Structured doctoral training within iGRAD

iGRAD basic curriculum in transferable skills:

For all doctoral candidates which are not already members of an iGRAD institutional member iGRAD offers a basic curriculum in transferable skills. This program contains three two-day courses in profession-relevant transferable skills. These courses are obligatory and must be completed in parallel to the PhD project. The courses consist of:

1. One course from the field presentation/communication/rhetoric
2. One course from the field project management/self management/organization
   or
   one course from the field teaching and learning/didactics
3. One course from an optional field which can be chosen from the annual iGRAD-program

Furthermore an introduction into the »rules of good scientific practice« is mandatory. Starting in 2010 this shall be regularly offered in form of an initial (introductory) course by iGRAD.
For all doctoral fellows being members of an iGRAD institutional member this basic curriculum is usually already included in the respective qualification programs and is therefore not an additional curriculum.

Scientific supervision of iGRAD's doctoral candidates:

Next to their main PhD supervisor the doctoral fellows of iGRAD need at least one additional supervisor for their ongoing PhD project.

Status of doctoral candidates and good scientific practice:

Doctoral fellows of iGRAD are members of the international scientific community with commensurate rights and obligations. All iGRAD members are obliged to follow the "fundamental principles for safeguarding good scientific practice at the Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf." These principles were published in "Amtliche Bekanntmachungen der HHU D, 14/2002" and are available via:
www.uni-duesseldorf.de/HHU/RS/Meldungen_Dokumente/Rektorat/20050818_AB_14_2002.pdf

Further quality recommendations by iGRAD:

• Aspiring a maximum duration of three-year for the PhD projects.
• Preparation of doctoral researchers as future executives being responsibly to act even beyond disciplinary and national frontiers.
• Advancement of quality and diversity of doctoral education.
• Promotion of interdisciplinary cooperations and interdisciplinary PhD research projects.
• Promotion of extraordinarily qualified students by fast access to the PhD phase.