Doctoral Research Group Engineering

Product and process innovation, business informatics, resource conservation and resource management, industrial engineering: our research questions are geared towards the current and future development of products and production processes. Production systems, intelligent components, hardware-oriented intelligence, production-oriented information systems and networked production are just as much a focus of our research as the planning and management of systems and production processes. Together with a wide range of national and international business partners, university institutions and through EU-funded projects, we conduct targeted research on an interdisciplinary basis, thereby forming a highly qualified scientific foundation.

Areas of Research

The Faculty of Management and Technology offers opportunities to explore topics in the fields of engineering, natural sciences and technology. The focus of previous doctoral research activities at the Institute for Production Technology and Systems (IPTS) can be summarised as follows:

  • Intelligent systems
  • Production automation
  • Industrial manufacturing technologies
  • Control and drive technology
  • Robotics, autonomous vehicles
  • Process and production measurement technology
  • Sensor and detector development
  • Hardware-oriented software development
  • Digital factory
  • Simulation and modelling
  • Control technology
  • Technical optics
  • Electronics
  • Micro and nanotechnology
  • New materials
  • Bio/medical technology

Other topics related to the Dr. rer. nat. or Dr.-Ing. degrees can be studied in the Technical Sciences programme.

Doctoral degree

Within the context of this doctoral programme, the Faculty of Management and Technology awards the following doctoral degrees depending on the subject-specific focus of the dissertation:

  • Dr. rer. nat.
  • Dr.-Ing.

Spokesperson

  • Prof. Dr.-Ing. Arthur Seibel

Doctoral Supervisors

  • Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ghada Bouattour
  • Prof. Dr. Anthimos Georgiadis
  • Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jens Heger
  • Prof. Dr. Ing. Norbert Hort
  • Prof. Dr.-Ing. Benjamin Klusemann
  • Prof. Dr.-Ing. Noomane Ben Khalifa
  • Prof. Dr.-Ing. Paolo Mercorelli
  • Prof. Dr.-Ing. Arthur Seibel
  • Prof. Dr. Brit-Maren Block

Activities

Current Disputations

Friday, 15 August 2025, 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. | Room C12.105: Disputation as part of the doctoral procedure of Dr.-Ing. Niklaas Becker on the topic ‘Fatigue life enhancement by residual stress engineering in refill friction stir spot welds: Experimental investigation and industrial application’.

Recently completed doctoral dissertations

  • Alexander Rokoss: Lieferzeitbestimmung in der auftragsbezogenen Werkstattfertigung mittels maschinellen Lernens
  • Zina Kallien: Investigation of friction surfacing of an Al-Mg alloy in view of solid-state additive manufacturing

Doctoral Courses

As a doctoral candidate at Leuphana, you not only write your dissertation, but also participate in the interdisciplinary doctoral courses to the extent of 30 credit points, which include (inter)disciplinary colloquia (Research Forum I and Research Forum II) and furthermore comprises four interdisciplinary modules on research ethics, research methods, scientific practice and current perspectives on science. Please find more information about Leuphana's doctoral courses here.

Admission

If you wish to pursue your doctorate at Leuphana, you must be enrolled as doctoral student. Information about admission to the doctorate at Leuphana and the application procedure can be found here.

Leuphana Graduate School offers advice and coaching to academics in the qualification phase. The Graduate School's advisor will be happy to support you in questions of decision-making, challenges in the course of your doctorate, and career planning and development. You can find more information about the counselling and coaching services here.

Testimonials

Interview with Kristin Müller

Kristin Müller started her doctorate at Leuphana in the winter semester 2022/23. Here she reports on her impressions from the Doctoral Research Group in Engineering.

©Leuphana/Ciara Charlotte Burgess
[Translate to Englisch:] "Nach meinem Master wollte ich nicht mehr studieren, sondern erstmal die Industriewelt kennenlernen. Heute ist die Promotion für mich weniger ein Studium, sondern eher ein normaler Job, der mir viel Freiheit in der Forschung bietet, die es so in der Industrie nicht gibt."

Why did you decide to do a doctorate at Leuphana?

I decided to do a doctorate because I wanted to work scientifically and do research more freely than in my previous job in industry. I chose Leuphana because I expected a different way of thinking, especially when it came to sustainability. In addition, the field of engineering at Leuphana is still very young and in the process of being established, so I saw an opportunity here to be able to play a greater role in shaping it.

When did you first think about doing a doctorate?

During my Master's degree at RWTH Aachen University. At that time, however, I hadn't yet found "THE" topic for my doctorate. Besides, at that time I didn't want to study any more, but wanted to get to know the industrial world first. Today, the doctorate is less of a study for me and more of a normal job, which offers me a lot of freedom in research that is not available in industry. An industrial company naturally focuses on research for its own company or for its own products. At the university, the focus is not on the benefit of an individual company, but on advancing the state of the art as a whole. This creates a completely different social obligation for research and I can achieve a greater reach with my research results and bring about more change.

What is different now from when you did your Master's degree?

Everything - I completed my Master's degree at RWTH Aachen University in 2017 and then gained a lot of practical experience in industry. In the meantime, I have understood that today you can only really think freely about sustainability at university, as companies usually pursue their profitability as their main goal. Furthermore, I find it very enriching for my research to bring in my practical experience and to deal with it scientifically.

What do you benefit from most in the doctoral phase?

From the many opportunities on the one hand through the resulting freedom in research and on the other hand through the many opportunities for my personal development.

What would you say is different at Leuphana than at other universities?

I don't even know where to start... An important point for me is the supervision ratio in the field of engineering at Leuphana. In our team, we currently have 5 research assistants who are supervised by one professor. At other universities, one professor supervises around 100 doctoral candidates. So I get much closer supervision from my professor here than at other universities.

Another special feature of Leuphana in my eyes is that the topic of sustainability is a major focus of the university and is also focused on in the engineering sciences. Leuphana set this focus very early on and thus has a pioneering role and also a completely different self-image on this topic.

What expectations do you have of doctoral courses?

I expect to learn things that will support me in my doctorate and to meet people with whom I can critically question things.

Do you have plans to go abroad for a research stay?

I don't have any concrete plans yet, but I can imagine it very well. I already did an internship at a Spanish research institute during my Bachelor's degree. That was a great experience. So I think that another research stay abroad during my doctoral period would be very inspiring for me and my research.

Do you already have plans for what to do after your doctorate?

I have some ideas, but no concrete plans. There is a lot going on in the job market at the moment, so I want to remain flexible and not fixate on a concrete plan.  

Should it be an academic career after the doctorate?

I can well imagine it. I definitely want to continue to do sustainable research and advance the field of sustainable production and rethink things in the process. I also want to reach as many people as possible with my work. That works very well in the working environment of a university.

Thank you very much for the interview!