The Networking Event
TUMblue is an annual networking event for TUM doctoral candidates hosted by the TUM Graduate Council. It enhances the interaction, communication and thus cooperation of doctoral candidates from all Graduate Centres in a casual setting. Furthermore, TUMblue raises the awareness for the TUM Graduate Council itself and promotes the identification of doctoral candidates with the TUM. Sometime around June hundreds of doctoral candidates come to TUMblue, which has a different theme each year, to enjoy free drinks, dinner, and music.
TUMblue 2024 – “Illuminate the Horizon: Let your research glow”
We extend a warm welcome to every doctoral candidate, from all fields and backgrounds, to join us for this remarkable gathering. Whether you are just beginning your doctoral journey or are close to reaching the finish line, this event is for you! This year TUMblue will follow the Graduate Schools TUM Doctoral Day. So the whole day and night is dedicated to doctoral candidates.
TUMblue Program
Here are the essential details you need to know:
Date: 27th of September 2023
Time: Entrance starts at 7:00 PM
Venue: Mathematics Informatics Building, Boltzmannstr. 3, 85748 Garching bei München
Program:
6:00 – 7:00 p.m. – Registration and mingling
The grand entrance awaits you! Come prepared to mingle, meet fellow doctoral candidates and let your research glow while networking.
6:00 – 10:00 p.m. – TUMblue food trucks
The first 1,000 attendees receive a food voucher to be redeemed at one of three delicious food trucks. First come, first serve – so make sure to join early on!
7:00 – 7:30 p.m. – Opening ceremony and keynote
We’ll warm up together and listen to what our keynote speaker (tbd) has to say.
7:30 – 8:30 p.m. – Science Communication Competition “Let your research glow!”
Prepare to be captivated by the talents of our featured doctoral candidates at the Science Communication Competition. Three minutes to convey a message – and three rules: 1. Be creative! 2. Be entertaining! 3. Anything that you can carry on stage is allowed! (3b. No PowerPoint!)
8:30 – 10:00 p.m. – Live Music at Main Stage
It’s time to let loose and groove to the beats that will fill the air. We have a sensational lineup of live music to keep you on your feet and dance the night away.
10:00 p.m. – 2:00 a.m. – DJ set
Our DJ stage fires up and moves TUMblue 2024 to the next level! We’ll keep it coming with our amazing beats, light setup and glow features.
03:06 a.m. – Exclusive TUMblue U-Bahn service to Sendlinger Tor
Good to know:
🍔 Free food for first thousand attendees: In addition to the event itself, food trucks will be present to provide a variety of delicious options for attendees. As an added perk, we are offering coupons for free food to the first thousand people who attend.
🍺 Free drinks: We have you covered with complimentary drinks to enhance the overall experience and create a welcoming atmosphere for attendees.
💰 Cocktails: Please remember to bring some cash with you, as we’ll also be offering an array of tantalizing cocktails and long drinks for purchase. Your taste buds are in for a treat!
🎤 Science Communication Competition: Take part in our Science Communication Competition and show an amazing audience of peers what you are working on for your dissertation! Three minutes to convey a message – and three rules: 1. Be creative! 2. Be entertaining! 3. Anything that you can carry on stage is allowed! (3b. No PowerPoint!) The winner is in for an attractive prize so reach out if you’d like to be featured: gc-tumblue@gs.tum.de
🚄 Exclusive U-Bahn service: To enhance the convenience of attending TUMblue in Garching, we have arranged a special U-Bahn service exclusively for the event. This U-Bahn will leave Garching Forschungszentrum at 3:06 am towards Sendlinger Tor, ensuring smooth and efficient travel from the event to your home. Please remember to carry a valid MVG ticket for the journey.
TUM Doctoral Day Program
2:00 – 2:15 p.m. – Welcome
2:15 – 3:00 p.m. – Keynote by Prof. Dr. Alena Buyx: “Science in the Spotlight: Embracing the Public Discourse”
Join Prof. Dr. med. Alena Buyx, a renowned Professor of Ethics in Medicine and Health Technologies and Director of the Institute for the History and Ethics of Medicine (IGEM) at the Technical University of Munich (TUM). She will share her insights on effectively communicating science to the public, based on her extensive experience in medical ethics and her tenure as Chair of the German Ethics Council. This keynote will delve into the responsibilities researchers have in engaging with public discourse, addressing the growing hostility towards science, and responding constructively to criticism.
3:00 – 3:45 p.m. – Coffee break with Graduate Centers
Take a break, enjoy a coffee and network your colleagues. In addition, you can visit the dedicated stands representing the Graduate Centers. These information points offer doctoral candidates a chance to interact directly with representatives from their respective Graduate Centers, ask questions, gather essential information, and discover the various resources and support services available.
3:45 – 4:45 p.m. – Compact workshops
Participate in our 60-minute workshops for an in-depth exploration of topics that interest you. Whether you’re looking to successfully complete your doctorate or enhance valuable transferable skills for your future career, there’s a workshop for you.
