Opening Days 2025: Welcome to the Graduate Community

2025-09-29 Under this year's motto ‘Research >> Cooperation’, the Graduate School Opening Days 2025 will focus on interdisciplinary dialogue and discourse on cooperation in academia. The university community is cordially invited to the ceremonial welcome for new Master's and doctoral students on 9 October 2025, starting at 2 p.m. in the forum of the central building. Dr Katja Lasch (Head of Division Transregional Scholarship Programmes / Director DAAD Regional Office New Delhi (2019-2025), German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)) will speak on cross-border cooperation.

©Leuphana/Teresa Halbreiter
In panels, workshops and discussion rounds, students will work with experts to develop approaches for sustainable and fair research cooperation.

Over a period of five days – from 1 to 10 October 2025 – the Graduate School aims to welcome its new students and work with them to develop a research perspective: In panels, workshops and discussion rounds, students will work with experts to develop approaches for sustainable and fair research cooperation – also with a view to global connections between the northern and southern hemispheres. The aim of the Opening Days is to sensitise students to the importance of cooperation in academia at an early stage and to give them their first insights into the Leuphana graduate community.

Dr Katja Lasch has been invited to hold an impulse during the academic discourse on 9 October 2025. With her many years of experience in international university and research cooperation as well as in research marketing, she will share her insights on current challenges and potentials of cross-border cooperation. Afterwards, she will discuss opportunities and perspectives for research-based cooperation in a trialogue with the participants and moderator Dr. Isabell Lisberg-Haag – in the spirit of an exchange among equals. This is because the new students will also present results from the previous Opening Days workshops and open them up for discussion.

As a joint kick-off event for Master's and doctoral students, the Graduate School Opening Days also offer the opportunity to get to know the Leuphana campus, the Graduate School's team and services, fellow students, the course content, student associations and the university's digital platforms.