"Germany and the new Europe in the age of demarcations" - Graduate Network
- Introducing the graduate network -
[1. what is a graduate network?]
[2. what is the topic of the graduate network].
[3. who are the members of the graduate network].
[4. how is the work within the graduate network organized?]
[5. what does the graduate network offer]?
1. what is a graduate network?
The International Graduate Network further develops the model of the International Research Training Group. It bundles the competencies on a topic in a flexible but reliably coordinated cooperation of several partners. Internationality and flexibility are therefore two outstanding defining characteristics. The third is an integrated research concept, which is developed jointly by the partners involved in the network and continuously developed in cooperation with the research training group members. The fourth characteristic of the graduate network is the self-evident demand for outstanding achievements.
2 What is the topic of the graduate network?
The Graduate Network is entitled "Germany and the New Europe in the Age of Dissolution of Borders". The thematic guiding concept for the interdisciplinary work is the term 'border/delimitation'. This can be used to describe not only the thematic field of the emergence and disappearance of political borders, but also social, economic and cultural processes of exclusion and inclusion and the construction of identity and difference.
Certainly, the processes of the dissolution of borders and the renegotiation of identity and difference, of value orientation and future options are a global social phenomenon; however, Germany can serve as an exemplary case of these developments, not least because the formal abolition of a border after 1989 forced a very open and direct confrontation with the new conditions in political, cultural, legal, economic and social life.
However, it should not be forgotten that there were also threshold periods before 1989, such as the two world wars and the respective post-war periods, which are of value to the subject area of the graduate network.
3 Who are the members of the Graduate Network?
The Graduate Network is supported by the Central European Center of the TU Dresden and four DAAD Centers for German and European Studies. These are
- the Canadian Centre for German and European Studies at York University in Toronto
- the Institute for European Studies at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver
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the Duitsland Instituut in Amsterdam
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the Center for German and European Studies at St. Kliment Ohridski University in Sofia
- and the Center for German and European Studies (ZDES) at St. Petersburg State University and Bielefeld University
Other members can participate in the network for one or more funding phases at the invitation of the project management group.
Participation takes place through the secondment of doctoral candidates and through involvement in the network of scientists.
In addition to scientific knowledge, which is to be reflected in outstanding dissertations, the declared aim of the graduate network is above all to promote exchange between knowledge cultures - especially with the countries of Central and South Eastern Europe.
4 How is the work within the graduate network organized?
The conceptual development and organizational management of the network is the task of a steering group, in which the partners of the project management group are each represented by one participant, as well as the DAAD. The steering group discusses and decides on all matters relating to the International Graduate Network - from the co-optation of additional partners and the mentoring of individual graduates to the budget.
The ongoing business between meetings is managed by the Central European Center at TU Dresden as project coordinator.
The graduate network is based on the work of the graduates, who benefit from the constant interdisciplinary and international exchange within the network. The graduates receive internationally coordinated supervision, which results from the individual supervision at the partner institutions and a complementary range of doctoral studies in Dresden.
Over the two-year period, the graduates complete two stays of four months (in the first year) or two months (in the second year) at the Central European Center at TU Dresden. This transition from a virtual network connected via the Internet to a jointly operating college in Dresden is of particular importance.
For the Dresden attendance phase, a teaching program will be developed that responds to the thematic interests of the graduates and ensures their own participation. It is not intended to be a sequence of lectures and seminars with a tight timetable, but rather intensive work phases with experts (from the network, from other institutions in Germany and other countries), joint workshops and an annual graduate conference, which will conclude with a public presentation of the results achieved.
Overall, the aim is for the graduate network to contribute not only doctoral theses, but also a wide range of contributions to the scientific discussion in a rapid and sustainable manner.
5 What does the graduate network offer?
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Funding for two stays abroad lasting several months (for foreign fellows in Dresden, for German participants in one of the partner institutes)
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International and interdisciplinary exchange within your own research topic
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Participation in international scientific conferences
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Joint organization of a scientific conference in Dresden by the fellows
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Publication of the dissertation as part of a publication series of the network
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Support with English publication for selected dissertations
6 Who can participate?
Each of the institutions supporting the network can send one graduate student per year to the network who is already enrolled in a doctoral program. In addition, doctoral candidates from other universities, especially from Southeast Europe, will be integrated, so that from the summer semester of 2008, approximately seven doctoral candidates will participate each year.
The criteria for selection are
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Outstanding achievements
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A convincing exposé
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Suitability of the topic for interdisciplinary cooperation in the respective program section
7 How can you apply?
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Enrollment in a doctoral program at the respective university
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Proficiency in the working language German
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Submission of a detailed synopsis of the planned work with a work plan to one of the project sponsors by December 1st of each year; the synopsis should in any case also explain the possibilities of interdisciplinary cooperation.
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Participation in a selection interview at the respective institution
Further information can be found on the Graduate Network homepage
Contact:
Jutta Müller, M.A.
Central European Center
TUD Dresden University of Technology
01062 Dresden
Phone: 0351-46337866
E-mail: