Working for the next generation of researchers in Europe

Dr Gunda Huskobla from Friedrich Schiller University Jena has been elected Chair of the Coimbra Working Group Doctoral Studies for the second time. This allows the administrative director of the Jena Graduate Academy to continue to be involved in shaping the situation of young researchers at the international level for the next two years.

"We have a committed and competent advocate for the interests of young researchers in Gunda Huskobla", says Vice President for Young Researchers and Equal Opportunities, Professor Dr Uwe Cantner. "Her commitment underlines our university's aim to improve the conditions of early-stage researchers beyond our own university and on the international level."

Responses to Covid-19 at European universities

The Coimbra Group is an association of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Europe. It consists of 41 universities from 23 countries. Since 1992, Friedrich Schiller University Jena has been a member of this group, which is considered one of the most important representatives of higher education policy at European level. 

In the Working Group Doctoral Studies, experts in doctoral education from all over Europe discuss developments in science policy. The working group advises the European Commission on policy decisions concerning the development of young researchers and the structure of funding programmes. Chaired by Dr Gunda Huskobla, the working group is currently developing a study on interdisciplinarity in doctoral research, organising the Three Minute Thesis competition and preparing a follow-up report on the longer-term impact of the Corona pandemic on universities, as well as a publication on the supervision relationship in the doctoral phase. Last year, the Coimbra Group published a first report on the responses to Covid-19 at European universitiesExternal link, which received much attention at the European level and to which Gunda Huskobla contributed significantly.

Working at the Graduate Academy since 10 years

The Graduate Academy of University of Jena has been working on many of these topics since its foundation in 2006. One of its most important goals is to improve the situation of young researchers. Dr Gunda Huskobla has been working at the Graduate Academy since 2011 and has been its managing director since 2016.

In Germany, the University of Jena is especially involved in the „German University Association of Advanced Graduate Training“ (UniWiND/GUAT). In this association, 75 universities have joined forces to optimise the conditions of doctoral candidates and postdocs. For the past eight years, Jena professor Erika Kothe has headed GUAT.