We try to balance curricular demands, specific support and independence of the individual student. We encourage students to actively participate in the planning, organization and operational aspects of the program – students developing the program with us rather than us providing a fixed program for them. At the same time we believe that every young scientist needs a certain core environment and set of skills to take full advantage of their potential during and after the PhD. Our educational program provides the scientific skill set.

The educational program is intended to occupy less than four hours per week, since the central part of the qualification program is the research project. To ensure transferability and recognition of qualifications, doctoral researchers earn CP according to the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) when completing individual components of the educational program. A total of 30 CP are required over a period of three to four years. The program coordinator, in consultation with the TAC members, advises the doctoral researchers in designing an individual educational program.

The mandatory monthly Students Day offers a platform to regularly present research amongst peers. Typically, four doctoral researchers succinctly present the hypothesis and background of their project, discuss the data, areas for improvement and future directions. In an optional monthly Journal Club (Art of Reading a Paper), doctoral researchers discuss scientific publications with the faculty to improve their skills on interpretation of published data and to place scientific work in a contextual framework.

If you have started your PhD project in the ZIBI Graduate School already, please visit our Students Member Area for details!