Graduate Center Newsletter

In the upcoming 2026/27 winter semester, a wide range of exciting and practical workshops will once again be offered to doctoral students. These workshops provide participants with valuable opportunities to develop their skills in a sustainable and practical way in areas related to their doctorate.

The following workshops will be offered in the winter semester 26/27:

• September 3 | September 4, 2026
  Academic Writing
  Online seminar with Dr. Carrie Dohe
• September 9, 2026
  On the Path to a Professorship at a University of Applied Sciences
  Online Seminar with Dr. Ulrike Preißler
• October 9, 2026
  Starting a Business Based on Your Doctorate
  In-Person Seminar with Prof. Dr. Fabian Dittrich
• December 16 | December 17, 2026
  Earning a Ph.D.—and then what?
  In-person seminar with Prof. Dr. Martin Zierold
• January 21, 2027
  Advanced Course
  In-person seminar with Dr. Sabrina Raffenberg and Iris Bosold-Grund
• February 2 | February 9, 2027
  AI in Research
  Hybrid seminar led by Dr. Maia George

Registration takes place in the respective ILIAS course(Opens in a new tab) . Doctoral students will receive the required password for registration via email.

In addition, doctoral candidates who are also employees at Fachhochschule Dortmund are especially encouraged to attend workshops offered by the Career Development Office.

Our annual report is now available for download on our website(Opens in a new tab) . In it, we highlight the work we’ve done over the past year, present the Kolleg in facts and figures, and provide an overview of past events and developments. We reflect on which events were particularly well-received and which elements were especially beneficial to our doctoral candidates.

We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who participated in or contributed to our events over the past year, supported us in our work, and provided us with valuable input. Your contributions, your ideas, and our exchanges with you significantly enrich and invigorate the work of the Graduate Center.

Once again this year, our summer festival took place at the Sonnenstraße location in conjunction with the SommerFHest for the entire Fachhochschule Dortmund on July 10.

In beautiful weather, the Graduate Center kicked off the stage program at 5:30 p.m. We had the pleasure of formally welcoming the new scholarship recipients and honoring our graduates. In addition, the winner of the 2026 Doctoral Award was announced and celebrated in style. Afterward, a band provided a relaxed atmosphere.

Things got particularly tricky at our booth: Visitors could try their hand at guessing the contents of our “guess the jar” game. The jar was filled with lots of decorative stones in FH orange. Anyone whose guess was close to the actual number of stones in the jar could choose between a cap, an FH stress ball, or a peppermint as a prize. We really enjoyed the lively participation of our guests.

Since 2022, the Friends of Fachhochschule Dortmund have been recognizing outstanding academic achievements with an annual doctoral award worth 1,000 euros. The award raises the profile of excellent research and honors collaborative dissertations that have been completed with top grades.

The doctorate prize is intended for researchers who have completed an outstanding collaborative doctorate. To this end, the application process was simplified for the 2026 call for applications. Previously, applicants had to apply on their own or through a nomination by their advisors. In the future, completed doctorates will be automatically included in the selection process upon achieving the required final grade. The prerequisite is that the doctorate was successfully completed in 2025 and received a grade of at least “magna cum laude.” The goal of the new procedure is to simplify the selection process and ensure that all graduates with the appropriate academic performance are automatically considered.

This year, the award goes to Dr. Henning Schäfer for his dissertation titled “Analysis of Unstructured Texts from Publications” from the Faculty of Computer Science. His doctorate was conducted in cooperation with the University of Duisburg-Essen and was supervised by Prof. Dr. Christoph Friedrich. Dr. Schäfer’s work stood out for its innovative approaches to AI methods for generating graphs from unstructured data in the medical field. This can lead to new diagnostic and treatment concepts as well as improved document classification. The doctoral award was presented to him during a ceremony at our summer festival.

We extend our warmest congratulations to Dr. Henning Schäfer on winning the doctoral award.

On September 17, 2026, the Graduate Center will host the DART Symposium in collaboration with interested doctoral candidates. The DART Symposium (“Dortmund Applied Research and Transfer”) will take place for the fifth time in 2026. This year’s theme is: “Shift Happens – Current Developments in AI, Sustainability, and Research Transfer.”

DART is a symposium by doctoral students for doctoral students, in which doctoral students not only help organize this major event but also present their research projects on various current scientific topics. In addition to keynote speakers, the program will feature presentations by doctoral students, a poster exhibition, tours of the faculties on Sonnenstraße, and the presentation of the “DART Award.”

Unlike previous editions, the upcoming symposium will not take place at the DASA, but in Lecture Hall A101 right here on our Sonnenstraße campus. This gives us the opportunity to integrate the symposium even more closely into the daily life of the university and the faculties located there. The call for abstracts generated many submissions, so participants can look forward to a diverse poster exhibition and exciting presentations by doctoral candidates.

Registration for the symposium is still open:https://www.fh-dortmund.de/transfer-forschung/Graduate Center/dart-2026.php(Opens in a new tab) 

Sustainability Week took place during the week of June 22–25, 2025, and was organized by the sustainability offices and the General Student Committees (AStA) of the Fachhochschule Dortmund and Arts and Dortmund Technical University, as well as by the Dortmund Student Services Association and the CampusForFuture university group.

