The PhD agreement group is a subgroup within the working group of diversity, equal opportunities, and working conditions of the Leibniz PhD Network. The group’s task is to develop an agreement between PhD candidates and their institutes that aims to be valid for all Leibniz institutes. Among others the topics of the agreement are supervision, career options, advanced training and working hours. Besides developing a basic agreement for all, we also take into account the different sections and research areas within Leibniz and their possible specifics. Of course, we will also consider the results of the survey group to take a closer look at the actual conditions that should be improved by an agreement. In the end we want to present a fundamental agreement that all PhD representatives and candidates can use to either develop a PhD agreement for their institute or modify and improve their existing one.
Now, meet the people behind the group!
Saskia Ripp
For my PhD I am investigating the user’s perspective of using online grammars at the Institut für Deutsche Sprache (IDS) in Mannheim. I am one of the two coordinators of the working group and organize the working steps and meetings. During the work on a PhD agreement in my institute I realized that a template from the network could be of a great help, which is why I joined the working group. In my spare time I enjoy playing (beach) volleyball, going to concerts or simply relaxing on my couch with a good book.
Rosa Grote-Galvéz
I am doing my PhD at the Bernhard-Nocht-Institute for Tropical Medicine (BNITM) on Chagas disease, which is the most important neglected disease in Latin America. I am one of the two coordinators of the working group. In my opinion, young scientists should have more courage to demand good working conditions which (among others) could be promoted by a PhD agreement. Besides research, I am a mom (my kids are 14 and 8 years old) and I like to go cycling.
Wietje Nolte
In the framework of my doctorate, I research the role of long non-coding RNA and its influence on metabolic processes in cattle at the Leibniz-Institute for Farm Animal Biology (FBN) in Dummerstorf. I am a new member of this working group and am particularly interested in the compilation of interinstitutional PhD guidelines. I spend a lot of my leisure time on horseback but also enjoy painting and drawing.
Carolin Dittrich
I started my PhD in 2016 at the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, where I investigate the Ecology and Life History of the European Common frog. As a member of the PhD representatives of my Institute, I participated in the formulation of our own agreements for PhD students, which became operative this year. Therefore, I can contribute hands-on experiences to the group. In my free time I like to travel, being out in nature or listening to music.
Carlo Marzini
In my project, I am dealing with functional diversity of prokaryotes in the plant rhizosphere, which is part of the Biodiversity Exploratories. I started my PhD in May at the German Collection for Microorganisms and Cell Cultures (DSMZ) in Braunschweig. During our PhD Network meeting this year in Rostock I realized that the working conditions for PhDs are highly diverse in the Leibniz Association. Therefore, working on equal conditions is a major point where I think everyone will benefit from.
The PhD agreement group has many more members and gathers experience from a lot of Leibniz institutes. You find them here:
- Daniel Graeber, Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW)
- Gregor Jatzlauk, Forschungszentrum Borstel, Leibniz-Zentrum für Medizin und Biowissenschaften
- Günther Krämer, Leibniz-Institut für Neue Materialien (INM)
- Josephine Kerutt, Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik Potsdam (AIP)
- Kerstin Pawletko, Heinrich-Pette-Institut, Leibniz-Institut für Experimentelle Virologie (HPI)
- Laura Blank, Weierstraß-Institut für Angewandte Analysis und Stochastik (WIAS)
- Lisa-Marie Braun, Leibniz-Institut für Gewässerökologie und Binnenfischerei (IGB)
- Markus Kantner, Weierstraß-Institut für Angewandte Analysis und Stochastik (WIAS)
- Martin Penzel, Leibniz-Institut für Agrartechnik und Bioökonomie (ATB)
- Martin Wengenmayr, Leibniz-Institut für Polymerforschung Dresden (IPF)
- Matthias Riekert, Leibniz-Institut für Wissensmedien (IWM)
- Oliver Scholle, Leibniz-Institut für Präventionsforschung und Epidemiologie (BIPS)
- Peter Wegenschimmel, Leibniz-Institut für Ost- und Südosteuropaforschung (IOS)
- Kathrin Zöller, Zentrum für Zeithistorische Forschung (ZZF)
- Sebastian Samer, Leibniz-Institut für Neurobiologie (LIN)
- Yannick Brasse, Leibniz-Institut für Polymerforschung Dresden (IPF)