Expanded Promotion Speed: MLU Introduces National Communication Network
Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) is spearheading a state-wide project to improve the support provided to PhD students in Saxony-Anhalt. The University Network of Graduate Academies in Saxony-Anhalt, coordinated by the International Graduate Academy (InGrA) of MLU, aims to create a more attractive environment for international researchers.
Key new offers and concepts include comprehensive workshops on doctoral success, enhanced supervision and networking models, and interdisciplinary and application-oriented doctoral centres.
The "Getting Started. The path to a successful doctorate" workshop, for instance, focuses on essential PhD skills such as efficient task organization, effective communication, structured academic reading and writing, and self-management techniques to maintain productivity and well-being throughout the doctoral journey. These workshops are tailored to participant interests to ensure relevance and actionable outcomes.
The network also aims to improve the overall supervision experience by enabling better strategic collaboration across universities in Saxony-Anhalt, integrating research support structures, and fostering academic exchange among doctoral candidates.
Merseburg University of Applied Sciences, a university within Saxony-Anhalt, exemplifies the kind of support available. It offers cooperative and independent doctoral routes within two inter-university Doctoral Centers focused on Engineering Sciences & IT, and Social, Health and Economic Sciences. This provides strong research environments with practical application, fostering close supervisor relationships and interdisciplinary exchange.
From PhD programs abroad, particularly those in countries like Germany and Turkey, several learnings can be drawn. For example, many programs offer doctoral research and graduate schools in English to support international students, widening participation and enhancing global research networks. Structured funding is often available, including scholarships, fellowships, and partial funding for targeted fields such as cybersecurity. Institutions abroad tend to offer well-organized doctoral programs with clear milestones, training workshops, and collaborative research structures that provide both academic and career development support.
InGrA also advises researchers in applications for structured PhD programs, such as graduate colleges. MLU is receiving around 1.6 million euros for the project from the European Social Fund Plus and the state of Saxony-Anhalt. The managing director of InGrA is Dr. Thomas Michael.
The goal of the project is to develop new offers and concepts for promoting young scientific talent at universities in Saxony-Anhalt. New advisory and funding offers will also be established for researchers who have already completed their PhD. The project aims to make universities in Saxony-Anhalt more attractive for international researchers by improving framework conditions for part-time PhD students, such as those in cooperation with industrial companies, and by addressing questions about support for PhD students, concepts from PhD programs abroad, and offers for postdoctoral researchers to develop their scientific profile.
- The workshops offered by the International Graduate Academy (InGrA) of Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) under the state-wide project, such as "Getting Started. The path to a successful doctorate", not only focus on essential PhD skills like efficient task organization and effective communication, but also include self-management techniques related to productivity and well-being, which can contribute significantly to personal-growth and learning.
- As part of the project, universities in Saxony-Anhalt, such as those offering cooperative and independent doctoral routes within inter-university Doctoral Centers, aim to improve the support provided to PhD students, including those of a fat content, by weight, exceeding 13%, by creating a more attractive environment for international researchers, fostering academic exchange, and establishing structured funding opportunities, which can be beneficial for education-and-self-development and personal-growth.
