Graduate Center News 07&08/25

07.07.2025

Career Perspectives with a PhD in Natural & Life Sciences // July 10, 5 – 6 pm

Looking for career options after your doctorate? And not sure what is “out there”? With the series "Career Perspectives with a PhD in Natural and Life Sciences", we would like to offer an opportunity for interactive and informal exchange about career-related topics.

In July, Prof. Dr. Stephan Hohloch, who did his doctorate in Inorganic Chemistry at FU Berlin will be our guest. He completed his doctorate in 2014 and is now Professor of Coordination Chemistry at the Universität Innsbruck, Austria.

All information and the meeting link can be found on this website.

There will be no meeting in August. In September, we welcome physicist Dr. Maximilian Paleschke, Senior Consultant at McKinsey & Company.

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Scientific workflows: Tools and tips / Online lecture series by Dr. Selina Baldauf // July 17, 4-5pm

In this lecture series we will explore a diverse range of topics, including R code quality and efficiency, reproducible document creation, version control with Git, literature management, and academic notetaking. You'll learn practical tips and tricks that can help you optimize your research workflow and increase your productivity.

We will meet online on the 3^rd Thursday of every month during the lecture period for one hour and you are welcome to join.

The next session will be “Introduction to version control with Git and GitHub”. Find further information and the meeting link here.

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Info event series: Doctoral studies at the BCP department // July 27, 11 am – 12 pm

The Graduate Center is organizing an information series for doctoral candidates at the BCP department. Once a month, the focus will be on a specific topic related to doctoral studies at the department, with a short input and the opportunity to ask questions.

In this info event our series starts again from the beginning with the topic “FU Membership & Standard Time to Completion”:
What is the standard time to completion? How long does it last? How can it be extended? Which requirements (e.g. course on good scientific practice) do I have to fulfill during the doctoral studies? What do I have to do if I want to change universities?

Join the online meeting, gather some information and ask your questions!

Further information and the Webex link: https://www.bcp.fu-berlin.de/en/graduiertenzentrum/promovierende/veranstaltungen/info-events/index.html
Here you will also find the presentations of past information events as well as helpful links on the respective topic.

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Online Workshop “Introduction to data analysis with R” // Oct 6 – 7 + 13 – 14

Course offer by the Graduate Center: This workshop offers an introduction to data analysis with R.
The workshop's main goal is to equip you with essential R skills for analyzing your own research data, covering data processing and visualization.

Who is the course for?   Doctoral researchers registered at the BCP department, Postdoctoral researchers at the BCP department
When?                            6 October, 7 October, 13 October, 14 October, 2024, 9 am – 4 pm
Where?                          Webex Online Course (Please note that a video camera and a microphone are necessary for this course.)
Registration:                  Will follow in the next newsletter in September. For now, save the date!

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Doctoral Council Representatives elected

On June 17&18 you had the opportunity to elect your two representatives and two deputies for the Doctoral Council.

Following the evaluation of the voting documents and in the absence of any objections submitted to the Office of the Central Election Board by the end of the corresponding deadline, the preliminary election results as published in the Central Election Board’s Official No. 08/25 from June 19, 2025 (Official Announcement of the Preliminary Results from the Election of Doctoral Council Members at Freie Universität Berlin on June 17 and 18, 2025) are hereby considered official and final.

And here they are
as members:

Anita Kowalczyk (Biology/Immunology)
Stephanie Himpich (Structural Biochemistry)

as deputy:

Sarah Lewandowski (Biochemistry/mRNA Metabolism)

Aleksandra Simdianova (Neurobiology) cannot act as deputy. However, she will support the others in their work for all doctoral candidates in the BCP department.

Congratulations to all of them! We will keep you informed about their contact and their work in the near future.

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BCP Department Summer Festival // July 17

You are cordially invited to this year's BCP Department Summer Festival.
We look forward to welcoming you to our program on Thursday, July 17th, in the large lecture hall at Arnimallee 22 or on the meadow between Arnimallee 22 and Fabeckstr. 34/36.

Detailed program:
• 3:30 p.m.: Lecture by Prof. Dr. Sarkar
• 3:50 p.m.: Lecture by Prof. Dr. Pölloth
• 4:15 p.m.: Award ceremony for excellent teaching, organized by the student council initiatives
• From 4:30 p.m.: Summer Festival | Food & Drinks (self-payer)
• 5:00 p.m.: Award ceremony for gender- and diversity-sensitive leadership

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Friday Light Talks // July 11

Friday Light Talks is an initiative for Postdocs, PhD and master students to promote networking, discussion and ideas exchange in an informal environment.
Friday Light Talks started as a lecture series and networking platform for young researchers with a focus on physics. It is now open also for young researchers from other disciplines of Natural Sciences at FU Berlin.
Each event comprises a 20-30 min scientific presentation by a PhD or Postdoc followed by a discussion and a relaxed get-together with drinks. We are excited to have a space where all the research groups can get to know each other, and we are looking forward to meeting you all!

The next talk will be on July 11:

Daniel Reich (AG Koch) will speak about: "15 Years, 15 Lessons: About Teaching Physics & Designing Card Games"

Always at 5pm in BoB (Room 0.3.01), Phyics Department (Arnimallee 14, 14195 Berlin). More information here.

