Support for early career researchers in the Graduate Center
The Graduate Center TU Dortmund University supports (prospective) doctoral researchers, postdocs, and junior faculty of all departments of the TU Dortmund University with personal advice, transferable skills training, and networking formats for informal exchange.
In addition to transferable skills, the formats and events convey decisive knowledge of the academic system for the successful design of personal careers – both within and outside the university.
Individual advice and career coaching
Each phase of scientific qualification entails specific demands and challenges: In addition to the actual research, these always include specific criteria for the respective career phase and transferable skills training, such as financing one's own research, project and self-management, leadership, or individual career strategies.
The team of the Graduate Center provides you with expert advice tailored to your specific needs, for example, on how to successfully design your current career phase, financing, or formalities. You will also find support for career development, whether through individual advice or career coaching for postdoctoral researchers seeking an academic career.
You can find more information on the advice and coaching offers on the pages:
Transferable skills training
Of course, in every scientific career phase, professional qualification is the top priority. In addition, however, transferable skills contribute significantly to the success of the each career phase and facilitate the transition to subsequent phases at the university or other career paths.
These include, for example, project-, self- and time management, communication and presentation skills, good scientific practice, leadership of staff and supervision of doctoral researchers, acquisition of third-party funding, scientific and self-marketing, conflict management, and planning your own research strategy.
Knowledge of good teaching and supervision practice, career prospects and the development of a personal competence profile are also essential key qualifications for the best possible career path after the doctorate.
The Graduate Center offers a wide range of transferable skills training specifically tailored to each career phase (from prospective doctoral researchers to tenure-track professors).
You will find all courses offered by the Graduate Center and Research Academy Ruhr as well as an overview of other relevant programs at TU Dortmund University in the events section.
Further services at the TU Dortmund University
Academic staff members of the TU Dortmund University benefit from the comprehensive range of academic teaching offered by the Center for Higher Education (zhb). Whether you are designing a new seminar, preparing exams, or conducting personal discussions with students – the zhb courses support you in your teaching tasks.
The zhb also offers advanced training in teaching specially tailored to the needs of young academics:
- Start in die Lehre (“Start of Teaching”; available only in German so far)
- Hochschuldidaktische Grundlagen für Lehrende (“University didactic basics for lecturers”; available only in German so far)
We especially recommend the certificate program “Professionelle Lehrkompetenz für die Hochschule” (“Professioanl teaching competence for the university”; available only in German so far). The program was developed within the Netzwerk Hochschuldidaktik NRW (“Network of University Didactics NRW”; website available only in German), comprises at least 200 work units, takes place in modules, and concludes with a nationally recognized certificate. Detailed information can be found on the zhb-website (available only in German).
Doctoral researchers wishing to improve their foreign language skills will find a comprehensive program with courses in 13 modern languages at the Department of Foreign Languages of the zhb.
For international doctoral researchers, tailor-made formats are offered under the title “German for International PhD Students”.
A list of all courses, and the registration portal, can be found on the website of the Department of Foreign Languages of the zhb.
The Center for Higher Education (zhb) publishes a new program of in-house continuing education once every six months. Whether executive development, project management, or the right body language: employees of the TU Dortmund University are offered a wide range of qualification opportunities. You can find an overview of the continuing education programs on the website of the Department of Continuing Education of the zhb.
Doctoral researchers receive support from the Centre for Statistical Consulting and Analysis (SBAZ) for questions concerning statistical methods. An overview of the services offered can be found on the SBAZ website.
The zhb regularly offers an introduction to multivariate data analysis with R (in German only).
The TU Dortmund University is a pacesetter for innovation and supports researchers in the implementation of their ideas – whether it is applying for a patent or founding their own company. With the Science and Technology Campus Dortmund, one of the largest technology parks in Europe exists in the direct vicinity of the university.
You can find all information on the support offered at the Center for Entrepreneurship & Transfer.
How can research results be effectively communicated in writing? The Department of Foreign Languages of the Center for Higher Education (zhb) offers doctoral researchers a comprehensive program in academic writing:
- Akademisches und berufsbezogenes Schreiben für Deutsch als Erst-/Zweit-/Fremdsprache (“Academic and job-related writing for German as a first/second language”; website available only in German)
- Academic and job-related writing for English
University-wide networking
Professional and private networks facilitate the exchange of experience and knowledge and, especially in transitional phases, open up follow-up perspectives and offers. They are thus a decisive – and often overlooked – career factor.
The Graduate Center offers a wide range of networking opportunities for early career researchers at all stages of their careers. The focus is on peer networks and the exchange across subject boundaries. We also work together across universities in the network of the Research Academy Ruhr.
Further information on the individual network activities can be found at:
