The qualification program of our graduate college combines excellent scientific training with individual support. We want to prepare our doctoral students optimally for their research work and their professional future, whether in science or beyond.
At the heart of this is an innovative training concept: all doctoral students gain insight into the entire spectrum of multi-objective optimization, from theoretical foundations to concrete applications. Even though each dissertation project has its own research focus, everyone benefits from the exchange of ideas on the various facets of the research area.
Our qualification program has a modular structure: it combines compulsory elements that provide everyone with a common knowledge base with flexible options that can be used individually according to interest and need. This results in a tailor-made training profile for each doctoral candidate that is optimally aligned with their own research and personal career goals.
On this page, we present the individual components of our program.
Elements of the qualification program
Compact Courses
The Compact Courses form the foundation of our qualification program. In these intensive courses, all doctoral students acquire, expand, or deepen the core competencies for their interdisciplinary research in multi-objective optimization.
The courses create a common knowledge base on which later collaboration in the research training group is built—whether in joint projects, discussions, or further qualification opportunities. The Compact Courses deliberately cover all three pillars of our research program: mathematical theory, algorithmic methods, and application-oriented aspects. This enables all research group members to think beyond the boundaries of their own areas of focus and to collaborate productively.
Workshops
In addition to technical content, workshops and basic training courses offer doctoral students the opportunity to develop specific skills that are important for their academic work and career development. We organize many of these courses in close cooperation with the RPTU Center for Early Career Researchers, which has many years of expertise in promoting young talent.
Two workshops are mandatory for all doctoral students: A workshop on good scientific practice teaches the ethical and methodological standards that form the foundation of serious research. Another workshop is dedicated to research data management, which is an increasingly important topic that ranges from careful documentation to sustainable data backup.
In addition, doctoral students can choose from a wide range of other workshops, allowing them to tailor their personal qualification profile to their individual interests and needs.
Lectures
Once a month, we invite renowned experts from research and practice to present current developments and perspectives in multi-objective optimization and related fields. These lectures enable doctoral students to look beyond their own horizons and familiarize themselves with the latest research.
The speakers usually stay at the department for several days, allowing sufficient time for personal discussions, professional exchange, and networking. This intensive encounter with established researchers and practitioners is a valuable opportunity to build your own network and gain new inspiration for your own work.
Coffee Time Seminar
Every two weeks, the doctoral students of the graduate college meet in a relaxed atmosphere, deliberately without the participation of the principal investigators. The coffee time seminars do not have a rigid format, but thrive on the diversity of topics and ideas contributed by the students.
There is room here for collegial exchange on an equal footing: Whether someone wants to present their own research, put an exciting article up for discussion, think through a tricky problem from their own work with the group, or clarify organizational issues—the coffee time seminars offer the perfect setting for this. These self-organized meetings not only strengthen professional exchange, but also cohesion within the doctoral student group and create a safe space for open discussion and mutual support.
Individual Measures
In addition to the fixed offerings of the graduate college, all doctoral candidates have the opportunity to propose additional measures that specifically support their professional or personal development. This allows them to flexibly adapt their qualification program to their own needs. Examples of such opportunities include:
- Regular contact with our Mercator Fellows and the graduate college's guest program enable early and direct networking with internationally established scientists. Doctoral students are expressly invited to submit suggestions for future guests.
- Each semester, the participating departments of the RPTU offer a wide range of lectures and special events that may be relevant to doctoral studies. Doctoral candidates are free to take advantage of these courses to deepen their knowledge or explore new topics.
- The RPTU Center for Early Career Researchers regularly organizes workshops on key skills for young scientists, including topics such as “Scientific Writing in STEM” and presentation techniques in research and teaching. Participation is based on need and supports individual scientific development.