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Dahlem Research School (DRS) Workshops & Open Door Talks

***Get your calendars ready – winter semester 2025/26 workshop offers will be published from July 15!***

DEEP SCIENCE FUTURE WITH AI: An Ideation Workshop for Producing a Better Tomorrow !NEW!
Date: July 17, 9:30am – 5pm
URL: https://www.drs.fu-berlin.de/en/node/115072

SECRETS OF IMPACTFUL POSTER DESIGN (additional workshop)
A guide to the essential steps to designing a powerful poster. What has visual impact – and what to avoid. Practical, easy-to-apply tips to create a professional standard of output. Integrating the principles of visual communication to poster design, and the course leader’s recommendation for easiest software to learn
Dates: September 1+2 +10, 2025 - online
Registration: https://www.drs.fu-berlin.de/en/node/115302

SAVE THE DATE: DAY OF GOOD RESEARCH PRACTICE on November 19
The highlight of the event will be the presentation of the Rosalind Franklin Award for Academic Integrity by the President. The GWP Day is open to the public and is aimed in particular at doctoral researchers from all disciplines, who can have their participation in the event recognized.
Date: November 19, 9am-5pm in the SupraFab building (room 201).
URL: https://www.fu-berlin.de/en/sites/gwp/index.html

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fu:stat course program // August

The statistics advisory unit of Freie Universität Berlin (fu:stat) offers a broad portfolio of courses on basics in statistics but also software applications, e.g. R, SPSS and Phyton, for example:

Statistik-Grundlagen (04.08. - 06.08.2025)
Python-basics (07.08. - 08.08.2025; taught in English)
R-Grundlagen (11.08. - 12.08.2025)
Generative künstliche Intelligenz (14.08.2025)
Introduction to Statistical Learning (18.08.2025; taught in English)

Here you can find more information: fu:stat course program

The participation fee will be covered by DRS (until the semester quota is exhausted) if you are doing your doctorate at a university of the Berlin University Alliance. When registering on the fu:stat website, please identify yourself as a doctoral researcher from an institution of the Berlin University Alliance (Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt Universität Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin).

If you cancel within one week before the start of the course, you will have to pay 30% of the course fee as a cancellation fee. This cancellation fee is not covered by DRS.

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Humboldt Graduate School (HGS) & BUA workshops

ACEM Symposium: Bridging Electron Microscopy in Life Sciences and Material Sciences | July 22–23

Organized by the Alliance Center Electron Microscopy (ACEM) of the BUA and the Max Delbrück Center (MDC), this symposium fosters interdisciplinary exchange between life sciences and material sciences through the lens of electron microscopy.
Open to students and early-career researchers within the BUA and BR50 networks. Poster contributions are welcome for one of the following sessions:

Volume SEM
Artificial Intelligence in Electron Microscopy
Quantitative Phase-sensitive S/TEM Methods
In Operando and Time Resolved EM

Register by July 17, 2025!

Career Options Outside Academia

Instructor: Dr. Alexander Egeling
Dates: 16 & 17/07/2025, 09:00-16:00
Location:
16/07: Humboldt Graduate School, Luisenstr. 56, 10117 Berlin, room 122 (ground floor);
17/07: online
Language: English
Budget Points: 14

Breakout Session Time Management

Instructor: Dr. Sina Saladin
Dates: 08/08/2025, 09:00-12:00
Location: online
Language: English
Budget Points: 3

NEW Workshop: Diversity and Intersectionalities

Instructor: Tsepo Bollwinkel
Date: 04/09/2025, 10:00-18:00
Location: Humboldt Graduate School, Luisenstr. 56, 10117 Berlin, room 144 (ground floor)
Language: English
Budget Points: 8

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Setting Sail for Mental Health („Glück Ahoi“) – Strengthened and healthy through your doctoral thesis

10.09.2025 & 11.09.2025; follow-up on Oct, 10

This engaging module combines creative methods from Positive Psychology, Happiness Research, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), and Resilience Coaching. You will gain valuable tools to better manage doctoral stress, boost your psychological resilience, and confidently navigate the challenges of your PhD phase while maintaining your mental health.

At the heart of the program is a two-day retreat (without overnight stay) held at the peaceful and green UMWELT Bildungszentrum Berlin. Following the retreat, a specially designed three-week online course helps you apply your new insights directly into your daily work. The program concludes with a follow-up workshop for reflection and consolidation.

To support your overall well-being, a vegetarian catering will be provided throughout the event. Participation is free of charge.

Registration:

Group 1 (German-speaking)
Group 2 (English-speaking)

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Berlin Neuroscience Meeting 2025 | 16–17 October 2025 | GLS Campus Berlin

The annual Berlin Neuroscience Meeting brings together researchers from all career stages to explore cutting-edge findings and foster exchange. Organized by the Einstein Center for Neurosciences Berlin and NeuroCure, the event features keynote talks, poster sessions, and networking opportunities - including a relaxed social evening on Friday.

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VBIO Bakterien-Summerschool 2025 in Köln // 24. – 28. September // Early-Bird Registration bis 13. Juli

Was Dich erwartet:

Vielfältige Programmtage mit Vorträgen, Podiumsdiskussion, und Labor‑ bzw. Firmenführungen bei und mit unseren Kooperationspartnern
Netzwerken auf hohem Niveau mit Studierenden, Wissenschaftler/-innen und Firmenvertreter/-innen aus dem gesamten deutschsprachigen Raum
Spannendes Rahmenprogramm

Für wen lohnt sich die Teilnahme?

Bist Du interessiert an aktueller Bakterienforschung und interdisziplinären Fragestellungen (Infektionsbiologie, Biotechnologie, Genetik etc.)?
Willst Du praxisnahe Einblicke in Labore, Industrie und Forschungseinrichtungen?
Legst Du Wert auf Berufsorientierung, Netzwerkaufbau und Austausch mit Forschenden und Unternehmen?
Angesprochen sind Bachelor‑ und Masterstudierende (ab 1. Semester) der Biologie, Biochemie, Medizin – auch Promovierende sind willkommen!

Ticket & Organisation:

Achtung: Die Tickets enthalten Übernachtung (4 Nächte), Vollpension, Transfers, Programm & Versicherung