Professional Skills Training

Scope

The Professional Skills Training of the GS-EES aims at additional skills that are not directly related to electrochemical energy storage, but which are essential for scientists and engineers during their doctorate and in preparation for their future career in science or industry.

A certain total number of credits is mandatory including a minimum for the categories “Good Scientific Practice / Research Ethics” and “Equal Opportunities / Diversity / Mentorship”. Besides that, the Professional Skills Training can be tailored individually to the needs and interests of every GS-EES member.

The Professional Skills Training of the GS-EES is organised in the four categories “Communication”, “Management”, “Good Scientific Practice / Research Ethics” and “Equal Opportunities / Diversity / Mentorship”.

Communication

Communication

Communication is a major task in science and relevant for all doctoral researchers since research results are rather useless if they are not known by others. Communicating in science ranges from writing articles in scientific journals, presenting talks and posters at conferences or meetings to informing the public and at least a PhD thesis has eventually to be written by everyone.

Courses in this category include academic writing, preparing posters and presentation slides as well as voice training to name a few.

Management

Management

A PhD thesis can be considered as a project and many third party funded research activities are organized as projects as well. In addition, many doctoral researchers have more tasks than just doing their own research, e.g. they are supervising the research of bachelor and master students. Thus, management skills are useful already during the doctorate.

Management skills often become even more important for the future career in academia and especially in industry.

Courses in this category range from time- and self-management to project management.

Icon symboling Good Scientific Practice

Good Scientific Practice / Research Ethics

Obeying the rules of Good Scientific Practice is an absolute must for each scientist. But what exactly are those rules, what are the responsibilities of a doctoral researcher, which conflicts can one encounter during a doctorate and how should one react when noticing violations of those rules? Answers to these and other related questions can be found in Good Scientific Practice / Research Ethics courses.

Research Data Management

Another important issue to perform reliable research is Research Data Management (RDM). Thus, RDM courses are also categorized as Good Scientific Practice in the GS-EES Qualification Program. Teaching of RDM in the GS-EES goes beyond the aim to comply with guidelines for safeguarding good research practice. In close collaboration with the RDM activities of the Cluster of Excellence POLiS we also seek to unlock additional scientific value through systematic data handling and widespread data reuse across our research community. We offer workshops instructing how to make best use of Kadi4Mat, which is developed at KIT and integrates an electronic lab notebook (ELN), a robust repository, and advanced data analysis tools.

Icon symboling Diversity and Mentoring

Equal Opportunities / Diversity / Mentorship

The group of doctoral researchers is diverse in terms of gender, social and cultural background, nationality, etc.. Courses in the category Equal Opportunities / Diversity / Mentorship aim at supporting and empowering each individual doctoral researcher during their doctorate and to prepare steps for the future career. In addition, we aim at improving the collaboration between the diverse group of scientists.

Courses include intercultural trainings, workshops on unconscious biases, workshops on career planning and application processes and more.

To emphasize the importance of this category, the GS-EES Qualification Program demands to gather a minimum of 1 credit point.

How & where to find courses

The GS-EES offers specific workshops covering all categories of the Professional Skills Training. A focus is on those categories which require mandatory credits, i.e. Good Scientific Practice / Research Ethics and Equal Opportunities / Diversity / Mentorship.

In addition, a broad variety of courses is offered by the respective institutions of our home universities responsible for supporting and promoting young researchers. These are

  • the Graduate & Professional Training Center (ProTrainU) at Ulm University
  • the Karlsruhe House of Young Scientists (KHYS) at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
  • the Giessen Graduate Center for Natural Sciences and Psychology (GGN) at Justus Liebig University Giessen (JLU)

 

Participation in such courses is credited towards the GS-EES Qualification Program.

Workshop offerings of our home universities

Upcoming workshops

Communication (academic writing, presenting, etc.)

