and make valuable contributions to science, economy and society. In order to integrate their expertise and experience more closely into the work of the Graduate Center, we have begun to specifically expand our exchange with them and stay in contact. In addition to planned initiatives such as workshops, mentoring programs and networking events, we would like to intensify cooperation with our former doctoral students and create new impetus for research and practice. To this end, we have opened an alumni group on LinkedIn. Interested alumni are welcome to submit a membership request.

This central event offers a first introduction to cooperative doctorates and doctorates under 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 August 27, 2025 and February 4, 2026, both from 10-12 am. You can register here(Opens in a new tab)  via the new Ilias course.

We will not leave you alone when applying for doctoral funding. On September 2, 2025 from 10-11 a.m. we offer a consultation hour to prepare the application documents. You can register for this by sending an email to promotionskollegfh-dortmundde  If you miss the session or still have questions, please 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 next date will follow shortly.

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-dortmundde promotionskollegfh-dortmundde 

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.

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) .