The Graduate Research Training Group of the Institute for Physics was established within the previous Collaborative Research Center (SFB) 652 in 2009. It was then continued on Institute budget since 2017. Since 2022, it is now part of the new Collaborative Research Center (SFB) LiMatI.

The Graduate Research Training Group is headed by a speaker and 1-3 co-speaker from among the doctoral researchers. They are elected by the majority of the attending members at a (bi-)annually meeting.

The speakers organise the doctoral seminar, the annual graduate workshop and cooperate with the other groups at the institute, e.g., the students' committee, for events. They represent the interests of the PhD students towards work group leaders and other faculty.

The speakers are supported by two members of the teachers' assembly of the Institute. They serve as confidant persons and simultaneously as board of the GRK. Speaker team members and board members meet half-annually to report on and to discuss ongoing and planned activities. To inform all members of the Institute on the activities of the GRK, a newsletter including all contributions by PhD students will distributed via email at the end of every semester.

While the PhD program at our Institute for Physics promotes various competences in the field of analytical-scientific thinking, and enables the acquisition of experience in a specific field of research, the GRK offers broad personal development opportunities. In the GRK, various areas of teamwork skills can be strengthened, such as communication, project organization, project leadership, and others, especially when serving as a speaker.

Therefore, the additional workload from being a spokesperson not only pays off in successful events that improve the quality of our doctoral education - being a spokesperson also strengthens the personality skillset and the ability to work in teams outside your field of expertise. Finally, working as a speaker is a fun way to give something back to the institute and fellow doctoral students.

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