As part of this event, the Graduate Center was represented with an information booth. Interested visitors could learn about pursuing a doctorate at Fachhochschule Dortmund. During one-on-one conversations, participants were able to discuss doctoral opportunities, sustainable research topics, and other important aspects of the doctorate.

Since 2021, the Graduate Center has been organizing the “Fachwissen zum Mittag” lecture series in cooperation with the library. This year, the event will once again offer practical insights into academic publishing. Experts from the Fachhochschule Dortmund and external speakers will shed light on key topics and current issues.

Each session lasts approximately 45 minutes and begins at 12:00 p.m., making it easy to fit into your lunch break. Participation is straightforward via Microsoft Teams. Afterward, there will be time for questions and sharing your own experiences.

The series is primarily aimed at (early-career) researchers at Fachhochschule Dortmund, but is also open to interested external participants.

In July, the topic of AI in the publication process was explored. Additional presentations will follow. Announcements of upcoming presentations and registration are available on the website https://www.fh-dortmund.de/microsite/bibliothek/fachwissen-zum-mittag.php.

The Doctoral Student Council regularly hosts a get-together to foster interdisciplinary networking among doctoral students. This event offers an opportunity to discuss the challenges of pursuing a doctorate in an informal setting and to connect with other doctoral students. Master’s students and those interested in pursuing a doctorate are also warmly welcome.
The next “Coffee & Cake” get-together is scheduled for November 3, 2026, at Café “Neues Schwarz.” The General Assembly of Doctoral Students will take place beforehand.

On January 13, 2027, new representatives for the doctoral student body will also be elected. Anyone interested is welcome to contact us at promotionskollegfh-dortmundde .

Each year, master’s degree graduates may apply for doctoral positions together with their supervising professors at Fachhochschule Dortmund. Funding is available for collaborative doctorates and doctorates under the doctoral regulations of the NRW Graduate Center for a total of 3 years, with a 50% position as a research assistant (pay grade 13 TV-L).

Doctoral candidates have until October 1, 2026, to apply. The call for applications can be found on our website under “Funding” (https://www.fh-dortmund.de/transfer-forschung/Graduate Center/foerderung.php(Opens in a new tab) ). The jury meeting will take place this year on November 27, 2026. To assist with preparing application materials, the Graduate Center will hold a consultation session on September 1, 2026, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. You can register for this event via ILIAS(Opens in a new tab) .

Doctoral candidates who have completed the structured workshop program of the Graduate Center and have finished their doctorate may apply for their certificate of completion. Obtaining the certificate of completion is mandatory for doctoral candidates in the doctoral support program. The certificate documents the competencies acquired as well as all the professional benefits of the program. It also certifies successful participation in the continuing education offerings across all four core modules. Upon request, interim certificates detailing the courses completed to date can be issued even while the doctoral candidate is still pursuing their degree. The certificate can be requested by sending an informal application, along with all required supporting documents, via email to promotionskollegfh-dortmundde  promotionskollegfh-dortmundde  . It is issued by the Rector’s Office of the Fachhochschule Dortmund.

Since being granted its own doctoral degree-granting authority (November 2022), the NRW Graduate Center (PK NRW) has become an established institution for doctorates at universities of applied sciences in North Rhine-Westphalia. This makes it possible to pursue a doctorate without a partner university. At Fachhochschule Dortmund as well, the doctorate offered through the PK NRW’s structured doctoral program continues to enjoy great popularity. Currently, 14 early-career researchers at Fachhochschule Dortmund are pursuing their doctorates under the PK NRW’s independent doctoral authority. In addition, nine professors from Fachhochschule Dortmund serve as full or associate members of the PK NRW.

In 2026, the PK NRW continued to expand its support for doctoral studies. The regularly advertised doctoral positions, as well as the diverse range of professional development and networking opportunities, support doctoral candidates on their academic career paths and strengthen cross-university exchange.

A special milestone in 2026 was the first graduation ceremony held in November, which honored the first completed doctoral studies and the academic achievements of the doctoral graduates. The steadily growing number of successfully completed doctorates underscores the successful development of the PK NRW and confirms the importance of the right to award doctorates independently for research at universities of applied sciences in North Rhine-Westphalia.

We would like to express our sincere thanks to the PK NRW and the participating universities for their dedicated collaboration and ongoing support of the doctoral candidates.

On June 12, we once again had a booth at the Open House. There, prospective students had the opportunity to have their questions about the doctorate answered. During the event, the Graduate Center in the Kostbar building at the EFS was able to have some exciting conversations with prospective students who are considering studying—and even pursuing a doctorate—at Fachhochschule Dortmund.

The “Leadership Skills” certificate program is offered regularly by the Career Development Office and the Graduate Center at Fachhochschule Dortmund. It is aimed at doctoral candidates and research assistants, with the goal of imparting fundamental leadership skills for roles within the university as well as for positions in Business Studies and academia.

The next session is planned for late 2027 / early 2028. As soon as the necessary information is available, it will be published on our website at https://www.fh-dortmund.de/transfer-forschung/Graduate Center/zertifikat-fuehrungskompetenzen.php(Opens in a new tab) . Feel free to check back regularly.