Offers for doctoral candidates

When? 10 - 17

Where? online

Who? Dr. Anselm Spindler

What? In this workshop, you can use your current writing project (e.g., exposé, dissertation, article, or conference paper) as an example to learn proven techniques for text planning and self-organization in academic writing.

Course Objectives:

    Text planning: delineate topic, structure text, determine statement intent.
    Self-organization: define a framework, design a work plan, integrate writing into daily life
    Elevator pitch - my project in 2 sentences

Course language? German

Application deadline? January 9

Further information and registration form (Merseburg University of applied sciences)

When? February 20, 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m.

Where? Magdeburg-Stendal University of applied sciences, Campus Magdeburg, Building 4, Room 1.09

Course language? German

What? If you look at statistics and media reports, you could almost think that burnout is a kind of normative life event in the professional lives of successful people nowadays. The period of a doctorate in particular places enormous demands on one's own time and stress management. However, resilience, in the sense of an inner resilience in dealing with uncertainties and failures, can be trained and help to overcome these challenges. This seminar therefore offers a wide range of tips and tricks for dealing with stress in a more constructive way, for regaining mindfulness and for building resilience in the long term. 
Contents:
- Dealing constructively with setbacks and failures
- Avoiding typical psychological stress traps
- Self-organisation during the doctorate
- Dealing with the saw blade effect
- Burnout prevention
- Knowing and cultivating resilience factors

The workshop is limited to 16 participants.

Registration deadline? February 13, 2024, 10.00 am

Registration by mail to kerstin.taenzer@h2.de

When? February 26, 10.00 - 17.00, and February 27, 9.00 - 16.00

Where? Magdeburg-Stendal University of applied sciences, Campus Magdeburg, Building 4, Room 1.09

What? In this writing workshop, doctoral candidates will learn about the structure of an exposé for doctoral theses as well as about Dos and Don’ts in exposés. They will have the opportunity to talk with other doctoral candidates and the trainers about their own challenges in planning their exposé and to reflect about possible solution strategies. The two-day workshop will give participants the space to work on their exposés in a goal-oriented manner and in a calm atmosphere. They can also retreat for an individual writing consultation with the trainer, e.g. when they want to receive feedback for their text. Finally, participants will develop a timetable for finishing their exposé.

The target group are doctoral candidates of the Universities of Applied Sciences in Saxony-Anhalt who are currently writing their exposé for their dissertation project.

The workshop will be held in German.

You can register until February 19 with phd.case@h2.de.

Josephin Winkler M.A. is certified writing trainer.

When? March 13, 12.00 - 14.00

Where? Online

Language? German

What? You are dealing with questions and challenges relating to your doctorate and everyday working life that you have not yet found a satisfactory solution to? You are looking for ideas or inspiration on how to tackle your personal challenge? Peer coaching provides clarity and new impulses. Here, doctoral students or colleagues (peer-to-peer approach) support you using the method of peer counselling. Possible topics include time management, career paths, work-life balance or conflict potential among colleagues and much more.

The offer supports you and your concerns through a structured, confidential counselling session in which the existing knowledge and experience of all participants is contributed. Joint solution options are developed according to a set procedure. A maximum of one or two issues can be dealt with in a peer coaching session. The aim is also to practise and learn the methodology so that you can carry out peer coaching yourself using the method of collegial counselling, independently of the support offered by the Early Career Researcher Programme.


Your coach: Sandra Dietzel, a consultant for the promotion of early career researchers at Merseburg University of Applied Sciences, has many years of proven experience in coaching and counselling individuals and teams.

Register here until March 06.

When? April 19, 10.00 - 17.00

Where? Online

Language? English

What? The lingua franca of science today is English and consequently, the advancement of an academic career usually involves submitting articles to journals in English. This workshop aims to ease the transition from student to professional. 

What constitutes an engaging research paper? How do you write an intriguing abstract?  Why do some studies grab the spotlight while other equally deserving contributions are largely ignored? In other words, what makes an article successful?

Many Germans find that reading articles in English is easier despite the language barrier. We will be looking closely at the reasons for this. It is certainly not a case of clarity at the expense of content.  There is also the issue of the choice of words beyond terminology. To elaborate on this, we shall refer to articles in peer-reviewed journals such as Nature, Science, or PNAS to fully understand cultural style as well as the differences between journals.

