What we offer

Group of early-career scientistswww.kit.edu

Early-career researchers who come to KIT’s Campus Alpin to start a doctorate or take up a postdoc position will discover an international and multi-disciplinary community, an excellent research environment and the laid-back Bavarian town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen with its beautiful mountain scenery, where they can go for hiking, climbing and skiing among other things. Currently, IFU hosts about 70 doctoral researchers and postdocs from various disciplines such as physics, meteorology, geography, chemistry, biology, landscape ecology and environmental sciences. They investigate various aspects of climate and land use change in one of IFU’s three research departments and eleven research groups. 

The IFU Graduate Program takes care of qualification and career development of its early-career researchers and thereby keeps talent management a high priority at KIT’s Campus Alpin. Our vision is to train the next generation of climate change scientists and, thus, provide our young colleagues with networking possibilities, training and career development opportunities, and overall support in order that they have a good start into their career, academic and non-academic.

We offer:

  • a range of talent management activities, both in scientific skills, data science skills, professional skills, in-house and online,

  • exchange and discussion possibilities, e.g. at IFU’s monthly PhD seminar,

  • activities and services concerning career orientation and the Helmholtz-wide COMPASS mentoring program,

  • individual career coaching, e.g. with regard to career development, next career steps in or outside academia, third-party funding and grant application,

  • a supervision and quality concept to create ideal conditions for the doctoral process,

  • onboarding to help new colleagues settle in right from the start,

  • general support and activities to ensure early career researchers wellbeing.