The International Graduate School of the BTU Cottbus (IGS)

Concept

The promotion of young scientists in the context of higher education is of central importance and can be realised with structured PhD programs in addition to the traditional promotion. To prepare graduate students in combination with excellent innovative research in their careers as scientists, a promotion within the framework of graduate schools is an effective tool. With the establishment of an International Graduate School to promote the structured, interdisciplinary and international network of doctoral training the BTU Cottbus shall be able to increase its competitiveness and its attractiveness to foreign partners and to increase its number of promotions. For this reason, the BTU International Graduate School (IGS) was established on the basis of an objective agreement between the Ministry of Science, Research and Culture (MWFK) of Brandenburg and the BTU in 2007.

Based on the first funding period, the IGS started into the second period (2010 - 2012) in 2010. This structured graduate training is also based on an objective agreement and continues an integrated approach of research and teaching excellence and is based on the guidelines of the DFG. The main issues are the advancement of excellence research through innovation and increased focus in the priority areas of the university as well as the achievement of excellence in promoting young researchers. For the specific support of young scientists, graduate classes are established at the BTU Cottbus. The establishment of the Graduate School promotes a structured doctoral program, which is designed thematically specific and transdisciplinary, and enables the integration of research groups for the training of postdocs. The Graduate School offers talented graduates a research-oriented education, which should enable them to finish their PhD theses within three years. This program provides a significant increase in the number of doctoral degrees at the BTU and allows to counteract the brain drain of its young academics and to persuade talented graduates for the BTU Cottbus in competition with other universities and the industry.

The scientific profile of the graduate school is in turn determined by an interdisciplinary composition of the participating departments, which are divided into five classes.

Furthermore, the IGS is open for the integration of new classes, like the class of energy.