Members of the 7th Doctoral Council
Table of contents
Members of the 7th Doctoral Council
Jonas Weiß (Spokesperson)
Initially a student of material sciences and engineering, in 2018, I followed my interest in data analytics and started a PhD in fetal monitoring at the institute of biomedical engineering. As a member of DDocs, I would like to strengthen trans-faculty networking and collaboration.
I feel that sharing knowledge with people from different fields is something we don’t do often enough. Often, we’re forced to do things we don’t do very well instead of focusing on the things we excel at. At the same time, whilst we struggle with a seemingly unsolvable problem, there might be an expert on it just three buildings down the road.
The Graduate Academy offers broad potential for interdisciplinary work by uniting experts in many fields. In my opinion, a trans-faculty exchange could improve our scientific work. If you are, e.g., a psychologist working on mobility, you might profit from an expert in signal processing who applies pattern recognition to your data. Therefore, I want to establish a coauthor blackboard, where you can ask for help or support others with your skills and earn a coauthorship in exchange.
I believe this would enhance the quality of your work since we can stick to stuff we are good at. And as a cherry on top, it may come with nice side effects – like higher output or even more fun.
Maren Weissig (Deputy Spokesperson)
Ich bin Maren und promoviere an der Fakultät Architektur. Ich möchte unsere Interessen der promovierenden Mitglieder der Graduiertenakademie vertreten.
Meine Themen:
- Förderung der fach- und fakultätsübergreifenden Vernetzung der Promovierenden
- Funktion als Ansprechpartner für universitäre Gremien
Was würde ich an der TU Dresden ändern? Die Situation der eigenfinanzierten Promovierenden und mehr mediale Würdigung und Förderung der Promovierenden.
Ich habe Kunst an der UdK Berlin und Architektur an der TU Berlin studiert, und habe Erfahrung mit Studierendenvertretung gesammelt. Meine dortigen Aktivitäten betrafen u.a. Berufungskommissionen, Finanzbeschaffung für Projekte, Gremientätigkeit und Projektorganisation. Meine Dissertation habe ich an der TU Dresden begonnen, weil ich sehr motiviert bin zu forschen, und zwar auch über längere Zeit als Promotion, Master oder ein Diplom. Seit Anfang 2019 bin ich Doktorandin an der Fakultät Architektur 2021 habe ich das Promotionsthema gewechselt, da die Recherche unter Corona nicht mehr gut umsetzbar war. Ich bin eigenfinanziert und arbeite daran, die Situation aller anderen eigenfinanzierten Promovierenden zu verbessern.
Alina Israfilova
Dear Graduate Academy and doctoral community of TU Dresden!
My name is Alina Israfilova. In 2018 I started my PhD research in the Institute of Structural Analysis, Faculty of Civil Engineering. I was a member of the Council during the previous year and I am looking forward to a part of it!
The start of my doctoral studies was everything else but easy. I constantly needed assistance with documents, I struggled with language and, what was the most terrifying, I had no clear idea how to finance my research. One of the members of the Doctoral Council told me about the Graduate Academy of TU Dresden. Thus, I discovered my salvation. Everyone who needs support or advice always can get it here. Being a part of the team of DDocs means for me to get a chance to pay back for the help I received.
I think I can speak for some of the international doctoral students and say that it is still not that easy to go through the enrolling procedure saying nothing about the search of the scientific supervisor or/and financial support. The situation becomes better each year in our university, though – Promovendus system became a nice improvement. However, many institutes are still lacking information about it and follow the old algorithms which makes newly arrived doctoral students confused. What is more, last year was overshadowed by the Pandemic. Lots of us are still struggling with the working and social limitations. I have few international colleagues who have started their research in the Corona time and saw literally nothing but hard work here in Germany. Our duty as DDocs to provide adequate channels for doctoral networking.
Already for a while, I have a nice idea of establishing a big annual sports championship between the faculties and institutes of TU Dresden. It could be soccer or volleyball or even a different game each year. From my point of view, this event could rally the big scientific family of TU Dresden.
Thank you for taking the time to consider my application.
Akshita Joshi
What did you study and since when have you been doing your doctorate at TU Dresden?
I have a Master's degree in "Cognitive Neuroscience" from my home university (University of Rajasthan). I started my doctorate in "Human medicine" from TU Dresden in October 2019.
Why do you want to run for the DDocs PhD Council?
I embrace my journey in Germany, which has given me a lot of confidence, experience and I would like to share it with my fellow mates. It would be a great honor if my learning can help others in any possible way. I feel being a part of DDocs will not only help me to be a team player but also enhance my project management skills. I promise to work on my duties and responsibilities with full will and dedication. I strongly believe that “Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power multiplied - Robert Boyce”.
What do you think are the biggest problems for doctoral students at TU Dresden?
