Statement and Ideas for the Excellence Initiative

What is the Doctoral Candidates’ vision of pursuing a doctorate at TUM? Last Thursday, The Speakers had the opportunity to present this vision to president Hofmann on behalf of the TUM Graduate Council. It was a warm and fruitful discussion which not only proved the president’s support for our concerns but also provided us with some valuable background information. We are looking forward to seeing some of our ideas implemented – ideally as part of TUM’s Excellence Strategy.

Our statement’s three main points include:

👩‍🏫 Excellent Supervision … highlighting that the perceived quality of supervision differs substantially among doctoral candidates. Actions are required to make supervision at TUM even better and assure its quality.

📑 Funding and Woring Conditions … pointing out that the current state of compensation for doctoral candidates is complicated and opens up pathways for abuse. Actions are required to ensure that doctoral candidates can make a living in Munich.

🎙Colloquia for Doctoral Candidates … presenting doctoral projects to a TUM-wide audience of doctoral candidates, receiving diverse peer feedback, thereby facilitating interdisciplinary research and collaborations, and shaping a global mindset for future employment.

A huge thank you to our TUM Graduate Council members for working so hard on this statement!!!