Graduate Center Newsletter

Welcome to the latest Graduate Center newsletter. In this newsletter we will inform you about current developments, offers and upcoming events.

There was a change in the team in spring. Our research assistant Lea Kotschenreuther, who has been with us for more than a year, completed her Master's degree in International Management in February and immediately found a predestined job. We wish her every success.
We are now being supported by Felix Friedrich, who has taken up the position of research assistant and, together with Silva Kreitschmann, will take over the support of (expectant) parents working on their doctorates.

As a brief welcome, Felix introduces himself here:
"My name is Felix Friedrich, I'm 24 years old and I'm currently in my fourth semester of a Master's degree in Social Sustainability and Demographic Change. I've been living in Dortmund for a year and a half and previously completed my Bachelor's degree in Social Work in my home region of Görlitz. I'm very interested in science, politics and society and I'm really looking forward to getting to know you and working with you!"

On April 25, 2024, the fourth edition of our DART Symposium took place at DASA in Dortmund. DART stands for Dortmund Applied Research and Transfer. Prospective doctoral students from the Graduate Center at Fachhochschule Dortmund regularly organize the DART Symposium as a one-day conference for international exchange.

In addition to doctoral students, teaching staff and research assistants were also invited. And actually anyone interested in applied research, to put it casually. Participants had the opportunity to get in touch with experts and colleagues from various disciplines to discuss the latest developments in applied research and learn from each other.

The keynote speech was given by Dr. Isabel Roessler from CHE (Centre for Higher Education Development). Dr. Roessler's expertise and experience provided an exciting perspective on the current challenges and opportunities in applied research. Furthermore, Prof. Moi Hoon Yap from Manchester Metropolitan University spoke on the topic of "Translating Computer Vision and AI research into Real-world Applications".
All presentations at the symposium were given in English.

Those who could not make it to the DASA - the Dortmund Working World Exhibition - in person were able to follow the event via livestream.

The next DART Symposium will take place in 2026.

(Expectant) parents working on their doctorate receive special support at Fachhochschule Dortmund. In addition to the services offered by the Family Service, the Equal Opportunities Office (link), together with the Graduate Center, has established funding instruments specifically for mothers doing their doctorates.

Here they can be supported by a research assistant and a student assistant with content-related tasks relating to the doctorate. These are employed at the Graduate Center and provide support, for example, with

• Transcription of data material
• Research and procurement of literature
• Handling and maintenance of literature management programs
• editing
• interview evaluations
• individual needs
• through further assisting tasks

If you are interested, you can contact the Graduate Center by email. After a brief introduction to yourself and your doctoral project, you can contact us informally with your respective work assignment.

In addition, a digital information event on the topic will take place on May 27, 2024 at 10 to 11:30 am. You can find the link to register below.

The call for applications for doctoral funding has started again. Every year, particularly good Master's graduates can apply for doctoral positions with their doctoral supervising professors at Fachhochschule Dortmund.

Funding is available for cooperative doctorates and doctorates according to the Graduate Center NRW for a maximum of four or four and a half years with a 50% or 40% position as a research assistant.

Further information on the application process and the documents to be submitted can be found at the link below.

The deadline is October 1, 2024.

We would like to draw your attention to the final certificate. During the course of your doctorate, you will regularly have the opportunity to take part in our modularized range of workshops. This allows you to receive further training in various skills and methodologies. This serves to structure your doctoral process.

To obtain a certificate, you are required to attend eight events during the course of your doctorate. At least one event from each central module should be attended. Which module a workshop is assigned to can be found in the respective announcement on the Ilias portal. In addition, participation in a regular colloquium and participation in the following courses is mandatory: Basic Doctorate Course, Advanced Doctorate Course, Disputation Course and the "Good Scientific Practice" workshop.

As already reported in the last newsletter, there was the idea of a "regulars' table for doctoral candidates" where doctoral candidates can meet and exchange ideas on a regular basis. This will be organized by the doctoral student representatives of Fachhochschule Dortmund, who will soon be contacting all doctoral students in this regard. It will probably start this semester.

If you have any questions or require further information, please contact the representative directly: promovierendenvertretungfh-dortmundde

The leadership skills certificate program is offered every two years. The joint program with Perspective Management is aimed at doctoral students and academic staff at Fachhochschule Dortmund. The aim is to acquire initial leadership skills for a management role within the university or for a future position in Business Studies or academia.

The next program will start soon. We will keep you up to date on the latest developments.

Once again this year, we will be holding an outdoor event to celebrate the summer. This time not at Emil-Figge-Straße but at our new location, Joseph-von-Fraunhofer-Straße 23. At the summer party, we want to get together again with all those involved, review all kinds of events of the year and have a good time with summery refreshments. As part of the event, we will honor our graduates and report on the successes of you doctoral students.

You are all cordially invited to visit us at the summer party. You can find the registration link below.