Z2 – Integrated Research Training Group

The promotion of young researchers on all professional levels is a central aspect of NOA. The aims of this Integrated Research Training Group (iRTG) are to educate and train doctoral researchers to foster their personal development, to promote their individual scientific expertise, to ensure further exposure to new research environments and concepts, as well as to assist them in building long-lasting and international networks. Within the iRTG, all NOA PIs will build on the positive experience of the 1^st funding period and continue to nurture the independent research spirit of doctoral researchers by giving them much freedom to reach their individual scientific goals while on the other hand supporting them by providing regular advice on various levels. This is one of the main characteristics of NOA's iRTG: specific training in science along with a strong focus on enhancing the doctoral researchers' sense of personal responsibility.

Z2|Nolte/Peschel/Ronning/Staude manages NOA's Integrated Research Training Group (iRTG), which provides optimal specific training for doctoral and postdoctoral researchers. The iRTG broadens the training possibilities of the doctoral and postdoctoral researchers by providing opportunities to participate in lectures and courses offered in the framework of graduate schools in Jena and Berlin. In addition to organizing specific seminars, winter/summer schools, and other scientific meetings, the iRTG has also a focus on developing career opportunities in both academia and industry, offering training in good scientific practice, and digital leadership, integrating visiting researchers and guest professors into NOA, providing diversity/gender-specific training courses and enabling interdisciplinary research in a diverse, international group of young researchers.

The iRTG will continue its established and quite efficient collaboration forms with the local Abbe School of Photonics (ASP) and the Jena Graduate Academy. Soft and transferrable skills are and will be mainly covered by the Jena Graduate Academy. Accordingly, the requested funds here are moderate, as they will be used mainly to augment the performance regarding the iRTG. Requested funds will be used to make additional courses and resources available, exclusively reserved for CRC members and their NOA research-related topics. Finally, the iRTG is intended to provide a platform for scientific exchange and collaboration between the researchers at doctoral, postdoctoral, and PI level of all projects.

Thus, we are building on our experienced best practice and will continue with all successful modules, which we established in the 1^st funding period. Regarding the content of those modules, we will especially push two topics in the upcoming funding period: digitalization (due to the participation of NOA in FAIRmat) and outreach (via the project Ö1). Dedicated lectures/seminars will be offered, to highlight the importance of the emerging field of research data management, research data valorization and outreach, to demonstrate the benefit of research data management and outreach, and to provide real-life examples of how to implement these tools in day-to-day routines.