A lot of universities give an opportunity to their doctoral students to gain experience in teaching. I believe especially for students who want to have their career in academics it is really important. Also, I hope to see in the future more career fairs where students get an opportunity to make career connections. Lastly, field-oriented courses in English for international students.
What would you change at TU Dresden if you could?
TU Dresden is one of the most reputed universities in the world. It offers a lot for its students. However, I would focus more on interdepartmental communications and possible collaboration opportunities, which lacks for now.
Hendrik Malte Wenk
My name is Malte and I studied history right here at the TU in Dresden. I’m writing my dissertation since 2018 about community police officers in the GDR. I want to run for the DDocs to help doctoral students to find good conditions for their own scientific projects at our university. The Covid-Crisis doesn’t make it easier to find a postgraduate position and the pandemic also pressures those students who have a scholarship. Therefore I want to give the woes and worries of the doctoral students a voice. A big problem at our university is the necessity to finance yourself mainly from third-party funds. As a result, doctoral students — who are trapped in a very insecure and complicated intermediate phase when starting their dissertation — are confronted with severe existential worries. The TU has to get better here.
Lara Maliske
Before I started my PhD, I studied psychology at the University of Bremen. Since the beginning of 2019, I am now doing my PhD at the Chair of Clinical Psychology and Behavioral Neuroscience, where I am working among other things on how social processes are organized at the network level in the brain. During my time studying in Bremen, I have always advocated for student’s interests and thus tried to shape a more open, inclusive and participatory university community. Last year, as part of the 6. DDocs, I had the opportunity to continue this commitment in Dresden, among others as a member of the extended senate and as a PhD representative on the executive board of the Graduate Academy. Through the Corona pandemic, the problems that many doctoral students face have been greatly highlighted and amplified. I would like to continue to use the platform of the PhD Council to advocate for the interests of PhD students in Dresden, such as reconciling a doctorate with family or care responsibilities, reducing precarious working conditions and structural discrimination against.
I think the most acute hurdle for many PhD students in Dresden is the Corona pandemic, or its impact on everyday life and PhD conditions. Be it that urgently needed material is not accessible, experiments cannot be performed, or research trips cannot be started, or other factors that make working at home not or only partially possible (lack of childcare, lack of equipment, psychological stress). Apart from the Corona pandemic, a major problem is also still in the science system itself: structural disadvantage, steep hierarchical structures within the science system that enable abuse of power, precarious working conditions, just to name a few. In the past year that I have been part of the DDocs, a number of processes have already been implemented that address these problems, but there is still a lot to be done that we can only address in the context of the entire university. I would be happy to continue to accompany and shape these processes in the coming year as part of the DDocs. If I could, I would create working and study conditions for all university members that respected everyone’s individual situation, so that the university would be even more of an open, supportive space in which all of its members could develop freely.
Laura Meißner
My name is Laura Meißner and I studied biochemistry and biophysics at the University of Bayreuth. In 2019 I moved to Dresden and started my PhD at the Center for Molecular and Cellular Engineering (CMCB/B CUBE). I am decoding how molecular motors orchestrate the complicated process of cell division.
Networking is an integral part of science and different disciplines foster each other. Thus, I want to strengthen the doctoral council as networking platform.
The Corona pandemic is an exceptional time for everyone – and added challenges to the PhD. I want to support other PhD students by finding opportunities for flexible timing and funding.
I would be happy to become part of the council and represent the interests of PhD students.
Mark Schöne
One of the keys to academic and personal growth is a strong network of fellow graduate students, especially during the occassionally exhausting times of PhD studies. Through personal conversations we inspire each other beyond the limits of our research domains, we share our worries, and we find friends who support us during the PhD and beyond.
During my master’s degree in theoretical physics at the University of Cambridge, I was introduced to the interdisciplinary communities of the collegiate university. There, graduate students of all fields gather for social activities like dinners, bar evenings, quiz nights, or debates on a weekly basis. This community spirit carried me though a demanding program, and I found many friends on the way through.
Since the start of my PhD on machine learning in October 2020, I miss all these opportunities to gather with PhD students from different fields. The covid pandemic poses a serious limitation to networking. Still, I am convinced that we as PhD students are capable of developing a strong graduate community at TU Dresden, even under these circumstances.
Specifically, I want to establish a platform for networking under pandemic restrictions. Here, PhD students could sign-up to be randomly assigned to frequently changing small groups for having lunch, after-work drinks, or hiking. Of course with respect to the covid measurements in place. As soon as infection rates drop significantly and vaccination progresses, we should also evaluate options for networking events in larger groups. Something that especially drives me is the welcoming of new graduate students. For this purpose, I want to establish welcoming-weeks in October and April, similar to the typical freshers weeks for undergraduate students.
Let us courageously work towards a strong graduate community!