A reader will be supplied. We shall also refer to:

• How To Write & Publish A Scientific Paper, 9th Ed. (2022) Barbara Gastel & Robert Day (Greenwood Press, ISBN 978-1440878848)
• Getting it Across: An Effective Guide to Academic Writing 2nd ed. by Soren, Johnson (ISBN: 9789085940388)

Dr Sonja Price teaches Academic and Creative Writing as well as the more advanced English courses such as Cambridge Proficiency at Jena University, where she also worked as a research assistant at the Department of Intercultural Business Communication for five years. She has taught workshops at many universities in Germany including the LMU in Munich. She is the author of various academic papers and was also shortlisted for the Joan Hessayon Award for her novel ‘The Giants Look Down’.

The following themes will be dealt with according to the participants’ needs from 10 am to 5 pm:

• The influence of cultural style on writing
• Titles and the importance of a hook.
• Structuring your text: Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion, Conclusion 
• Word choice. Spotting and eradicating colloquialisms
• British versus American English  
• Germanisms and grammar minefields such as the use of articles  
• How to overcome Writer’s Block
•  Storytelling within the confines of science
• The importance of editing
• Decluttering your text, tightening your findings  
• Adapting articles for individual journals: formatting and style
• Peer review
• Coping with rejection and the long process of getting published

Register here until April 09.

When? May 06 and 07, 10.00 - 12.00

Where? Online

Language? English

What: Managing extensive datasets might represent a primary obstacle in academic literature review. Join us as we explore systematic and reproducible methods to overcome this common challenge faced by researchers.

Content

I. Bibliometric methods toolbox:

   a. Performance analysis

           i.   Publication-related metrics
           ii.  Citation-related metrics
           iii. Citation and publication-related metrics

   b. Science mapping

           i.   Social structure: co-autorship analysis
           ii.  Conceptual structure: co-word analysis
           iii. Intellectual structure: bibliographic coupling analysis
           iv. Main used softwares

II. Application of content analysis using VosViewer:

   a. Aims and scope
   b. Data collection
   c. Cleaning data
   d. Metrics and clustering
   e. Visualization

III. Practical excercise using VosViewer

Pedro Arturo Flores Gomez is a PhD candidate in Economics and Business at the University of Castilla-La Mancha. As visiting doctoral student, he conducted this seminar at the Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla in Mexico. Additionally, his perspective is enriched by successfully navigating the challenges inherent in data modeling.

Course Objectives

• To elicit an introductory approach to the foundations of bibliometric methodology.
• To gain knowledge on the main software and interfaces designed for developing bibliometric analysis.
• To perform a bibliometric analysis using VosViewer, from creating a database to visualizing clusters.

Register here until April 26.

When? May 13 and 14, 09.00 - 16.00

Where? Online

Language? German

What? In this practice-oriented workshop, you will learn tried-and-tested methods for dealing effectively with time. Secondly, you will receive tools and tips from the coaching bag of tricks that can help you to implement these methods effectively - effective, "thinking outside the box" tricks for dealing with procrastination are an example of this. Knowledge on personality-specific hurdles in time management rounds off the seminar.

In addition to technical and communicative challenges, writing your dissertation also means structuring a large amount of time for you as a young researcher.

At first glance, this challenge is a technical and methodological one that can be solved with the appropriate tools. At second glance, however, this challenge is a deeply personal one. It is precisely this personal aspect that is decisive for the ability to actually use tools, "tips & tricks".

In the seminar, I combine both aspects in a way that the participants experience as very helpful for themselves and their work.

Register here until May 03.

When? June 19, 10.00 - 14.00

Where? Online

Language? German

What: The importance of large language models (AI) for scientific work has been intensively discussed at least since the widespread use of ChatGPT. In this workshop, we will focus on how different AI text generators (e.g. ChatGPT & ScienceOS) can be used specifically in the work process of a dissertation. The areas of application range from simple formulation aids to complex source research and analysis. In addition, technical basics, legal framework conditions, as well as possibilities and limitations of the systems are considered.Learning objectives:

• Participants are familiar with various ways of integrating AI text generators such as ChatGPT into the work process of their dissertation.