Management

Wed, January 28, 2026

Basiswissen BWL (zweitägig)
Betriebswirtschaftliches Verständnis und betriebswirtschaftliche Kompetenzen sind in vielen unterschiedlichen Bereichen des beruflichen Alltags immer häufiger erforderlich. Da das jeweilige fachwissenschaftliche Studium diese Kenntnisse oftmals nicht vermittelt, wird im Rahmen dieses Workshops eine wissenschaftlich fundierte, grundlegende sowie anschauliche und praxisorientierte Einführung in die zentralen Bereiche der Betriebswirtschaftslehre gegeben.
Details
Fri, February 13, 2026

Strategien für ein gelungenes Selbst- und Zeitmanagement (dreitägig)
In Ihrem Alltag sind Sie vielfältigen beruflichen und privaten Anforderungen ausgesetzt, die zu Zeitdruck und Zeitnot führen können. Die vielfältigen Anforderungen im Wissenschaftsalltag wie Lehre, Forschungsprojekt und Veröffentlichungen, die erwartete Flexibilität und der ständige Druck verstärken dieses Gefühl noch. Den täglichen kurzfristigen Erfordernissen wird häufig Vorrang gewährt, während die wichtigen oder langfristig angelegten Vorhaben in den Hintergrund treten und persönliche Interessen zurückgestellt werden. Unzufriedenheit, Zweifel und Erschöpfung können die Folge sein.
Details
Mon, February 23, 2026

Project Management for Research Projects (Two-day)
Research has always been project-focused. However, the increasing complexity of projects and project consortia means that old approaches are no longer enough. Modern project management allows you to get the most out of your resources and to perform more research with fewer resources, at lower stress levels.
Details
Mon, March 02, 2026

Working Smarter with AI. How LLMs can help you turning knowledge into action more effectively (Five-day)
With the rise of Generative AI chatbots, you can now apply advanced professional skills far more effectively than before. Techniques that once required long practice before they could be applied (e.g. in the realm of communication or creative problem-solving) can now be operationalized far more quickly with guided AI support. This shifts the focus in developing professional skills from lengthy acquisition to immediate application in collaboration with AI.
Details
Wed, March 11, 2026

Agile Project Management (One-day)
Agile project management allows running projects in changing and uncertain environments. Originally developed in the IT sector, agile project management is now widely used across various fields to respond flexibly and effectively to evolving conditions.
Details
Thu, March 19, 2026

Getting Started. Managing Your Dissertation Project Successfully (Two-day)
Writing a doctoral thesis is very challenging. But if you take a smart approach early on, you are likely to reach your objectives faster and achieve superior results. This workshop focuses on the critical elements for a successful doctoral journey: Which mindsets, tools, and processes make a real difference on the way to a PhD? We concentrate on three areas: The efficient organization of tasks and notes, the productive communication with supervisors and the research community, and the structured reading and writing of academic papers. In each area, we will reflect on effective mindsets, tools, and workflows. The goal is for each participant to take away at least three specific ideas on how to substantially improve their own approach.
Details
Mon, April 13, 2026

Basics of Project Management (Three-day)
Project management is an essential competence for researchers. It supports the successful completion of complex tasks in everyday academic work and is equally relevant for future roles outside academia. Projects succeed when professional expertise is combined with solid management and self-management skills.
Details
Thu, May 07, 2026

Handlungsspielräume entdecken. Stresskompetenz im Wissenschaftsalltag (zweitägig)
Stressmanagement ist heutzutage eine wichtige Kompetenz, um gesund und ausgeglichen die vielfältigen beruflichen und privaten Aufgaben und Anforderungen zu bewältigen. Gerade im Wissenschaftsalltag sind die Anforderungen und Erwartungen besonders hoch. Vielleicht fühlen Sie sich manchmal erschöpft oder angespannt und möchten gelassener durch die Promotion oder die Postdoc-Phase und Ihr Forschungsprojekt gehen – oder wollen einfach nur potenziellen Stressbelastungen und ihren Auswirkungen vorbeugen. Um gestärkt durch den Wissenschaftsalltag zu gehen, sind neben fachlicher Expertise und hoher Motivation auch eine gewisse Stressresistenz, ein gutes Selbstmanagement und ein Gleichgewicht zwischen Anspannung und Entspannung wichtig. Schon kleine Veränderungen können viel bewegen, wie beispielsweise innere Ansprüche zu hinterfragen, Energieräuber zu identifizieren und die persönliche Motivation, Selbstwirksamkeit und Produktivität zu steigern. Dieser Workshop bietet Ihnen ein abwechslungsreiches Angebot aus Informationen, Selbstreflexionen und praktischen Übungen zur Entwicklung der persönlichen Stresskompetenz.
Details
Tue, June 16, 2026

