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Scientist Registration Lunch Talks Startup Bootcamp Past Events PIER Helmholtz Graduate School (PHGS) PIER Education Platform (PEP) DOIT PhD Representatives Research Fields PIER Research Perspectives Workshops PIER International PIER Idea Fund PHGS Travel Awards Calls, prizes and funding for doctoral researchers News & Events PIER Boards PIER Team CONTACT MEDIA CREDITS Quick links PHGS MEMBER LOGIN

Innovation & Startup

You are interested in learning about business startup and innovation topics? Check out PIER events and activities in this field.

PIER Research Funding

PIER offers funding for seed projects, joint workshops or short visits of international colleagues in your field.

PIER Education Platform

Transferable skills for doctoral and postdoctoral researchers

Language courses

German and English courses for doctoral and postdoctoral researchers

PHGS Travel Awards for doctoral researchers

With the PHGS Travel Awards we recognize outstanding doctoral researchers of the PIER Helmholtz Graduate School (PHGS). Accomplishments that can serve as the basis for a PHGS Travel Award include excellent publications, development of important scientific tools or software, entrepreneurship or other outstanding scientific contributions.

Forms and info Ssheets for doctoral researchers of the PHGS

Here you can find all templates and information sheets that are important for your membership in the PIER Helmholtz Graduate School.

Buddy Programme for new doctoral researchers of the PHGS

You are a new international doctoral sresearcher and would like support during your first time in Hamburg? You are an experienced doctoral researcher and would like to support a new international doctoral researcher? Register here.

Registration membership PIER Helmholtz Graduate School

You are starting a doctorate at DESY or Universität Hamburg and want to become a member of the PIER Helmholtz Graduate School? Here you can sign up.

Curriculum PIER Helmholtz Graduate School

The PHGS curriculum is the core of the education of our members and is the basis for the PHGS Certificate and Transcript of Records.

Focus on what is important

PIER Helmholtz Graduate School (PHGS)

The PIER Helmholtz Graduate School (PHGS) is a joint graduate programme of Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY) and Universität Hamburg with support of the Helmholtz Association.

Doctoral researchers benefit from outstanding research in the PIER research, competence fields and the emerging topic. The PHGS offers its members internationally recognized training in their respective research fields as well as the opportunity to conduct interdisciplinary research. Furthermore, all PHGS members choose from a variety of tailor-made transferable trainings and benefit from a special focus on career planning for their future career. By offering a wide range of services and support measures, personal well-being is guaranteed.

The PIER Helmholtz Graduate School is part of PIER, the "Partnership for Innovation, Education and Research", which stands for the strong partnership between DESY and Universität Hamburg. Under the umbrella of PIER, DESY and Universität Hamburg jointly provide funding for cross-institutional research projects, promote high-quality education of junior scientists, and foster an innovation-friendly culture on the science campus Bahrenfeld.

PHGS is part of the E (Education) in PIER. The PIER Helmholtz Graduate School and its more than 250 doctoral researchers benefit from the strong partnership between DESY and Universität Hamburg by taking advantage of the best of both partners.

You are starting a doctorate at DESY or Universität Hamburg and want to become a member of the PIER Helmholtz Graduate School? Sign up here.

PIER research and competence fields and emerging topic: particle & astroparticle physics, nanoscience, photon science, infection and structural biology, accelerator research, theoretical physics and artefact profiling.

Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY): one of the world’s leading accelerator centres. Researchers use the large-scale facilities at DESY to explore the microcosm in all its variety.

Universität Hamburg (UHH): one of Germany’s largest research and educational institutions. It combines a diverse curriculum with excellent research. It was granted the status of a University of Excellence for its role as a flagship university.

Doctoral Programme

Members of the PHGS benefit from the high level of academic education, excellent scientific supervision, tailor-made transferable skills training and a caring PHGS team.

Membership

All members of the PHGS conduct their doctoral projects in the PIER research and competence fields or emerging topic and have an affiliation to either DESY or Universität Hamburg or a cooperation partner of the PHGS.

Forms & Info Sheets

The PHGS provides its members with as many information and templates they need in order to orient and organise themselves as easily as possible. All information is in English.

PHGS Buddy Programme

Experienced doctoral researchers of the PHGS support newcomers from abroad and pass along their personal experiences to them e.g. accompany them to the initial contact points at DESY and/or the University Hamburg, support with communication difficulties, take the newcomer on a tour of the city.

Equal opportunity & diversity

The PHGS has set itself the goal of contributing to a significant increase in the proportion of female members in the graduate school and also to increase the number of women who decide to continue their career in science after the doctorate.

Our doctoral researchers

The PHGS has more than 250 active members. The members come from more than 30 different countries. The majority of the members conduct their doctorates in the PIER research fields particle and astroparticle physics and photo science.

World class research with an international and inter­disciplinary approach

The science campus Bahrenfeld with its world-class research facilities is where all PIER activities take place. Among them are DESY’s extremely brilliant X-ray synchrotron radiation source PETRA III (which, in the very near future, will be expanded into the ultimate 3D X-ray microscope for nanoresearch, PETRA IV), the free-electron laser FLASH and the world’s most powerful X-ray free-electron laser European XFEL. The campus will be the nucleus of Science City Hamburg Bahrenfeld – one of Hamburg’s most ambitious urban planning projects which will boost Hamburg as a hub for science by offering researchers a creative and sustainable space to learn, teach, research, innovate, live, and work. The PIER Helmholtz Graduate School promotes research and networking within this multidisciplinary and international environment, as well as offers its members an internationally recognized training in their respective research fields.

Learn More About Travel Awards for Members of the PHGS

PIER research and competence fields: particle & astroparticle physics, nanoscience, photon science, infection and structural biology, accelerator research and theoretical physics.

Travel Awards
Image of two male researchers discussing their work © DESY/Marta Mayer

Focus on transferable skills and career planning

In addition to the qualifications specific to a profession, other abilities also play an important role when it comes to successfully planning one’s career and life. The qualification concept of the PIER Helmholtz Graduate School focuses on the acquisition of key research and career skills. In the PIER Education Platform (PEP), a comprehensive transferable skills portfolio with workshops, trainings and networking opportunities for young researchers is offered. The transferable skills portfolio is tailor-made for doctoral students and focuses on the needs in the respective stage of the individual research projects - from research effectiveness for first year doctoral students to career and leadership training for doctoral candidates in their third year. The language of instruction is English.

Image of Christian Nweze

»As a member of PHGS, I have taken advantage of many of the soft skills courses offered in PEP. And the skills I gained in the process I now apply in my current position.«

Dr. Christian Nweze | Nigeria | Member of PHGS until 2023 | now Postdoc at Universität Hamburg | Read more about Christian

»As a member of PHGS, I have taken advantage of many of the soft skills courses offered in PEP. And the skills I gained in the process I now apply in my current position.«

Dr. Christian Nweze | Nigeria | Member of PHGS until 2023 | now Postdoc at Universität Hamburg | Read more about Christian

Service-oriented and strongly supportive

Because good working conditions are essential for the well-being of any doctoral student, the PIER Helmholtz Graduates School offers a wide range of services and support measures to its members. The offers range from a buddy program for new international doctoral candidates to help with bureaucratic issues and finding their ways the new country, other activities like organized leisure activities that enable doctoral students to jointly discover the beautiful and lively port city of Hamburg and to find friends. The PHGS team is the central point of contact for its members in all questions regarding the doctoral project and the wellbeing of each member. Furthermore, the PHGS team supports all members with knowledge of and cooperation with all facilities at DESY, the University Hamburg, the City of Hamburg and facilities in Hamburg that are experts on certain topics.