How about...? Information and exchange round on the topic of a stay abroad
Thursday, 26th June, 2025, 4-5 p.m.
How about...?
... to work together in person with experts you've only known from lectures and papers?
... to access resources that you don't normally have access to here in Cologne?
... or to take a look outside the box of your usual working day and familiarise yourself with new working techniques ‘hands on’?
Even if you are happy in your current position and probably working at full capacity: A research stay abroad during your doctorate is more than just a presentable element on your academic CV.
Many highly specialised research projects benefit from an expansion of their network, and your independent profile as a researcher is usually strengthened in the long term through experience gained in a new working context.
But does time abroad even fit into your tight work schedule? Or will the project be far too expensive? What about your teaching obligations? And why travel at all - there is Teams, Zoom and the like?
Why it's usually worth setting up camp abroad before committees, teaching and projects have you in their grip again, what support the University of Cologne can offer when planning, preparing and carrying out a research stay abroad, but also which challenging, inspiring and even amusing experiences may await you: you can discuss all this in an informal atmosphere with three colleagues who should know:
Katrin Kaiser is a consultant for ‘Studying and Researching Abroad’ and deputy head of the International Mobility Department in the International Affairs Division at the University of Cologne.
She informs, advises and supports students, but above all doctoral candidates, with regard to shorter or longer stays abroad and in the search for suitable host institutions, funding opportunities, etc. She regularly organises information events and individual counselling sessions.
She says: ‘Going abroad is always enriching. Research stays abroad, e.g. during your doctorate, offer the opportunity to think outside the box and gain new insights into your own field of research. On the one hand, prior specialist knowledge can be expanded to a particularly high degree and constructive insights into the world of study or work are guaranteed. On the other hand, the opportunity is offered to deepen foreign language skills, gain access to global cultures and broaden one's personal horizon of experience. The lecture will highlight the various structures and ways to organise a tailor-made stay abroad”.
Elena Pützer is a doctoral researcher at the Faculty of Human Sciences. In her PhD thesis she is investigating the topic of hearing aid provision for people with hearing impairments, focusing on the current state of health services in Germany and the quality of life of those affected.
From March to April 2024, she spent a research stay at the University of Sydney in Australia. "During my research stay, I gained insights into research and teaching at the University of Sydney. In exchange with other researchers, I was able to get to know exciting current projects and received a lot of valuable feedback and ideas for my own projects. Both the professional and private contact with warm people in Sydney has broadened my horizons - literally to the other side of the world."
Katharina Girndt is doing her doctorate in Intercultural Communication and Development Policy. She spent several research visits in South Africa for her dissertation. “Conducting the interviews online was not an option for me. Getting to know the social setting of my study participants was essential for my research process. The conversations around it, a spontaneous invitation to a book launch, spending together - all these experiences gave my data and the analysis a unique selling point.”
In her dissertation, she focuses on the experiences of women in South African suburbs and attended seminars at the University of Western Cape (Cape Town, South Africa).
So how about an information and exchange session on the topic of a stay abroad after work?
Katrin Kaiser will briefly (approx. 15-20 min.) present the services of the International Mobility Department in the International Affairs Division (in German); Elena Pützer and Katharina Girndt will briefly talk about their personal experiences from the time in Sydney and Cape Town (approx. 10 min. in German or in English). They will then be available to answer general and specific questions and to exchange in German or in English).
When? 26th June, 2025, 4-5 p.m.
Where? Seminar room of the Graduate School, ‘City-Passage Lindenthal’, 1st floor, Dürener Straße 89, 50931 Cologne
The seminar room can accommodate up to 20 people. We therefore appreciate a short registration by e-mail to Graduiertenschule-HF@uni-koeln.de.
We are looking forward to your participation!