Our doctoral program involves many different disciplines.
The Cluster of Excellence with which we engage in intensive collaboration, UniSysCat, hosts 52 research groups from very diverse disciplines. See here for a list of all groups. These group leaders constitute the faculty supporting the EC2/BIG-NSE doctoral program. Not only do our students write their PhD theses in one or more of these groups; all group leaders are also involved in one way or another in our educational program: For example, some give a basic lecture; others present their lab during the excursions, participate in the annual retreat etc.
All groups have one interest in common: catalysis. But they tackle this topic from different perspectives and join forces in order to find innovative solutions to pressing problems. There are a lot of organic and inorganic chemists, theoretical chemists, material chemists and chemical engineers in our teams, but you will also find biochemists, biophysicists, physicists, biologists, biotechnologists and so on...
As described here, the topics given to our students are interdisciplinary by definition. The project proposals behind them must involve at least two supervisors, preferably from two different disciplines (and networks).
Therefore, our students are in constant contact with scientists from other disciplines, not only during the first year and in particular the initial phase of their PhD, but also during the research phase. The repeated interaction with researchers from other field compels them to think "out of the box" and seek innovative research paths. This increases their chances of success not only during their PhD but also for the rest of their career, where they can count on a network of friends from diverse fields to help them succeed in their endeavor.
