DFG establishes 23 new Graduiertenkollegs (University graduate training programmes) Funding has also been granted for five European Graduiertenkollegs and, for the first time, a Graduiertenkolleg with industrial co-operation

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) has approved the establishment of 23 new Graduiertenkollegs for 1st April 2001. These are to include five new "European" Graduiertenkollegs in which German doctoral students will work together with young academics from France, Great Britain, Switzerland, Spain and the Netherlands. From April 2001 onwards, the DFG will be promoting a total of 284 Graduiertenkollegs. In addition to these, the DFG Grants Committee has established a Graduiertenkolleg featuring co-operation between university and industry. This group, "Biomedical Active Ingredient Research", is located at the University of Konstanz, and scientists from the university will be working in co-operation with researchers from industry. The novelty here is that the industrial researchers will also take part in doctoral training.

Since 1990, the DFG has been promoting especially qualified doctoral students in all academic disciplines in its Graduiertenkollegs. Each group comprises 15 to 25 students, who usually work within an often interdisciplinary programme of research and studies organized by professors particularly distinguished in teaching and research. These programmes are acquiring an increasingly international character. At present, around ten per cent of all doctoral students in Germany are working for their doctorates in Graduiertenkollegs. The graduates from these groups are normally more broadly qualified than their counterparts, and are on average two years younger. Half of the graduate fellows gaining doctorates are aged 30 or under.

The Graduiertenkollegs have proved their value as an instrument for creating a structured and novel form of doctoral training and for raising the prestige of German universities. An analys
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Contact: Dr. Robert Paul Knigs
robert-paul.koenigs@dfg.de
0228-885-2424
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
8-Nov-2000