Workshop themes: To be announced
5:00 – 6:00 p.m. – Panel discussion: “What’s next? Diverse careers after the doctorate”
Hear from a panel of professionals from diverse backgrounds who will showcase the myriad ways to succeed after the doctorate. This discussion will focus on unconventional and niche career paths, highlighting that there is no “one-size-fits-all” career advice for doctoral candidates. Panelists will share their personal experiences, insights, and advice on finding fulfilling, challenging, and rewarding work.
6:00 – 7:00 p.m. – Break / TUMblue food trucks
More information about the TUM Doctoral Day can be found here
Registration from August 19th here
More information about TUMblue 2024 can be found here
Organizational Team 2023:
Sonia Darvishi, Vincent Bode, Melissa Zeni, Andrei Craciunescu, Mariam Mohamadi, Franziska Kotsch, Severin Böhmer, Stuart James, Vanessa Bolivar-Paypay, Leon Chryssos
Contact: gc-tumblue@gs.tum.de
Impressions from previous events
Previous TUMblues
TUMblue 2023 – “The Come as you are, Network like a star”
After the Corona pause TUMblue finally took place again in 2023. The GCs legendary networking event took place in Garching with free Foodtrucks, free drinks, live music and a lot of fun and games.
Here are the essential details you need to know:
Date: 15th of September 2023
Time: Entrance starts at 7:00 PM
Venue: Mathematics Informatics Building, Boltzmannstr. 3, 85748 Garching bei München
More information can be found here
Organizational Team 2023:
Anna Jäkel, Ashishrao Mangalore, Ayesha Müller-Wolfertshofer, Ekaterina Zhigalova, Faye Chong Huey Ping, Franziska Kotsch, Juan Lozano, Luise Koch, Severin Böhmer, Shruti Shukla, Stuart James, Vanessa Bolivar-Paypay, Vladimir Shitov
TUMblue 2019 – “The Excellence Must Go On”
In 2019, TUMblue “The Excellence Must Go On” – the legendary casual networking event from doctoral candidates for doctoral candidates – takes place for the 6th year in a row – this year on June 7th, 2019 at the TUM Audimax Foyer. All guests will enjoy great music (including two live bands and renowned DJs), numerous networking opportunities, free beer and wine, gourmet food, and ice cream.
Since TUMblue is organized on a voluntary basis by the TUM Graduate Council, we also rely on helping hands to make this great and fun evening take place: For this reason, we are looking for many helping hands (please indicate during the registration process in case you want to help).
We also want to thank our sponsor the TUM Graduate School – without its support TUMBlue would not be possible.
Pictures of TUMblue 2019 can be found here.
Organizational Team 2019:
Richard Schenk (GOV)
Ronja Berg (MGC)
Markus Mäder (MW)
Albert Schletter (PH)
Lennart Bock (HEPP)
Poster Design: Romina Rösch (MGC)
TUMblue 2018 – “Gold Edition”
In 2018, TUMblue took place for the 5th year in a row – this year with more than 700 participants. To celebrate TUM’s 150 years jubilee, doctoral candidates from all TUM Graduate Centers as well as TUM Alumni were invited on June 29th, 2018 to TUMblue Gold Edition at the Audimax Foyer. All guests enjoyed great music (including two live bands and two Munich-based renowned DJs), numerous networking opportunities, free drinks, food, and ice cream. We also thank our sponsors, the TUM Graduate School and the UnternehmerTUM, who made this great event possible.
Pictures of TUMblue 2018 can be found here.
Organizational Team 2018:
Tamara Cikovic (MGC)
Richard Schenk (GOV)
Gerrit Siegers (Klinikum Rechts der Isar)
TUMblue 2017 – “Brains, Beer and Bavarian Brass”
More than 500 doctoral candidates from all TUM Graduate Centers were invited to a casual networking event on June 9th, 2017 in the Audimax Foyer. Besides various bands, the doctoral candidates enjoyed drinks and different snacks provided by food trucks on the plaza in front of the Audimax.
Pictures of TUMblue 2017 can be found here.
Organizational Team 2017:
Tamara Cikovic (MGC)
Alina Gales (GOV)
Richard Kern (MW)
TUMblue 2016 – “Science, Drinks and Rock’n Roll”
All TUM doctoral candidates were invited to enjoy free dinner, free drinks, Rock’n Roll music and great networking opportunities with doctoral candidates from all TUM Graduate Centers at the Audimax Foyer. The event took place on July 8th, 2016.
Organizational Team 2016:
Jonas Umlauft (EE)
Jenny Lebert (MSE)
Jörg Bentz (KGk)
Alexandra Funke (EDU)
TUMblue 2015 – “TUM Graduate School – Cross Borders”
The second TUMblue – a networking event organized by the TUM Graduate Council for doctoral candidates from all TUM faculties – took place on July 26th , 2015 at the Vorhoelzer Forum.
Organizational Team 2015:
Sandrine Stiegler (CH)
TUMblue 2014 – “TUM Graduate School – Cross Borders”
The TUM Graduate Council warmly welcomed Ph.D. candidates and members of the TUM Graduate School to a relaxing evening to celebrate, network, and get together with music, refreshments, and an open bar at the Vorhoelzer Forum. The event took place on May 26th, 2014.
Organizational Team 2014:
Sandrine Stiegler (CH)