Professional Development Training for Our PhD Students and Postdocs

The CRC organizes specific courses (e.g. the nature masterclasses) on a demand-driven basis for IRTG members to complement the training in their area of expertise.

 

Academic Writing

Statements from the class participants
	Johan Arbustini Sensor System Electronics	"I thoroughly enjoyed this course as it went beyond conventional writing and delved into the art of storytelling in research. It helped me better understand how to start with a narrative for my work, making it more accessible to a broader audience. The course helps me on preparing a manuscript with better comprehension."
	Erik Engelhardt Digital Signal Processing and System Theory	"I think most researchers would agree with me when I say that doing the research is certainly more exciting than writing it down. That being said, writing it down is what matters in the end. This course drilled that point down and provided some useful tools and techniques one might apply to his writing."

 

Creating Knowledge Formats for Youtube: Basics

Statements from the class participants
	Erik Engelhardt Digital Signal Processing and System Theory	"While not necessary for my day-to-day work, I was interested to find out what it takes to communicate my research over far-reaching channels like YouTube. In this course, I gained quite a bit of insight into what it takes to write a script, shoot and cut videos and how to communicate my research to a wider audience. In the end, I decided not to create a YouTube channel but nevertheless, some of the lessons learned in this course could still be applied in presentations, poster creation, and similar tasks."

 

Fast Forward

Statements from the class participants
	Johan Arbustini Sensor System Electronics	"This course's focus on combining project management with time management was enlightening. It taught me to define my goals using the SMART framework and incorporate effective methods into my daily routine to boost productivity. The course provided practical tools for managing projects more efficiently."
	Erik Engelhardt Digital Signal Processing and System Theory	"Of all the courses I got to attend via the IRTG, this is probably my favorite. The content of this course is a mix of project and time management. Different on-demand videos explain techniques for managing projects, time, and stress. These include sprint planning, stakeholder communication strategies, work breakdown structures, and many more. What made this course special for me was the interactivity. Spanning seven weeks, each module is accompanied by a set work workbooks the participants are expected to complete. Where other courses might also have practical exercises, this course takes it a step beyond. Participants were not asked to apply the techniques to some arbitrary problems but to their projects. A simple choice in principle but extremely effective in practice. Applying these techniques to the work I was doing anyways really helped me to understand their benefits and drawbacks. Additionally, in the weekly Q and A sessions, we had the opportunity to talk about any unclear points. An online forum was used to provide us with feedback on our assignments, which was done exemplary and helped to get rid of many misunderstandings."
	Jana Meyer Microsystem Technology	"The course was mainly based on project management and time management but applied on relevant tasks for scientists like writing a publication, writing the PhD thesis etc. Every participant could choose a relevant project for themselves to use the introduced methods. This was very helpful to understand the benefits but also the drawbacks of the techniques. I implemented some of these techniques into my daily work life and think that they improve my time management and the way how I deal with a project."

 

Getting Started – The Path to a Successful Doctorate

Statements from the class participants
	Johan Arbustini Sensor System Electronics	"This course provides me with valuable insights for starting a Ph.D. program. It offered a wealth of advice on maintaining a work-life balance, handling stress, improving communication skills, and optimizing daily work routines. I've incorporated some tips for my journey into academia."
	Angeles De la Cruz Molecular Systems Engineering	"This course taught me some strategies about how to find the balance between Ph.D. and personal life. Also, topics like effective communication and negotiation were addressed, which were very valuable for conveying our opinions in our work environment."
	Erik Engelhardt Digital Signal Processing and System Theory	"In this course I gathered quite a bunch of useful tips on how to deal with stress, what it entails to complete a PhD program, and how to manage my time."

 

Good Scientific Practice - Based on the DFG Recommendations

Statements from the class participants
	Johan Arbustini Sensor System Electronics	"As a junior scientist with an international background, understanding the recommendations from the DFG (German Research Foundation) was of great significance to me. This course offered a great insight into the good scientific practices, which are essential for research integrity."
	Erik Engelhardt Digital Signal Processing and System Theory	"Every researcher should be aware of the DFB recommendations for good scientific practice. While most of it is common sense, investing a day to go over it in detail with someone intimately familiar with them certainly helped to clear up any questions."

 

Grant Writing Workshops

Statements from the class participants
	Johan Arbustini Sensor System Electronics	"This workshop was very interesting and practical. It helped me with the knowledge and skills necessary to understand the requirements for successful project funding proposals. The opportunity to exchange ideas with more senior scientists in a workshop provided insights and guidance for my future grant applications."
	Eric Elzenheimer Digital Signal Processing and System Theory / Microwave Engineering	"I greatly appreciate the value I have gained from attending the Grant Writing Workshop offered by ProSciencia. The workshop provided an invaluable combination of supplementary information and targeted exercises designed to enhance my ability to write first grant applications. Additionally, the experience was further enriched by the opportunity to write an own small grant application and to discuss possible improvements in detail with the trainer."
	Jana Meyer Microsystem Technology	"I never wrote a grant before and the workshop gave a nice introduction into the topic but also deepened the knowledge very quickly. We got additionally a nice overview over the different organizations where you can apply for different types of grants and in the end, we wrote a mini grant and got personal feedback from our trainer."

