DRS Open Door Talks offer perspectives on our work and range from information for students interested in doctoral research to funding opportunities for Postdocs.

Everyone is welcome!

Open Door Talks in Winter Term 2025

20. May 2025, 10-12:00 am: "Doctoral Research and Care Responsibility"
(online @DRS, Language: English)

For doctoral researchers with kids and those thinking about starting a family
Are you juggling doctoral studies and care work? Are you working on your doctorate and thinking about starting a family? This Open Door Talk, which is organized in cooperation with FU’s family office, will provide you with essential information on parental leave, allowances and childcare options. In addition, two doctoral researchers from different disciplines will share their experiences of simultaneously pursuing research and managing a family and are available to answer your questions.

→ Further information and registration

Open Door Talks in Winter Term 2024/2025

26. March 2025, 2 pm: "Doing your Doctorate at Freie Universität Berlin / Information on Elsa-Neumann-Fellowship Program" (online @DRS, Language: English)

Are you in the final phase of your university studies? You have completed your exams and are considering whether to follow up your studies with a doctorate? Perhaps a doctorate has also been suggested to you? The decision for or against a doctorate depends not only on the suitable topic, but also on clarifying a variety of organisational and personal questions.

When balancing the pros and cons, your motivation, your professional goals and, last but not least, your commitment to several years of self-disciplined scientific work are put to the test. Once you have decided to pursue a doctorate, you need to clarify the important organisational aspects such as finding a supervisor, funding and admission. If you deal with these questions early on, you will lay the foundations for a successful dissertation project.

If you are interested in a doctorate, you can also check our checklist for self-assessment. Following the Open Door Talk, there will be an information session on the current call for applications for the Elsa Neumann Scholarships of the State of Berlin for doctoral candidates.

→ Registration

12. February 2025, 2 pm: "What's Next, Doc?" by Research Division of Freie Universität (in presence @DRS, Language: English)

Are you nearing the end of your doctoral project and planning a career in academia? Maybe you already are a Postdoc and need further orientation on how to finance your future research? In this Open Door Talk, the team of Freie Universität’s research funding service will inform you about funding options for postdoctoral research projects.

They will introduce funding opportunities for the various disciplines from a postdoc perspective and present a short overview of interdisciplinary and discipline-specific programs and their requirements as well as tipps and information regarding proposal writing.

Registration: https://www.drs.fu-berlin.de/en/node/102817

16. January 2025, 1 pm: "Material crisis and loss of motivation during the doctorate?" (in presence @DRS, Language: English)

Doctoral studies come with a number of challenges. Perhaps these common challenges sound familiar to you? The material crisis, where either too little or too much data is available, is a fairly common problem. In addition, many doctoral candidates suffer a crisis of meaning and doubt the relevance of their own research. And, of course, low motivation can also occur.

In such situations, it can help to actively (re)shape your own doctoral project! In this Open Door Talk, we will present opportunities to use the funding provided by the Una Europa University Alliance for you and your doctoral project:

• Establish contact to scientists at a partner university, conduct research together and overcome your material crisis through cooperation (funding: Una Europa Seed Funding).
• Invite peers from partner universities to FU Berlin, expand your scientific network and gain new motivation (funding: Una Europa Early Career Host Program).
• Take part in one of the numerous Una Europa Summer Schools and get a new perspective on the importance of your own research (Funding: Una Europa Summer Schools).

This event takes place in cooperation with Una Europa.

Registration: https://www.drs.fu-berlin.de/en/node/102815