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TUM Graduate Council (Assistants)

Prof. Dr. Luise Pufahl Awarded the TUM Supervisory Award 2024 for Excellence in Doctoral Supervision

By | TUM Supervisory Award
Prof. Dr. Luise Pufahl receives the TUM Supervisory Award.
From left to right: Prof. Dr. Luise Pufahl, TUM Vice President Prof. Dr. Gerhard Kramer// Foto: Astrid Eckert

We are thrilled to announce that Prof. Dr. Luise Pufahl of the TUM School of Computation, Information and Technology has been honored with the TUM Supervisory Award for 2024. This prestigious recognition highlights her exceptional commitment to doctoral supervision, underscoring her significant contributions to creating a supportive and impactful environment for her doctoral candidates.

Prof. Pufahl is an expert in business process management and process mining. Her research centers on analyzing and automating resource- and knowledge-intensive business processes, employing cutting-edge methodologies such as operations research, process mining, simulation, and machine learning. Her work has wide-ranging implications, with practical applications in sectors including healthcare and logistics.

The TUM Supervisory Award is not merely a recognition of professional achievement—it embodies the core values of the TUM Graduate Council. It serves as a reminder of the importance of fostering a supervisor-candidate relationship that goes beyond academic guidance, emphasizing trust, mutual respect, and a commitment to each candidate’s personal and professional growth. Prof. Pufahl’s dedication to these principles has been central to her success, as she continuously inspires and guides her students toward academic and professional excellence.

Prof. Pufahl’s receipt of this distinguished award is a testament to her dedication to nurturing the next generation of scholars and leaders. Her mentorship continues to inspire her students and enrich the broader academic community at TUM. We congratulate Prof. Dr. Luise Pufahl on this remarkable achievement. Her unwavering commitment to academic excellence and mentorship makes her a true role model, not only for her doctoral candidates but for the entire TUM community.

TUM Awards Dinner 14.11.2024 im Koenigssaal im Bayerischen Hof.
From left to right: TUM Vice President Prof. Dr. Gerhard Kramer; Prof. Dr. Luise Pufahl; Luca Sacchetto; Leon Chryssos// Foto: Astrid Eckert

114th Graduate Council Meeting

By | TUM GC Meeting

The 114th meeting of the TUM Graduate Council took place on the 17th of October in the Thomas Mann Konferenzsaal of Main Campus. To welcome newly inducted members, the meeting began with a brief onboarding session. This provided an overview of the Council’s mission, key responsibilities, and upcoming initiatives. The main meeting covered several critical topics and was attended by members as well as international guests from Finland, who came to learn about TUM Graduate Council’s successful methods of advocating for and securing approvals for student needs. The Finnish delegation shared insights on TUM Graduate Council’s effectiveness in handling student matters, praising the Council’s proactive approach in gaining support and implementing initiatives that meet student demands. The Council then reviewed the Position Paper for WissZeitVG aimed at addressing key issues faced by graduate students. Members provided feedback, and a final draft was circulated with 94% of members in favor. To conclude the day, members and guests gathered at an external venue for a dinner, providing a relaxed setting to reinforce connections made during the meeting. This final event allowed for informal discussions, deepened relationships, and reflected the spirit of collaboration that defines the TUM Graduate Council.

TUMblue 2024

By | Event

On 27th September, 2024, TUMBlue took place! The event was a tremendous success, bringing together students and faculty for an unforgettable evening of connection, celebration, and fun. The event opened with an inspiring keynote lecture that set the tone for the evening, focusing on innovation, community, and future aspirations within the TUM network. Following the keynote, attendees enjoyed a lively night filled with dancing, drinks, and vibrant socialization. This casual and engaging environment provided the perfect opportunity for making new connections, strengthening friendships, and building a deeper sense of community among everyone present. TUM Blue 2024 exemplified the spirit of the university, combining intellectual engagement with social celebration. We are already looking forward to making next year’s TUM Blue event even more remarkable!

TUM Blue 2024 is coming

By | TUM GC Event

The Working Group TUM Blue started to plan and organize this years main event for dorctoral candidates at TUM on September 27th. You can look forward to a fantastic night of partying and networking including DJs, Bands, Foodtrucks, Bars and so much more. If you are interested in becoming part of our team and make this event happen togehther, you are always very welcome to join us.

Meeting WG TUM Blue 12.06.2024

Statement and Ideas for the Excellence Initiative

By | TUM Graduate Council

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!!!

Call for Nominations: Supervisory Award 2024

By | TUM Supervisory Award
Präsident Thomas Hofmann & 2023 Winner Prof. Dr. Jens Foerderer; Foto: Andreas Heddergott/TUM

In 2024, the TUM Supervisory Award will be awarded for the seventh consecutive year. All doctoral candidates who are currently members of the TUM Graduate School and all alumni who left the TUM Graduate School during the previous year are called to nominate their outstanding supervisor until March 31th, 2024. As part of the TUM Supervisory Award a prize money of 5,000€, funded by the Bund der Freunde der TUM e.V. will be awarded to the winning supervisor. The supervisor must spend the prize money for the benefit their doctoral candidates according to the public budget law e.g. by organizing workshops, supporting research stays abroad, buying relevant software or updating the chair’s library. This is your chance to help honor outstanding supervision and to motivate all supervisors to strain themselves to become even better. To nominate your supervisor, you and up to 2 of your fellow doctoral candidates need to fill out the nomination form found here!

Meeting with TUM President Thomas Hofmann

By | TUM Graduate Council
Graduate Council Speakers with Präsident Thomas Hofmann; Foto: Andreas Heddergott /TUM

How can TUM future-proof itself as an attractive and innovative choice for pursuing a doctorate among global top universities? What is your vision for the next decade? – some big questions asked by TUM president Prof. Thomas Hofmann in our first meeting. Big questions that we will make sure to carry back home to the TUM Graduate Council to collect some rich feedback by July 2024.

As newly elected speakers of the TUM Graduate Council, Leon Chryssos and Stuart Daniel James were introduced to Prof. Hofmann by their predecessors Anna Christina Jäkel and Ayesha Müller-Wolfertshofer. As first speaker Stuart will represent all doctoral candidates at the TUM Senate and TUM Board of Trustees for the coming year. Leon will take on a formative role at TUM Graduate School meetings as second speaker.

107th Graduate Council Meeting & Christmas Party

By | TUM GC Meeting

The 107th Meeting of the TUM Graduate Council was held on the 7th of December in the Building of the TUM Graduate School Management Office in Garching, followed by a Christmas Party. The meeting changed from in-peron to a hybrid format because of the strike announced for the same evening. We began with an introduction about the Graduate School by Zizheng Zhang, the Deputy Managing Director of the GS, who also used the opportunity to thank the current GC Speakers – Anna Christina Jäkel and Ayesha Müller-Wolfertshofer – for their term in office. Anna and Ayesha then presented the report for their work in 2023, were discharged from their positions, and the new Speakers for 2024 were elected. We would like to congratulate Stuart Daniel James and Leon Chryssos for being elected to the positions of first and second speaker respectively. The TUM GC Christmas party then commenced, which included the prize distribution for the TUMblue 2023 photography competition and the distribution of certificates to associate members.