Gradschool Newsletter // Docs & Postdocs

Dear doctoral candidates and postdocs,

welcome to our December issue of the Graduate School Newsletter // DOCS & POSTDOCS!

In this issue, LOOKING INWARDS refers to the comprehensvie counselling services offered by the Graduate School and Leuphana's Personnell Development for academic staff.

In LOOKING OUTWARDS we refer to the start of applications for the German Study Award 2024, the *To be honest conference of the German Scholars Organisation and the DAAD's PRIME funding programme for postdocs.

In MEET OUR RESEARCHERS, Rudo Femuko gives an insight into her doctoral thesis on refugee entrepreneurship.

WHAT'S GOING ON @LEUPHANA? looks back at the first Leuphana Dissertation Awards ceremony on 25 November and provides an overview of available places in workshops organized by the Personell Development for academic staff in December and January.

If you have any suggestions for our newsletter, please send an email to: graduate.community@leuphana.de.

We look forward to your feedback!

Best regards,

The Graduate School Team

Looking Inwards

The Graduate School has recently started offering personal counselling for academics in the qualification phase again. The Graduate School counsellor, Dr. Nadine Dablé, can help you with questions about your expectations, goals and prospects as well as strategic planning for further career steps - especially if you are also considering a career outside academia. You can make an appointment for a counselling session (in person, via Zoom or by phone) here.
For all scientists in the qualification phase who are pursuing an academic career path, the Personnell Development for Academic Staffs offers individual and confidential counselling sessions. Dr. Hannah Jacobmeyer will be happy to answer any questions you may have about an academic career, its opportunities and challenges, and to help you reflect on your own career path in academia. Further information can be found here.

Looking Outwards

Every year, the Körber Foundation honours the best doctoral graduates from all disciplines with the German Academic Award. The focus is on the social significance of research. The closing date for applications is 01.03.2024. Further information here (website in German only).

The German Scholars Organisation is hosting the virtual conference "*To be Honest" on 7 and 8 December on the topic of "Inconvenient Truths in Academia?". Further information and free registration here.

The PRIME programme (Postdoctoral Researchers International Mobility Experience) offers a special scholarship format for postdocs of all nationalities. The funding includes an 18-month stay abroad. The DAAD is offering an information event on the PRIME funding programme on 6 December at 5 pm. Registration here.

Meet Our Researchers

Three questions for ... Rudo Femuko

Doctoral Research Group: Entrepreneurship, Management & Innovation

Contact: rudo.femuko@stud.leuphana.de

1. "And what are you writing about again?" At a flat-sharing party, how would you summarise your research project in three sentences without using technical terms?

1. My research aims to promote refugee entrepreneurship and facilitate refugees in coping up with German digital business system
2. Understanding how refugees are adapting to the Germany business system: how is their pathways / journey to entrepreneurship, what kind of businesses do they do, what motivates them, their challenges or failures in copying with digitalized and techno-driven business system
3. What contextual entrepreneurship programs (interventions points) should be developed to facilitate refuge transition into the German business market.

2. "Writings the world desperately needs!" To what extent does your dissertation fill existing research gaps in the professional community?

It builds on from the topic of refuges entrepreneurs and their potential as agents for social and economic change in our society by zooming into the concept of refuge entrepreneurship through the lens of digitalization, and developing a conceptual framework to link refugee’s entrepreneurship and digitalization.

3. What links do you see to your dissertation topic in practice?

My project brings collaboration between Leuphana, local incubators and local social integration organizations by collaboratively designing a conducive entrepreneurial ecosystem that promotes the incubation or refuges entrepreneurs in and around Lüneburg District.

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If you are interested in presenting your research project in our short interview in GRADSCHOOL NEWLSETTER DOCS & POSTDOCS, please write to: graduate.community@leuphana.de.

What's Going On @ Leuphana?

This year, the Leuphana Dissertation Awards were given to a total of eight prizewinners for the first time. The award ceremony took place on 25 November as part of the graduation ceremony in the Libeskind Building. The Leuphana Dissertation Prizes are now awarded annually on the recommendation of the five faculties to doctoral candidates at Leuphana who have produced outstanding research work. Further information on the dissertation prizes and this year's winners can be found here.

Places available! In the winter months, there are also a variety of workshops for doctoral candidates and postdocs offered by Leuphana's Personnell Development for academic staff. On 19.01.2024 there are still places available in the workshop "Black Box Berufung" (offered in German); on 25/26 January and 14 February there are still places available in "Navigating the Shark Tank. Power Games and Micropolitical Competence in Academia". Both events are offered online.

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