Helmholtz Graduate School for Polar and Marine Research (POLMAR)
The Helmholtz Graduate School for Polar and Marine Research (POLMAR) at the Alfred Wegener Institute Bremerhaven was founded in 2008. It is exclusive in its focus on high latitude marine ecosystems and polar climate change. It aims to improve the qualification of the participating Ph.D. students and provides an optimal research environment towards their doctoral degree. The students will be prepared for taking over leading positions in research, management and policy, technology development, or consulting and education.Membership is open to all PhD students of the AWI and its cooperating institutions. Within its first year, POLMAR attracted more than 70 members, some of them being in their second or third year of the PhD project. Furthermore, eleven stipends are financed by POLMAR (period 2009 2012), a second call will be launched at the end of 2011.A structured postgraduate education program started in 2009. It consists of scientific courses, soft and transferable skill trainings as well as a monthly seminar and invited guest speakers. The program is set up in close co-operation with the Helmholtz Research School on Earth System Science (ESSRES) at AWI and our partner institutions (University of Bremen, Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, Bremen, Jacobs University, University of Potsdam, Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences, Institute for Marine Ressources). Courses at the partner institutions are mutually open to all students. In consequence, students have a wide choice of up-to-date disciplinary and interdisciplinary courses and can tailor their study program according to their specific needs, interests and time availability.Also, students find support in all matters concerning their PhD, notably contract and insurance issues, help with their PhD committee, support during maternity or parental leave and child care. Financial support is offered as travel grants and short-term outgoing scholarships in order to foster collaborative research with international partners at an early stage of the scientific career.POLMAR welcomes national and international scientists to contribute to its educational program. Lectures, workshops, method trainings or research projects in joint co-operation with our students are possible ways of interaction. All logistic support will be provided by the POLMAR office. For more information please contact the authors or info.polmar@awi.de