Integrated Graduate College of the SFB/Transregio 185 (Bonn-Kaiserslautern): Open System Control of Atomic and Photonic Matter (OSCAR)

The Integrated College for the Advancement of Postgraduate Education is part of the SFB/Transregio 185 (Bonn-Kaiserslautern) “Open System Control of Atomic and Photonic Matter” and is integrated in the strongly developed infrastructure of the two universities. The college is directly related to two principal goals of the transregio. The first one is the production of international first-class research results. The second one is the education of qualified experts and scientists for the coupling of atomic and photonic system to reservoirs. Both goals are equally important responsibilities for society. It is a universally accepted truth that both research and postgraduate education go hand in hand. Success in one also requires excellence in the other and vice versa. As it is an integrated graduate school, the primary intention of the college is improving and furthering the education of young researchers affiliated with the research projects of the transregio. To this end, the college provides training opportunities, guidance, and a pleasant networking environment in order to assist the research progress of doctoral students towards graduation without delays, thus ensuring an optimal graduation time of four years for PhD candidates. Because of the close ties with the research environment of the transregio, one of the leading thoughts is the implementation of the general ''Problem-Based Learning'' principle, i.e., to combine the studies with hands on experience in research wherever possible. To realise this, our college also assists members in acquiring a variety of other skills that are expected to be gained by doctoral candidates on their way to becoming self-reliant researchers. Due to this, they do not only excel in science but are also ready to fill positions as leading, responsible, and independent scientists as demanded in all parts of society. Combining an efficient training environment and the first-class research opportunities within the transregio will help not only in producing better results but also in reaching personal goals more quickly. This is why we offer many customised and transregional training opportunities such as international schools, workshops, seminars, soft skill courses, lecture series, exchanges, books, excursions, and information services as well as personal career development and guidance. In this context, "customised" means in particular that the educational events are tailored according to individual needs of the participants. Of course, this implies in turn that members have to be involved actively in order to suggest, plan, and guide these events, in collaboration with fellow students, the supervisor, and the executive manager of the college. Furthermore, transregional means that activities can be offered and attended at both locations of the transregio. Because of all this, members will profit from networking among the different locations and from scientific communication tailored to their needs. For further information, see: https://www.physik.uni-kl.de/oscar/