IRTG-PROTEOFORuM

IRTG doctoral students are expected to participate in the CRC seminar series in which internationally leading scientists working on CRC-relevant topics will present their work. IRTG students should assist in inviting speakers in coorperation with their supervisors. The guest speakers in the CRC seminar series will be assigned to one or two PhD candidates who will chair the seminar and organise the ‘meet the speaker’ session in which the external experts will be invited to engage with the students to discuss their scientific work and career plans in an informal setting after the seminar.

Each doctoral student must attend at least one (international) conference in which they present their respective data during the course of their graduate studies as these are integral parts of scientific communication and exchange. Financial support for conference costs can be individually requested at the CRC and IRTG office. In addition, students are encouraged to attend the annual Plant Science Student Conference (PSSC) organised alternating by graduate students of the IPK Gatersleben and IPB Halle. Students must also attend the international meeting organised by the CRC in 2027.

Bianual CRC retreats will take place locally (Halle/Saale, Gatersleben, Leipzig) or at an external conference venue for approx. two days. Participation and active contribution to the regular retreats is expecteted for all CRC members. IRTG graduate students and CRC postdocs will further be expected to organise a CRC summer symposium (instead of a second retreat) presumably held in 2026.

PhD students can engage in various scientific outreach activities to promote science education and awareness among different audiences. They can participate in ‘open science’ events such as the annual ‘Lange Nacht der Wissenschaften’, organise interactive workshops for high school students in the framework of the ‘girls and boys day’, participate in ‘science slams’, create science-themed blogs or podcasts. Public outreach activities can highlight key scientific concepts or make complex ideas more accessible to a broader audience. Students should coordinate their activities with their immediate supervisor and IRTG and CRC coordinators to ensure a code-of-conduct and crediting of activities.

Since teaching is an important part of an academic scientific career, PhD students may engage in different teaching activities (participation in practical course supervision, supervision of Bachelor thesis work, etc.) as long as the time investment does not infringe significantly on their regular PhD thesis work.

PhD candidates and their respective thesis committee member (see below) have to sign a supervision agreement which stipulates the responsibilities of both parties to ensure the best possible support for doctoral candidates towards the completion of dissertation research and successful conferral of the doctoral degree. Irrespective of the home institution at which the research work takes place, the doctoral regulations of the respective university and faculty continue to apply regardless of the SNP2Prot supervision agreement and take precedence over it in case of conflict. The supervision agreement must be filed with the IRTG coordinator within 6 weeks of the start of the PhD candidates´ contract.

Each doctoral student must be accompanied by a thesis advisory committee (TAC). The TAC plays a pivotal role in guiding and supporting PhD students throughout their research journey and ensuring an efficient ‘roadmap’ to complete their PhD thesis in the given time frame. The TAC includes the direct and associated PIs (plant and protein/bioinformatics science) of the students’ project and at least one additional mentor who may also come from outside the CRC. In addition, postdoctoral researchers of the CRC are encouraged to join TACs. The doctoral candidate is encouraged to select their committee independently within the first four months of their thesis work but thesis advisors will aid and support the selection if desired. The general TAC responsibilities are stated in the supervision agreement which needs to be signed by all TAC members, the PhD candidate and filed with the IRTG coordinator. If needed, alterations in TAC compositions during the PhD project development can be made (e.g., adding a new member), providing that these changes are filed with the IRTG coordinator. The TAC will meet twice a year to discuss the project progress, the current ‘location’ on the ‘roadmap to PhD’, and the annual written report of the doctoral candidate which is to be handed in prior to the meeting. Necessary adjustments of the report can be made according to the outcome of the TAC meeting prior to filing with the IRTG coordinator.

Each PhD student must prepare an annual report which needs to be filed with their respective TAC members and the IRTG and CRC coordinators no later than 3 months after completion of the respective year. The format of the annual report changes each year to account for the different stages of project development and to promote efficient data processing and writing with regard to completing their doctoral thesis and summarising results for publication in scientific journals.

First year report will focus on summarising results only. Here, the main goal is to ensure that the PhD students can prepare high quality scientific figures with appropriate figure captions. Students must focus on selection of suitable data presentation, correct statistical methods, correct presentation and description of qualitative data (e.g., Western blots, microscopy images), etc. to ensure that they comply to the high demands of sound scientific data presentation from the start.

Second year report must be prepared as a manuscript for publication of data. Here the aim is to focus on the future publication of the data. At this point, the report should be written in a manuscript style eventhough it is not required that doctoral students have sufficient data for high quality publication already. This will highlight the areas in which data is insufficient and thus help to structure the work in year three in order to fill the gaps required for publication and thus promote efficient project development.

Third year report will focus on structuring of the doctoral thesis. Here the PhD students presents the outline of their thesis (i.e., table of contents style), write a short introduction to their project work, show at least ten figures with major results, outline the outstanding questions and which final experiments are to be conducted.

Annual reports will be submitted to the TAC members prior to their annual meeting and should be adjusted based on the discussion and agreements with the TAC prior to filing the report with the CRC and IRTG coordinators.