PhD Representatives

Pursuing a doctorate is an intense phase: you research, teach, write, organize – and often there is little room to make your own interests visible. That is precisely why a strong PhD representative body is needed at the University of Potsdam. Representatives that know your concerns, contribute your perspectives, and represent your interests where decisions are made.

Now is the right time to get actively involved.

Why should you get involved?

• Because good PhD conditions don't just happen by chance. They happen when people work for them.
• Because your voice matters. The PhD representatives bring your issues to the attention of key committees.
• Because diversity is crucial. Every doctorate is different—and this diversity should be reflected in the representation.
• Because commitment makes a difference. Whether it's supervision, funding, working conditions, or continuing education: those who have a say can change the framework conditions.

Want to run for office? It's easier than you think.

You don't need years of committee experience or perfect rhetoric. What counts is your view of the reality of pursuing a doctorate and your willingness to actively shape it. International PhD candidates can of course also run for office, language barriers are not a criterion for exclusion, and some work processes are bilingual.

Vote? Absolutely!

Even if you don't want to run for office yourself, your vote strengthens those who are working to improve conditions for PhD candidates. Every vote cast shows that PhD candidates not only conduct research, but also take on responsibility.

Together, we can achieve more.

The statutes (only in German) may seem formal, but what they enable is vibrant: co-determination, visibility, diversity, and real change. Whether you run for office or vote, you are helping to ensure that the interests of all PhD candidates are heard and taken seriously in order to make the doctorate phase at the University of Potsdam a little better.
 

In my own doctoral research, I explore the relationship between humans and space, particularly in built environments. My focus is on architectural education and the question of how we can develop a deeper understanding of the design and perception of our lived environment. Art education perspectives and artistic research are key tools for questioning and reshaping spatial practices—especially for children and young people.
The doctoral phase is much more than just writing a dissertation, as I am continually reminded in my exchanges with other doctoral candidates. It is a comprehensive phase of developing academic, methodological, and professional competencies.
As a representative of PhD candidates, I aim to act as a mediator for their perspectives, bringing their concerns, experiences, and needs into the PoGS's offers and courses. A balanced promotion of methodological diversity in research and interdisciplinary exchange is particularly important to me. The goal is to be empowered to shape the doctoral phase in a way that not only fulfills academic objectives but also transfers knowledge, enables networking, and sustainably fosters personal development.
 

My PhD thesis is about the body experience of children in primary school in physical education. I want to find out how relevant teachers consider this topic and how they create the environment to allow children to collect a broad spectrum of body experiences in physical education.

Beside my PhD and my work at university, I also work as a primary teacher. Therefore I experience on a daily basis the importance of well functioning networks between the different work areas. To actually make a change, improving working conditions or making fears and wishes seen a „transfer connection“ is needed. Based on my prior experience, my interest in different topics and my communicative personality I would like to help other PhD candidates to make their personal issues seen.  We also realized this year two Online Writing Days and supported the reinitiation of the “Deutschlandticket” for PhD students. If I was elected again, I could continue all of my momentarily ongoing efforts to solve problems of PhD candidates.