 

MathWorks Training

Statements from the class participants
	Johan Arbustini Sensor System Electronics	"This course was not only informative but also practical and also includes a certificate upon completion. The introductory sections were basic in enhancing my existing skills, and the advanced sections provided a lot of new knowledge through hands-on exercises. It was a comprehensive learning experience."
	Angeles De la Cruz Molecular Systems Engineering	"I found this course very functional for learning how to process and visualize data. It contains exercises that help out the user to assimilate how the MATLAB coding works plus the coach was well disposed to teach and guide each user in the virtual classroom."
	Jana Meyer Microsystem Technology	"Before I mainly taught myself how to code in MATLAB and never had a course that explained in a structured way for what problems I can use it in the intended way. We got different exercises in the course and got immediate feedback. This helped to improve my MATLAB skills a lot."

 

Nature Master Classes

Statements from the class participants
	Johan Arbustini Sensor System Electronics	"Nature Master Classes offered a flexible and excellent learning platform, allowing me to access classes anywhere and anytime. The recommendations provided were highly valuable."
	Eric Elzenheimer Digital Signal Processing and System Theory / Microwave Engineering	"I personally appreciate Nature Master Classes because the content is designed for both beginners in science and those continuing their research. The material covers a variety of interesting topics, and is broken down into manageable sections, allowing for flexibility to fit within your schedule. The provided materials and supplemental exercises are extremely beneficial for understanding the content. Furthermore, the course content offers valuable insights that are particularly useful during the postdoctoral phase."
	Erik Engelhardt Digital Signal Processing and System Theory	"The concept of these classes is really nice. Having on-demand lectures from experts in the field definitely taught me much. The fact that you can choose the lectures that are interesting to you and complete them when you have the time fits perfectly into the busy and not always plannable life of a Ph.D. student. Specifically, I finished the courses on giving presentations and story writing for research publications, both of which I find myself applying regularly."
	Martha Gerhardt Functional Nanomaterials	"The classes are very well structured, prepared in a nice, diverse way with figures, pictures and input from experts. They can be split up in segments to work on whenever you have time. The documents and additional exercises really help to use the theory on your own work."
	Jana Meyer Microsystem Technology	"The nature master classes gave a nice overview over the task a scientist must do on a regular basis. The flexibility to start and stop when you have some time slots available was very helpful. I already included some recommendations when I wrote a publication."
	Patrick Wiegand Networked Electronic Systems	"The masterclass about research data management raised my interest for good data documentation and helped me out in developing a strategy for my own data. Helpful practical hints from other researchers are in the best case directly applicable to my own field."
	Mevlüt Yalaz Microwave Engineering	"I find it very positive that you can stop and restart at any time. That way, you remain very flexible and can set the pace yourself. Since I work in a so-called transfer project, I found the courses "Effective collaboration in research" and "Networking for researchers" very productive and appropriate. I have already been able to implement some of the recommendations from the workshop."
	Lukas Zimoch Functional Nanomaterials	"I like nature master classes because the people who created it are not "trained experts", but people started in science and continued working for nature. Everything is explained in detail and there are some interactive tasks, besides the text/videos, which makes the modules more enjoyable."

 

Poster Design for Science Communication

Statements from the class participants
	Johan Arbustini Sensor System Electronics	"I found this course particularly engaging as it encouraged creativity in science communication. Instead of merely presenting facts, it taught me how to create informative and attractive infographics, presentations, and posters. This approach makes scientific content more visually appealing and accessible."
	Angeles De la Cruz Molecular Systems Engineering	"In this workshop the content of different scientific posters was analyzed to distinguish the hints that make a poster to be clear and attractive. I enjoyed this course because of the active positive feedback."
	Jana Meyer Microsystem Technology	"I highly appreciated the workshop because I could directly use the learned things for a poster presentation at a following conference. We learned the basics of good poster design and new style possibilities and discussed previously made posters from this point of view and how we can improve both the poster and the presentation."

 

Python - training-scientists.de

Statements from the class participants
	Jana Meyer Microsystem Technology	"I personally enjoyed the course. I definitely learned a lot. It was mainly about good programming practice and the basics of data analysis with a special focus on presentation of data. Absolutely suitable for beginners."
	Patrick Wiegand Networked Electronic Systems	"I liked the course very much. Maurice left me with a very competent impression. In terms of content, we did a lot on the graphical representation of data of all kinds, which helped me further because I am often rather dissatisfied with the plots from matlab."

 

Show Your Science - Advanced Presentation Skills

Statements from the class participants
	Johan Arbustini Sensor System Electronics	"This course provided a remarkable and unexpected experience, combining a theatrical setting with an acting class, which boosted my confidence when presenting my research. I learned that a presentation is not just about collecting information but also about captivating your audience. The techniques such as asking 'why' questions, creating PUNCH, and involving the audience through participation are of great value to me."