The Integrated Research Training Group (in short IRTG) was newly established in July 2020 with the beginning of the second phase of CRC 1211 “Earth-Evolution at the dry limit”. The IRTG offers a qualification programme open to early-career scientists working in or closely associated to CRC 1211 related topics. The IRTG in a nutshell – please see this poster:

Overall aim of the IRTG is educating a generation of truly interdisciplinary doctoral candidates in the fields of Earth and Life Sciences.

Further aims are:

• Enhance scientific discourse and communication between IRTG members and with other CRC members to support interdisciplinary approaches within the CRC
• Offer PhD students project-related training
• Support bottom-up initiatives and grant applications

The IRTG aims to support the doctoral candidates of the CRC 1211 (figure 1) in their development toward scientific independence, and prepare them for positions in academia, higher administration, consulting and public relations.

Figure 1: Role of IRTG within the CRC 1211

For this purpose, the IRTG offers a qualification programme consisting of a scientific training programme, an internal grants programme to foster international co-operation and networking, and support activities initiated by the doctoral candidates themselves. Furthermore, the IRTG builds on local graduate schools and/or graduate academies (figure 2), which offer non-project-related transferable skills training, and shall complement the project-related and topic-specific training of the IRTG with a variety of offers.

Figure 2: Role of the IRTG in the context of institutional structured postgraduate education

Together, they aim at educating a generation of truly interdisciplinary doctoral candidates in the fields of Earth and Life Sciences, a combination of growing importance in the course of ongoing and accelerated global change.

The IRTG will complement the training provided by the local graduate schools with a range of project-specific, interdisciplinary and specialist topics (Table 1). Core parts of the Scientific Training Programme will be compulsory for all IRTG members (Table 2). The remainder will be elective, but every IRTG member must absolve at least 10 full days from the IRTG curriculum, including at least three Research Training Days (RTDs). Because the IRTG members will be based at different institutions most IRTG training events will be planned either in connection to other CRC meetings or retreats, or in a clustered manner.

Research training days (RTD). RTDs are a one-day format with intensive and hands-on training in small groups. RTDs will be offered by the PIs and experienced postdocs of the CRC. They are elective for the doctoral candidates, but the IRTG members will have to attend a minimum of three of them, to ensure that they gain insight and knowledge across the range of scientific subjects within the CRC.

Specialist training. The IRTG programme is tailored to the specific needs of the doctoral candidates, which will be identified jointly with the Thesis Advisory Committees (TACs) and through regular surveys and feedback organised by the IRTG coordinator. Specialist training can include language courses and specialist technical courses (e.g. on high-level laboratory equipment and software) and will enhance both the doctoral candidates’ skills and their employability. Whenever the CRC cannot offer the relevant expertise, the IRTG intends to fund members’ participation in external courses. Members will have to write a short proposal to apply for this funding (see section Mobility Grants).

The IRTG offers various funding opportunities for students and its members:

Bottom-up initiatives:

The IRTG supports activities/proposals by the group of PhD students such as retreats, workshops, meetings, inviting experts & guest speakers. Aim is to enhance the scientific discourse and direct communication between the IRTG members and other CRC members and to further familiarize them with interdisciplinary approaches used in CRC 1211.

Internal grants programme to support international co-operation:

To apply for the following Fellowship, Travel and Mobility Grants, a short, written proposal will be required. The proposal needs to be addressed to the IRTG Board and can be discussed with the IRTG coordinator in advance.

Fellowship Grants:
The IRTG offers in total 3 fellowship grants for visiting doctoral candidates, advanced master students or recent master graduates from co-operating institutions in Chile and Namibia. Aims are the strengthening of co-operations, especially with IRTG members, and the initiation of potential new collaborative projects. The maximum duration per person is 12 months; the fellowship can be split into two shorter periods (e.g. to allow a return to the home country for fieldwork or family affairs). Two return flights will be covered. The height of their monthly stipend will depend on recipients’ level of experience (qualification or doctoral grant). The IRTG curriculum will be open to visiting fellows.

Travel Grants:
The IRTG offers travel grants for incoming (potential) doctoral candidates and
master students for partaking in parts of the Scientific Training Programme, such as the
summer school and lab/field courses.

Mobility Grants:
The IRTG supports lab visits, short-term stays abroad and specialist training for IRTG members. These grants will heighten the visibility of IRTG members in the international scientific community and support the development of professional skills.

Please log in to reach further information. This page can only be read by IRTG members of the CRC 1211.

Local graduate schools:

• Graduate School of Geosciences (GSGS), University of Cologne
• Graduate School for Biological Sciences (GSfBS), University of Cologne
• Bonn-Cologne Graduate School for Physics and Astronomy (BCGS)
• Heidelberg Biosciences International Graduate School (HBIGS)