GS-EES transitions into the EES Academy

The Graduate School "Electrochemical Energy Storage" (GS-EES) becomes EES Academy

Since its initiation in 2018, the Graduate School "Electrochemical Energy Storage" (GS-EES) has supported doctoral researchers successfully on their way to graduate in the field of electrochemical energy storage by offering a comprehensive program of lectures, workshops, and events in an interdisciplinary setting. The GS-EES was initially founded as part of the Cluster of Excellence POLiS, operating within the Center for Electrochemical Energy Storage | Ulm & Karlsruhe (CELEST).  Participants of its events were traditionally from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Ulm University, Justus Liebig University Giessen (JLU) and Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW). GS-EES events covered a wide range of topics, which included management and communication skills, diversity and mentorship, good scientific practice and research data management and thus ranging beyond scientific exchange. In recent years, selected events were also frequently attended by external participants from other research institutions or from industry, demonstrating the leading role of the GS-EES as an educational platform for the graduate student level in Germany.

As of 2026 and with the beginning of the new funding period of the Cluster of Excellence POLiS, the GS-EES will transition into an EES Academy. This EES Academy will not only continue all aspects established within the GS-EES – which will remain an integral part of the EES Academy – but also extend its offers to postdoctoral and junior faculty scientist.

This expanded range of target groups will lead to additional events offered within the EES Academy specifically tailored to postdoctoral researcher and junior faculty level. It will include workshops dedicated towards grant proposal writing, supervision and teaching skills as well as project management. In addition, the EES Academy will further strengthen its collaboration with industrial partners to offer insights and opportunities for future career perspectives in both academia and industry. The EES Academy will be led by a designated board consisting of Prof. Dr. Simon Krause (UUlm), Prof. Dr. Patrick Théato (KIT), and Prof. Dr. Anja Henß (JLU) and supported by dedicated teams at each of the three respective institutions in Ulm, Karlsruhe and Giessen.

“We are delighted to further develop the GS-EES into the EES Academy and provide a leading platform in education and career development for the next generation of scientists in the field of electrochemical energy storage.” says Patrick Theato. The existing curriculum of the GS-EES will be complemented by new offerings in critical topics such as lab automation, digitalization, research data management, and artificial intelligence in the field of electrochemical energy storage in which POLiS is already taking a leading position. “The addition of the Justus Liebig University Giessen (JLU) as a full partner in both POLiS and the EES Academy will strengthen existing collaborations and provide a unique platform for scientists in Giessen and beyond. The EES Academy will work in close collaboration with the Graduate Center for Natural Sciences and Psychology at JLU Giessen which will extend the offerings of the EES Academy even further.“ says Anja Henß.

The EES Academy is currently structuring the program for upcoming events in 2026 and is happy to announce that on 21st January 2026, the first workshop on “Microscopy and Image Analysis in Battery Research Advanced Multi-Scale Imaging with AI” will be held at Helmholtz-Institute Ulm in collaboration with ZEISS. “With the interdisciplinary activities across multiple institutions, the EES Academy will be a central element in fostering scientific collaboration and development within the CELEST network and attract and develop the future talents in the field of electrochemical energy storage.” says Simon Krause.

The newly designated board is grateful to past GS-EES spokesperson Prof. Dr. R. Jürgen Behm, co-spokesperson apl. Prof. Dr. Christine Kranz, co-spokesperson Prof. Dr. Rolf Schuster, and GS-EES manager Dr. Johannes Schnaidt who have created an outstanding platform in fostering education and development for generations of doctoral students over the past years.

Designated EES Academy Directors