Die Freude am Forschen. Persönliche Produktivität mit mentaler Stabilität und Flexibilität im Promotionsprozess (zweitägig)
In der wissenschaftlichen Arbeit stehen wir als Forschende mit unserer persönlichen Produktivität vor täglichen Herausforderungen durch die Komplexität der Forschungsfelder, die Vielfalt an beruflichen und sonstigen Aufgaben und anspruchsvolle Kommunikationsprozesse in der Wissenschaft.
Details
Tue, June 30, 2026

Short-Cuts to Industry. Initial Insights into Leadership [E-LEARNING]
A career in industry is an attractive option for many young scientists after completing their doctorate or postdoc phase. And quite a few actually choose to leave academia with the aspiration of entering responsible positions in the private sector.
Details

Good Scientific Practice

Fri, December 12, 2025
KIT, MZE, Room 017

Workshop Introduction to Research Data Management 2025
The responsible and far-sighted handling of digital research data is becoming increasingly important. Management, storage, exchange and access to large amounts of data, including the corresponding metadata, is challenging. In this workshop, researchers learn in a first block basic skills to handle their research data safely and sustainably. Ways to publish and re-use research data are discussed. The new “Guidelines for Safeguarding Good Research Practice”, published by the DFG, are addressed in the context of research data. In a second block, the functionalities of the data exchange and analysis platform Kadi4Mat will be discussed on the basis of the Kadi4Mat web interface. Using examples, the researchers learn how to collaboratively work on a common description of research data and how to document, manage and share their own research data.
Details

Research Data Management

Fri, December 12, 2025
KIT, MZE, Room 017

Workshop Introduction to Research Data Management 2025
The responsible and far-sighted handling of digital research data is becoming increasingly important. Management, storage, exchange and access to large amounts of data, including the corresponding metadata, is challenging. In this workshop, researchers learn in a first block basic skills to handle their research data safely and sustainably. Ways to publish and re-use research data are discussed. The new “Guidelines for Safeguarding Good Research Practice”, published by the DFG, are addressed in the context of research data. In a second block, the functionalities of the data exchange and analysis platform Kadi4Mat will be discussed on the basis of the Kadi4Mat web interface. Using examples, the researchers learn how to collaboratively work on a common description of research data and how to document, manage and share their own research data.
Details

Workshop "Introduction to Research Data Management"

The responsible and far-sighted handling of digital research data is becoming increasingly important. Management, storage, exchange and access to large amounts of data, including the corresponding metadata, is challenging.
In this workshop, researchers learn in a first block basic skills to handle their research data safely and sustainably. Ways to publish and re-use research data are discussed. The new “Guidelines for Safeguarding Good Research Practice”, published by the DFG, are addressed in the context of research data.
In a second block, the functionalities of the data exchange and analysis platform Kadi4Mat will be discussed on the basis of the Kadi4Mat web interface. Using examples, the researchers learn how to collaboratively work on a common description of research data and how to document, manage and share their own research data.

There are several workshops on RDM offered throughout the year. Please refer to the Upcoming Events section for upcoming workshops.

Due to the significance of Research Data Management in POLiS, participation in RDM workshops is mandatory for all doctoral researchers funded by POLiS!

0.5 CPs within "Good scientific practice / Research ethics" will be accounted for the participation.

 

Workshop "Advanced Research Data Management: Kadi-apy and Workflows"

Automated data processing allows data sets to be processed in a faster, more reliable, and reproducible manner, making a significant contribution to the generation of FAIR research data. In this workshop, participants will learn how to use command line tools for automated data processing.

In a first step the basic concept of Kadi4Mat is reviewed. In a next step, the software package kadi-apy is introduced, with which it is possible to communicate with the Kadi4Mat database via its programmatic interface. Possibilities to import and to export data will be discussed. In addition, the concept of workflows is explained using examples and exercises for the participants.

There are several workshops on Advanced Research Data Management offered throughout the year. Please refer to the Upcoming Events section for upcoming workshops.

0.5 CPs within "Good scientific practice / Research ethics" will be accounted for the participation in combination with the completion and submission of an exercise with an own data set.

Equal Opportunities / Diversity / Mentorship

Thu, December 11, 2025

Personal Roadmap for Career Orientation. What Skills Do I Have and Where Do I Want to Go?
As part of a personal roadmap, you have the opportunity to consciously reflect on your current professional and private situation. You will look at your personal goals and wishes and derive concrete steps for your further career and skills development. What have I already achieved? What skills particularly characterize me? What are my strengths? What is important to me? How do I visualize a successful future?
Details