• Participants know the possibilities and limitations of current AI text generators and checking programs.

• Participants know the legal framework for the use of AI text generators.

The target group are doctoral students from the four HAWs in Saxony-Anhalt. Remaining places will be allocated to doctoral candidates from OVGU and MLU.

You can register by Jun 13, stating your supervising university, your subject and your doctoral supervisor at phd.case@h2.de.


Your trainer: Martin Groß, digitization officer of the university of applied sciences

When? June 19, 10.00 - 12.00

Where? Merseburg

Language? German

What? You are dealing with questions and challenges relating to your doctorate and everyday working life that you have not yet found a satisfactory solution to? You are looking for ideas or inspiration on how to tackle your personal challenge? Peer coaching provides clarity and new impulses. Here, doctoral students or colleagues (peer-to-peer approach) support you using the method of peer counselling. Possible topics include time management, career paths, work-life balance or conflict potential among colleagues and much more.

The offer supports you and your concerns through a structured, confidential counselling session in which the existing knowledge and experience of all participants is contributed. Joint solution options are developed according to a set procedure. A maximum of one or two issues can be dealt with in a peer coaching session. The aim is also to practise and learn the methodology so that you can carry out peer coaching yourself using the method of collegial counselling, independently of the support offered by the Early Career Researcher Programme.


Your coach: Sandra Dietzel, a consultant for the promotion of early career researchers at Merseburg University of Applied Sciences, has many years of proven experience in coaching and counselling individuals and teams.

Register here until June 12.

When? September 06, 09.00 - 15.30

Where? Online

Language? German

What? In order to finance a doctoral project or to extend an ongoing research project, it is often necessary to successfully acquire funding. If you have more questions than answers on this topic, this workshop is just right for you: Who offers funding programs for research projects and how do you find the right program for your own idea among the wealth of offers? How is a typical funding guideline structured and what questions should you clarify before submitting an application? How do you prepare a good funding application? Which (free) software can be used? How do you deal with a rejection and what should you bear in mind if funding is approved? What mistakes should you avoid at all costs when spending funding so that you don't end up having to pay anything back? And which bodies at (my) university can support and accompany the application for and administration of research funding?

Your coach: Christian Reinboth has been Research Funding Manager in the Research Office at Harz University of Applied Sciences since 2023 and will provide insights into this exciting topic. If you already have a concrete project idea and are still looking for suitable funding, please send your idea to the coach by e-mail before the event.

Register here until August 23.

When? September 12, 14-16 Uhr

Where? Halle/Saale

Language? German

What? You are dealing with questions and challenges relating to your doctorate and everyday working life that you have not yet found a satisfactory solution to? You are looking for ideas or inspiration on how to tackle your personal challenge? Peer coaching provides clarity and new impulses. Here, doctoral students or colleagues (peer-to-peer approach) support you using the method of peer counselling. Possible topics include time management, career paths, work-life balance or conflict potential among colleagues and much more.

The offer supports you and your concerns through a structured, confidential counselling session in which the existing knowledge and experience of all participants is contributed. Joint solution options are developed according to a set procedure. A maximum of one or two issues can be dealt with in a peer coaching session. The aim is also to practise and learn the methodology so that you can carry out peer coaching yourself using the method of collegial counselling, independently of the support offered by the Early Career Researcher Programme.


Your coach: Sandra Dietzel, a consultant for the promotion of early career researchers at Merseburg University of Applied Sciences, has many years of proven experience in coaching and counselling individuals and teams.

Register here until September 05.

When? November 12,  to 14:00

Where? Online

Language? German

What? Child(ren) or career? An outdated question or still relevant? This and many other questions and aspects of compatibility are the topic of this interactive lunch lecture.

Reconciling career and family is an ongoing social issue - also in the academic system. Especially in the qualification phase, the tension between (often) limited qualification periods and precarious employment, high academic expectations and demands and a (possible) desire to have children becomes apparent.

With a keynote speech and in a joint dialogue, we will explore the following questions:

What conditions must be in place in academia so that academics in the qualification phases can successfully combine parenthood and an academic career? What obstacles stand in the way and how can these be overcome? What needs do doctoral candidates have in the context of reconciliation? What positive developments already exist and what specific programmes are available at the UAS?

