New at TU Chemnitz: Centre for Young Researchers

Umbrella organization is appointed to fulfill tasks around the promotion of young scientists more professionally and in a more demand-oriented manner

Since 28 October 2014 it has been official: The Research Academy of TU Chemnitz does not exist as such. It is being replaced by the Centre for Young Researchers (ZfwN). Due to this significant change in the existing Research Academy that was approved by the university committees, simultaneously will be perpetuated the ESF-funded School of Managerial Competencies project. The new centre is to be understood as an umbrella organization for doctoral candidates, post-doctoral students, habilitating scholars and assistant professors. Its aim is to meet the varied tasks around promotion of young researchers in more professional and demand-oriented way. Thus, TU Chemnitz fulfills its objective a major step closer in developing a contemporary academic culture and supporting infrastructure for young scientists, anchoring them firmly.

In the past years, the Research Academy with its School of Managerial Competencies project has achieved substantial improvements in transferable skills and support of doctoral students and researchers in the postdoctoral phase. Examples include about 150 courses in the field of key and leadership skills, providing a needs-based counseling services and successfully established formats, such as the day of young scientists or the virtual network of PhD students. The power spectrum is now merged and expanded in ZfwN, because not all targets are yet achieved. In close cooperation with the Department 1 of the University Administration, Annett Schädlich as a Coordinator of the Research Academy and Dr. Daniela Menzel, Project Manager of the School of Managerial Competencies, have decisively conceptualized the future strategic and practical orientation of the centre.

Currently, TU Chemnitz has over 1,300 doctoral candidates, 220 employees with a doctorate degree and 17 assistant professors. “They all carry through their wide range of research to a large extent to the increase of the scientific reputation of TU Chemnitz. However, we are aware that we still have a stretch before us to best assist the young scientists at TU Chemnitz“, reflects Prof. Dr. Heinrich Lang, Vice-Rector and Director of the Centre for Young Researchers. Already at the beginning of the next year, the structure and the establishment of a non-institutionalized, cross-faculty graduate school ”Human Factors“ will be consolidated under the umbrella of the ZfwN. Through the substantial cross-linking of many Chemnitz academic disciplines, the university’s research focus on “Human Factor in Technology“, should be strengthened and increase the international attractiveness of TU Chemnitz in this field for the production and promotion of young scientists.

Another new area of action of the center in the following three years is to improve the international mobility of doctoral students at TU Chemnitz by “outgoing-measures” and for international doctoral candidates by “incoming-measures”. This is possible by means of recently approved DAAD project “International doctoral studies at TU Chemnitz (InPro TUC)“, based at ZfwN, which provides a funding from the attractive ”International Mobility Program“ on the basis of the application and selection process.

It is valid to organize a framework for doctoral and postdoctoral phase through such activities together with the university administration and faculties, so that a high-quality of youth development remains guaranteed.

For further information, please contact Annett Schädlich, Phone +49 371 531-37522, Email zfwn@tu-chemnitz.de.

(Author: Annett Schädlich, Translation: Nataliia Boiko)

Katharina Thehos
05.12.2014

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