Exchange and Outstanding Research at the Fourth PhD Event

On September 18, 2026, the Faculty of Environmental Sciences held its fourth PhD event in Tharandt. The event brought together doctoral students to discuss current research as well as key organizational and practical issues related to the doctoral program.

Following opening remarks by the dean, Prof. Dr. Peter Krebs, Dr. Kornelia Ehrlich, executive director of the Leipzig Graduate Academy, addressed the challenges of everyday doctoral life and possible strategies for overcoming them. Another key focus was the new doctoral regulations, which were presented by Prof. Alexandra Weitkamp and Mandy Arndt and discussed with the participants. In this way, the PhD event combined academic exchange with concrete information and support services for the various phases of a doctoral program.

In the afternoon, the doctoral candidates first presented their research projects in short and concise “poster blitz” presentations. During the subsequent poster session, participants were able to delve deeper into the topics presented, discuss methods and results, and make new connections. In addition, a help desk was available to answer individual questions related to doctoral studies. The event concluded with the presentation of the Poster Blitz Award and the Poster Award.

Eric Koscor was honored for the best short presentation in the “Poster Blitz.” The prize for the best scientific poster went to Jonathan Lukas Biehl.

The PhD event was organized by Prof. Dr. Marieke van der Maaten-Theunissen, Chair of Forest Growth and Woody Biomass Production; Prof. Dr. Andreas Hartmann, Chair of Groundwater Systems; and Prof. Dr. Matthias Mauder, Chair of Meteorology. The organizers would like to thank the Core Facility Environmental Analysis for providing the poster boards.