Your lecturer

As a qualified cultural educator, Katja Labow has been working in various areas at Merseburg University of Applied Sciences for over 17 years. (Gender) justice in the academic system was and is the central topic. For several years now, Sie has been working as a coordinator for the family-friendly university, a consultant for equal opportunities (CASE) and as an equal opportunities officer.

Main areas of work: Cultural and process development, equal opportunities and gender equality as well as reconciling care and family responsibilities with studies and work and an academic career.

Register here until November 5.

When? November 28, 10:00 bis 12:00

Where? Online

Language? German

What? Great ideas are created through dialogue and cooperation, through discussion and implementation. But to achieve common goals, agreements are needed. For meetings to be successful, we need one thing above all: a good structure, suitable methods and an understanding of our own role as a moderator who keeps everyone in the loop!

Structured working meetings promote dialogue. A well-prepared facilitator leads the group to results and helps ensure that the meeting ends with clear work assignments. In this online format, we will familiarise ourselves with and understand the various aspects of goal-oriented design using inputs and exercises.

Course objectives

    Information on objectives, structure and role clarification in meetings
    Information on opening, accompanying and closing meetings
    Information on preparation and follow-up
    Exchange of experiences

Methods

    Presentation and input from trainer
    Exchange in plenary
    Exchange and working on tasks in small groups

Your speaker

Sandra Dietzel, lecturer at the Graduate Academy at Merseburg University of Applied Sciences, has many years of proven experience in adult education, including in the areas of conflict management and diversity-sensitive team development, as well as in moderation. She also supports individuals through coaching and counselling.

Register here until November 14.

When? December 03, 09:30 bis 11:30

Where? Online

Language? German

What? Discover the art of fast and effective reading! In our ‘Improved Reading and Speed Reading’ workshop, you will learn techniques to significantly increase your reading speed and improve comprehension. This event offers valuable strategies to grasp information faster and take your reading skills to a new level.

The course is part of the Teach(ers)-Time course series at Anhalt University of Applied Sciences.  

Your speaker
Friedrich Hasse (Improved Reading Ost)

Register here.

When? 9:30 to 12:30 on January 13 and January 20

Where? Online in Zoom

Who? Dr. Andrea Adams

What? Writing scientific articles is commonplace in academia. However, the process of writing and publishing articles often poses challenges for young scientists: How do I approach the writing and publication process? How does the peer review process work? What do I need to consider when choosing a journal? And how can I increase my chances of having my article accepted? This online workshop offers an introduction to academic writing and publishing. It will provide knowledge about the writing and publication process as well as practical methods to help master the writing process when writing a journal article. Between the two workshop sessions, participants will have the opportunity to try out and deepen elements from the workshop individually.

In detail, the following points are covered:

• Introduction to academic publishing and the peer review process
• Finding the right journal for my article
• Criteria for successful articles
• Positioning your own contribution in the research field
• Planning the article with the help of a concept abstract
• Pitfalls in the publication process: Predatory journals, conflicts over authorship, dealing with feedback

The workshop will be held in German. You can register by 18 December, stating your subject area, your supervising university and your supervisor at josephin.winkler@h2.de.

About the trainer Dr Andrea Adams: PhD in modern and contemporary history, scholarship holder of the Hans Boeckler Foundation, previously worked as a research assistant at the University of Flensburg. Since 2009, academic coaching as a freelancer specialising in writing and professional development. In addition, professional activities in the institutional promotion of young scientists, currently at the Centre for Junior Scholars at the Technical University of Berlin. Co-author of publications on competence development and assessment of junior scholars.

When? January 15, 10.00 - 12.30

Where? Online

Language? German

What? This workshop provides participants with an overview of the rules of good scientific practice. Participants will be sensitised to how to deal with scientific misconduct. Values and attitudes in science are reflected upon.

Good scientific practice - what does it actually mean and what does it have to do with me as a doctoral candidate and my research?

In this entertaining online format, we will develop a definition of the rules of good scientific practice, discuss values in science and discuss ethical boundaries using a case study on scientific misconduct. We will also address the question of what conditions can contribute to compliance with good scientific practice.

