Presentation Event for Doctoral Projects
Friday, 23rd January 2026, approx. 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
The presentation day offers an opportunity to present your own doctoral project, discuss it with other doctoral candidates, and get to know fellow doctoral candidates and their research projects.
Who is invited to participate?
Doctoral projects at all stages are to be presented and discussed. Therefore, those who are still in the initial stages or planning their research project are just as welcome to present their project as those who have already begun their work or would like to present the results of their dissertation.
The presentation day this winter semester will be held in English.
How can you participate?
Depending on the participants' preferences, there are two options:
- A programme of short presentations, each lasting 20 minutes.
- A mixed programme of short presentations followed by a science slam at the end.
Requirement for the second option: At least three registrations for a slam.
Short presentations:
Each short presentation will be allocated a 20-minute slot.
The 20 minutes slot shall include both: a 10-15 minutes presentation of your research project in English, and a 5-10 minutes opportunity for questions and a short discussion.
Your presentation should concisely present your research question, the method and, if applicable, the initial results of your research project or a particularly exciting problem in your work in a way that is understandable to non-specialists. Please make sure that there will be at least 5 minutes left for questions and discussion!
Science Slam:
A slot in a science slam could be less formal but no less informative:
If you think your research topic rocks and want to prove it in an entertaining way – perhaps being a little less modest for once? – then a 10-minute slam could be just the thing for you.
To get your audience enthusiastic, (almost) anything goes:
Show a video, bring your tools with you or turn us into trial subjects – surprise us, but above all: speak English instead of „Fachchinesisch“!
The only rules:
No longer than 10 minutes!
Talk about your own research!
Make it entertaining!
The probably most demanding audience in the world has been most carfully selected and will relentlessly evaluate all presentations with thunderous applause.
Slammers and audience members will be strengthened with drinks and a small snack.
The programme:
The final programme will be arranged based on the specific doctoral projects of the participants.
Therefore, all participants are requested to submit an abstract of their doctoral project, no longer than one page, together with their registration, but no later than 19 December 2025, to: Graduiertenschule-HF@uni-koeln.de.
The final programme will then be announced after the registration deadline.
However, the following programme outline should give you a preliminary idea of what to expect.
Preliminary programme outline:
| 09:00-09:15 | Welcome by the spokesperson of the Graduate School, Prof. Dr. Jutta Stahl, Vice-Dean for Academic Careers and Equal Opportunities |
| 09:15-10:55 | Short presentation 1 |
| Short presentation 2 | |
| Short presentation 3 | |
| Short presentation 4 | |
| Short presentation 5 | |
| 10:55-11:10 | Short break |
| 11:10-12:30 | Short presentation 6 |
| Short presentation 7 | |
| Short presentation 8 | |
| Short presentation 9 | |
| Short presentation 10 | |
| Approx. 12:30-13:15 | Lunch break |
| 13:15-14:35 | Short presentation 12 |
| Short presentation 13 | |
| Short presentation 14 | |
| 14:45-15:30 | Science slam with contributions: A, B, C, D, …. thunderous applause, drinks and a small snack |
| 15:30 | End of the presentation day |
Active membership:
Annual participation in a presentation event organised by the Graduate School counts as an activity in the sense of active membership in the Graduate School and enables full use of the Graduate School's event and financial support offers.
Venue:
Seminar room of the Graduate School
‘City-Passage Lindenthal’, 1st floor
Dürener Str. 89, 50931 Cologne
Registration:
Please register per email to: Graduiertenschule-HF@uni-koeln.de.
When registering, please indicate at what stage of your doctoral studies you are (beginning, middle, end) and whether you would prefer to present in the form of a short lecture or a slam.
The deadline for registration and abstract submission is Friday, 19 December 2025.