International PhD Programme.
In 2011, due to the financial support from the Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation totalling 3.8 million euros until the end of 2020, the Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB), the Faculty of Biology at the University of Mainz, the Mainz University Medical Center, and the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research jointly established the International PhD Programme (IPP).
The context and aims of funding.
Being able to attract talented young scientists is among the most essential prerequisites for a strong research environment. To do so, the IPP has laid the cornerstone of providing doctoral students with excellent conditions for conducting research and an excellent education programme. At the same time, it has created a vigorous network aimed at encouraging joint research and teaching initiatives.
Funding focused on core activities and scholarships.
The Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation provided the IPP with financial resources to perform its core tasks. These include advertising internationally for open doctoral positions and the programme, conducting the selection processes in Mainz, organising and operating the education programme, as well as administrative work. Much of the funding went toward remunerating the doctoral students.
Over 260 junior scientists from 50 countries came to Mainz.
Since the IPP was established, it has attracted a continuously increasing number of highly qualified applicants from around the world. It has attracted over 260 doctoral students from 50 countries to Mainz. At the end of 2020, more than 150 were pursuing their dissertations in one of the over 50 research groups involved. Since its establishment, the IPP has also served as an impetus for further joint initiatives aimed at training new generations of scientists in Mainz. The IMB and the Faculty of Biology at the University of Mainz, for instance, have together established GeneRED, a new research endeavour financed by the State of Rhineland-Palatinate, whose doctoral students are integrated into the IPP.
In November 2021, the IPP was evaluated for the second time by a panel of renowned scientists and experts in the field of postgraduate education – and very positively so. The panel found the IPP to be an internationally competitive programme, which is comparable to the most reputed PhD programmes in Europe. It has contributed significantly to shaping the life sciences landscape in Mainz and serves as a major platform for interdisciplinary collaborations across individual institutions.