Introduction of your Doctoral Convention

Welcome to the homepage of the convention of doctoral researchers at KIT-Department of Civil Engineering, Geo and Environmental Sciences

Brief Introduction: your doctoral "student council"

All doctoral researchers accepted at the department are part of the convention. It is represented by the elected board. It is the representation of interests with a guest seat in the department council and is available to the doctoral researchers of the department in an advisory capacity. Furthermore, one elected doctoral student is a member of the departmend council with voting rights.

You have voted! Since 16th of January 2025 the council has a new board. We are looking forward to oncoming tasks and to promote the interests of all doctoral reseachers. 

Your elected board and your representation in the department council

Jeremy Geiger

1. Chairman

Johanna Stähle

2. Chairwoman

Marius Hägle

Board Member

Roman Konoplev-Esgenburg

Board Member

Annika Lidwina Schultheiß

Member with voting rights in the department council

You have a question? Contact us via doktorandenkonvent∂bgu.kit.edu

Current Projects

Flyer at the start of your doctorate or employment relationship
At the beginning of the work at KIT or for the beginning of the doctorate, you receive a lot of important information from many directions, e.g. from KHYS and the doctoral regulations. What is the "acceptance as doctoral candidate at the department" and what is the "application for admission to the doctoral procedure"? Why are they important? Who can I contact? Answers to all these questions and more will be available to everyone in a clear flyer in the future. The advisory board of doctoral researchers is takes care of this project KIT-wide, while the doctoral conventions of the individual departments contribute the department-specific information.
KIT-wide doctoral researcher survey
Every three years, all doctoral students of KIT, i.e. all doctoral researchers accepted at a departement, are queried in a large survey. The next one will take place this year, 2023. We are working with other KIT doctoral conventions to ensure that new topics that are important to all of us are included in this survey. These include questions about mental health as well as questions about power abusement. In addition, we want to shorten the questionnaire in general. We hope that through this collaborative project, we can help to better capture doctoral conditions so that we can make them better for everyone.
Vice speaker of the advisory board of the doctoral researchers
Not a project, but great news: Christin Kannen, our 2nd chair, has been elected as vice speaker of the advisory board of doctoral researchers! We wish her all the best for this new position!

Information

Enrollment for doctoral researchers
In December 2021, mandatory enrollment for doctoral researchers was also introduced at KIT. In principle, enrollment is mandatory for all doctoral researchers accepted by a KIT department, unless they are working full-time at KIT and declare that they do not want to be enrolled. For further information, please click here.
What exactly is the convention of doctoral students?

The convention of doctoral researchers of the Faculty of Civil Engineering, Geo- and Environmental Sciences is the association of all doctoral researchers accepted at the department according to § 38 para. 7 of the state university act as well as the resolution of the KIT senate of 17.11.2014. The convention elects a board once a year in a plenary meeting. This board actively promotes their interests, represents them in the department council and in the KIT-wide convention-meeting, and is available to all doctoral researchers for advice on questions concerning the doctorate.

With what concerns can you contact us?
  • Questions about doctorate registration at the department
  • Questions about further organizational steps
  • Suggestions for improvement of the general conditions of the doctorate
How do I find a doctoral position at the faculty?
We do not offer jobs. Usually, the application process is managed directly by the institutes and the associated professors. Certainly, it is a good idea to look at the job advertisements of KIT
Practical Links

Events

1. get-together at Pfannestiel april 2023
On the evening of April 26, 2023, the first get-together of the BGU doctoral students after the Corona pandemic took place in the Pfannestiel restaurant. Historically, there was already a get-together before Corona, but only among the civil engineers. From now on, this will be organized by the board of the BGU doctoral convention for the entire department. We were pleased to had almost 25 participants, who exchanged professional and interdisciplinary ideas in pleasant conversations. We also participated in the challenging Pfannestiel quiz. Even if the quiz success was missing in the end, the evening was great fun and we are already looking forward to the following get-togethers!
2. get-together at Pfannestiel july 2023
On the evening of July 11, 2023, the second get-together of the BGU doctoral students took place again in the Pfannestiel. Under an umbrella we braved the rain in the beer garden and experienced a very nice evening with almost 20 participants. Of course, we were again able to exchange professional as well as interdisciplinary information about teaching, research and all kinds of things that are relevant in the life of doctoral students. Many thanks for that and see you next time!
3. get-together at Pfannestiel november 2023
The third get-together for all BGU doctoral students also took place on November 9 at the Pfannestiel. In a relaxed atmosphere, we were able to present the work of the convention board, make advertisement for future motivated members and generally discuss a wide range of professional and non-professional topics in the lives of doctoral students. Thank you very much for the wonderful evening, we are already looking forward to the next one!
4. get-together at Pfannestiel april 2024
Just in time for the start of the new semester, we held our 4th get-together for all doctoral students at the BGU at restaurant Pfannestiel. Since new elections had taken place in February, the new board had the chance to introduce itself and to discuss issues regarding day to day business in the life of doctoral students. Later on everybody had a chance to test their knowledge during the pubquiz!  Thank you to all the numerous people who showed up and for the nice evening! 
5. get-together at Pfannestiel november 2024
The second get-together of the year for the doctoral students at the BGU was once again held at restaurant Pfannestiel. The board took the opportunity to give insights into its ongoing work and current projects. Additionally everybody was eager to rack their brains during the pubquiz, resulting in great scores for both teams! We thank everybody who showed up for the good conversations and the nice evening.
6. get-together at Pfannestiel may 2025
The first get-together of the new year took place in the beer garden of the Pfannestiel thanks to the great weather. The new board had the opportunity to introduce themselves and report on the current status of ongoing projects. Many thanks for the nice evening, which once again provided a successful opportunity for exchange!

Contact

Mail to the board: doktorandenkonvent∂bgu.kit.edu