IRTG 902

The Integrated Research Training Group (IRTG) of the CRC902 aims to embed the selected PhD students into a nourishing environment of research and education and offers mentoring, supervision, scientific education, additional trainings, career development and equal opportunities. The IRTG902 operates in a structured way and one key aspect is the healthy balance between close supervision by a team of three principle investigators (PI) and the development of our PhD students towards independence. We aspire that our PhD students become responsible, creative, independent, critically thinking and highly skilled researchers that will be successful on the international job market. For this, each PhD student will sign a supervision agreement with three PIs, which will serve as thesis advisory committee (TAC). Regular TAC meetings will ensure the success of the PhD projects and provide mentoring and advice. Additionally, the IRTG902 offers a peer group for the PhD students and organizes interactive, collaborative and stimulatory activities, such as summer and winter schools and the RNA Club. We further support our PhD students with administrative help, short term fellowships, travel grants for conferences and short laboratory stays, trainings for methods or additional qualifications, and many possibilities for scientific communication and exchange. All PhD students should additionally enroll in the graduate academy of the Goethe University (GRADE), which offers a multitude of complementary programs and courses. Completion of the IRTG902 program prepares the graduate students optimally for a career in academic research, but our students were also very successful in entering alternative careers, e.g. in the government, in the industry, in scientific management or scientific publishing. The concept and qualification programme of the IRTG is subject to constant internal evaluation by the IRTG-members and the supervisors and we constantly try to improve according to the conclusions drawn from these feedback processes. The IRTG is coordinated by Prof. Michaela Müller-McNicoll with support from two student speakers (Lena Weiß and Tobias Matzel) and the IRTG administrator Daniela Dworak.