The Research Training Group examines the role of certain immune cells in infections, tumor diseases, autoimmunity and vaccinations. The international Research Training Group allows doctoral students to establish an international network early on. The doctoral students are part of a structured program in which they are mentored by two senior researchers in Bonn and Melbourne. Of an average of three years of doctoral studies, the doctoral students spend one year at the partner university. Graduates are awarded a joint PhD of the Universities of Bonn and Melbourne.
“We are very happy that we can continue our successful cooperation. With this extension, the DFG is honoring the added value of international partnerships and the performance of our doctoral students. The entire team is very proud of this success,” says Prof. Dr. Christian Kurts, Leibniz laureate and speaker of the Research Training Group in Bonn.
Obtaining a doctorate at the only German immunological Cluster of Excellence “ImmunoSensation” can be even more attractive for young researchers when they are given the opportunity to conduct one year of their research at one of Australia’s leading universities. This is exactly what the German-Australian Research Training Group “Bonn & Melbourne Research and Graduate School Immunosciences” (ITRG 2168) has been offering since funding was confirmed by the DFG in April 2016.
The DFG is funding its German partners with 13 doctorates. The Australian partners around Prof. Sammy Bedoui of the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity receive complementary funding by the University of Melbourne. The renowned University of Melbourne is one of three strategic partnerships the University of Bonn maintains.
Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Michael Hoch, Rector of the University of Bonn, calls this cooperation exemplary: “Our cooperation with the University of Melbourne in training doctoral students is leading by example, even beyond the field of immunology. Together with the University of Melbourne, we are working on establishing joint PhD programs in other disciplines, too. We want to offer our doctoral students the best possible training in an international setting. Due to its excellent research conditions, Melbourne is an ideal partner for this endeavor.”
Additional information on the Research Training Group:
http://bomerang.iei-bonn.de/bomerang.html
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Christian Kurts
Phone: +49 228 287-11050
Email: iei@uni-bonn.de