List of course objectives

    Develop a basic understanding of the rules of good scientific practice
    Raising awareness of scientific misconduct

Methods

    Presentation and inputs by trainers
    Exchange in the plenum
    Exchange and processing of tasks in small groups
    Individual work
    Work on case studies - role plays and feedback rounds if necessary

Note: Doctoral candidates at the doctoral centres in Saxony-Anhalt should note that, according to the doctoral regulations of the doctoral centres IWIT, Life Science, Architecture & Design Research and Environment and Technology, they must provide proof of attendance at events on ‘good scientific practice’. This workshop can be part of the proof.

This workshop is an introduction to the various areas of good scientific practice. Further in-depth workshops will be offered throughout the year at the universities of applied sciences and at the universities in Halle and Magdeburg.

Your speakers

Sandra Dietzel, consultant for the promotion of young scientists at Merseburg University of Applied Sciences, has completed a train-the-trainer programme for good scientific practice. She also has many years of proven experience in adult education, including in the areas of conflict management and diversity-sensitive team development. She also supports individuals and teams through coaching and counselling.

Katja Czech, consultant for the promotion of young academics at Anhalt University of Applied Sciences, has many years of proven experience in adult education and university teaching. She has completed a train-the-trainer programme for good scientific practice. She has experience in supporting individuals and teams through coaching and counselling.

Register here until January 7 2025.

When? Thursday, February 27, 10:30 - 16:00

Where? Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences, Magdeburg Campus, Breitscheidstr. 51, 39114 Magdeburg

Language: German

What?

Research data is still often neglected, although good research data management - including comprehensible documentation - is a requirement of good scientific practice. In the first part of the workshop, participants will learn the basics of research data management, including legal issues, documentation and data storage. In the second part, they will write their own data management plan under the individual supervision of the trainers, which they can use for their doctorate or research project.

The workshop is open to doctoral candidates and research assistants from the four Universities of Applied Sciences in Saxony-Anhalt. Remaining places can be allocated to doctoral candidates from OVGU and MLU.

You can register with Josephin Winkler by February 13, stating your subject area and university.

Trainers:

Christian Schache, transfer manager at Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences Josephin Winkler, trained trainer for good scientific practice

When? 10.00 - 17.00 on March 10 and 11

Where? Magdeburg-Stendal University of applied sciences, Campus Magdeburg

What? In this writing workshop, doctoral candidates will learn about the structure of an exposé for doctoral theses as well as about Dos and Don’ts in exposés. They will have the opportunity to talk with other doctoral candidates and the trainers about their own challenges in planning their exposé and to reflect about possible solution strategies. The two-day workshop will give participants the space to work on their exposés in a goal-oriented manner and in a calm atmosphere. They can also retreat for an individual writing consultation with the trainer, e.g. when they want to receive feedback for their text. Finally, participants will develop a timetable for finishing their exposé.

The target group are doctoral candidates of the Universities of Applied Sciences in Saxony-Anhalt who are currently writing their exposé for their dissertation project.

The workshop will be held in German - the individual writing consultation can be held in English.

You can register until February 21 with josephin.winkler@h2.de.

Josephin Winkler M.A. is certified writing trainer.

When: March 13, 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Where? Martin Luther University Halle, Weinberg/Heide-Süd Campus, Von-Seckendorff-Platz 1, SR 5.10

Course language? German

What? Conflicts are part of our everyday (working) lives and are often associated with unpleasant feelings. Every conflict holds the opportunity for change and provides the energy for change. To understand a conflict, analysis tools are introduced that open up options for action.

The seminar therefore consists of a mixture of practical exercises for self-reflection, theoretical input and the analysis of selected practical examples from your day-to-day work. It teaches important behavioral and communication tools and increases your personal conflict resolution skills. This knowledge also helps you to recognize conflicts preventively.

The event is organized in cooperation with the International Graduate Academy (InGrA) of the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg.

Your speaker: Sandra Dietzel, consultant for the promotion of young academics at Merseburg University of Applied Sciences, has many years of proven experience in adult education, including in the areas of conflict resolution, trans/intercultural and democratic education. She also supports individuals and teams through coaching and counseling.

Register here until February 27.

Further information will follow soon.

Further information will follow soon.

Further information will follow soon.