Representing the interests of doctoral candidates
Doctoral students are an important pillar of research, teaching and continuing education. Their mouthpiece is the doctoral student representation. Ina Wagner reports on their tasks, goals and plans. She is a doctoral candidate at the Faculty of Human Sciences and a member of the doctoral student representatives.
What are the general tasks of the doctoral student representatives?
The doctoral student representation is an interest group. It supports doctoral candidates in their concerns and establishes interdisciplinary and inter-faculty exchange. Its members also consult with each other in order to make recommendations to university bodies. It participates in the Council of the Graduate Academy of Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg and attends the meetings of the Senate and the Faculty Councils in an advisory capacity. For example, it is given the opportunity to comment on drafts of doctoral regulations before a decision is made.
How are the doctoral student representatives elected?
The election takes place once a year together with the Faculty Council and Senate elections. Doctoral candidates who are admitted and registered as doctoral candidates by the faculty can vote and stand for election. Two doctoral student representatives can be elected per faculty, although additional representations are possible.
What are the aims of the doctoral student representation?
The doctoral student representation based on the Higher Education Act of the state of Saxony-Anhalt (Section 18 (6)) is still in its infancy. Our priority is therefore to establish and implement the introduced legal basis by establishing concrete associations, activities and formats.
In doing so, we would initially like to reach as many doctoral candidates as possible within and outside the faculties and network with each other according to their wishes. Our aim is to improve the conditions for doctoral candidates, bring them together and promote their co-determination in university policy. Our aim is for doctoral students at Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg to be better informed, involved and represented and to support solidarity with each other - be it on a professional, day-to-day, university policy or bureaucratic level. This also applies to students who are not registered or who are external. The joint event on April 24, 2024, for example, is intended for this purpose. It is open to doctoral students from all faculties.
How are doctoral candidates informed about updates and can exchange information?
Doctoral students can address their concerns to the members of their faculty or to the doctoral student representatives in general. For further updates, there are faculty-specific mailing lists, for example. Non-registered or external doctoral candidates can also contact the respective representatives to register. On the website you will find all doctoral student representatives of the faculties, news, contact and networking opportunities as well as information on the legal basis.
Thank you for the interview.