Graduate School & Postgraduate Program

"The career development courses of cfaed are outstanding. I particularly enjoyed the workshops specifically created for us. People in group leader positions all have some idea how to do research, but at least I had little knowledge how to build and lead a team in a structured way, how to solve conflicts, what university didactics is about – in summary, how to be a group leader. Also, it was great to get some training for the appointment committees. I am sure that many established investigators would have loved to get a comparable training."

Thorsten-Lars Schmidt, former RGL ‘DNA Chemistry’

"cfaed takes career development seriously. The individual yearly reviews with the involvement of an external mentor and career development director have helped me to sharpen my scientific profile. I get excellent and fast advice to my inquiries from the colleagues from the career development office which is staffed with highly experienced and motivated personal. The combination of the career development courses and the individual mentoring offered really strengthens the development perspectives of the post-doctoral scientists involved."

Walter Weber, RGL ‘Nanowire Research’

"The career development program of cfaed provides a very good framework for succeeding in my own academic career. Especially the career development review meetings are very important, as the professors in these meetings give very valuable advice. I personally liked very much the leadership workshop and also the Appointment Training for Future Professors."

Meik Dörpinghaus, RGL HAEC

"Academia has become a competitive landscape, not only within the individual disciplines but also across disciplines. cfaed's Career Development and in particular the career development reviews have been the ideal instrument for me to learn about this competitive field and its requirements. Within two years, my publication count accelerated and I received scientific visibility, not only in my discipline."

Marcus Völp, former RGL Orchestration

The Graduate School & Postgraduate Program aim to develop cfaed´s PhD students, Postdocs, Research Group Leaders, and young Professors into innovative minds, groundbreaking reseachers, and inspiring educators.

Please note that our measures are currently on hold and not as actively pursued as they normally would, owing to our current phase of re-defining cfaed's research and career development strategies.

The structured Graduate School & Postgraduate Program consist of four main aspects.

(I) Individual Development Reviews

(II) Training Modules

(III) Career Events

(IV) Grant Program

Individual Development Review

The Individual Development Reviews aim at supporting and encouraging young scientists to reflect on their current projects and the development of their career. Two forms of reviews have been developed for the different stages of our scientist:

The Thesis Advisory Committee (TAC) is dedicated to PhD students and helps them to monitor and evaluate the progress of their research project. The TAC comprises three supervisors and meets at least once per year. One of the supervisors acts as peer reviewer throughout the PhD period.
The Career Development Review (CDR) applies to for all Research Group Leaders (RGLs) and Postdocs (optional basis). Two supervising professors and the cfaed Career Development Director participate in this annual meeting and provide the RGLs/Postdocs with independent opinions about their scientific and personal progress. Recommendations for further improvement in the areas of scientific visibility and involvement, individual trainings, supervision, third party funding, mobility as well as personal and communication skills are provided to the RGLs/Postdocs. Senior researchers of cfaed have shared their experiences to support the RGLs/Postdocs by communicating clearly the essential requirements for climbing up the academic career ladder and becoming a professor.

Training Modules

Our cfaed Training Modules aim at providing additional competencies and professional orientation. Topics of the workshops target the specific needs of the Clusters’ young scientists that are discussed during the TACs and CDRs. The trainers are chosen carefully by the Career Development Team and must meet several requirements, e.g., proficiency of English, academic AND industry background/experience. Regular workshops on Career Development & Entrepreneurialism, Science & Research, Management & Leadership, Communication & Interpersonal Skills are organized.

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Grants Program

Our cfaed Grants Program offers a variety of additional resources that may - individually or in combination - help to develop your personal and professional profile. For more information on calls, please follow our website.

INSPIRE Grant
Mentoring Grant
Seed Grant

Grand Professor Program

Our Grand Professor Program invited international experts to join cfaed to act as personal mentors, engage in teaching postgraduate courses, and act as collaboration partners in research projects. In addition, the Grand Professors will foster their integration into the scientific community.

Currently, the cfaed Grand Professor Program is suspended owing to the ongoing review of our research and career development strategies.