The German Research Foundation (DFG), the largest research funding organisation in germany, has certified the 3D-NanoFab Research Training Group as having above-average success. Compared with Research Training Groups it funds at other german universities, more doctoral students complete their doctorates and the time it takes them to do so is shorter. By funding Research Training Groups and Graduate Schools, the DFG enables universities to train outstanding doctoral students in a research-oriented manner.
The interdisciplinary Research Training Group "Cutting-edge and laser-based 3D nanofabrication in extended macroscopic workspaces" (3D-NanoFab) has been funded by the DFG since 2017. It offers young scientists the opportunity to conduct specialized cutting-edge research in a research and qualification program and to earn a doctorate at the highest level. The first generation of doctoral students completed their research on schedule in June 2020.
The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) has now issued two reports on doctorates in germany: firstly, it examined the ratio of completed to uncompleted doctorates in projects that it funded. Secondly, it assessed the duration of doctoral projects. The reports are among the most detailed statistical sources on doctorates in germany.
92 percent success rate
Ilmenau's doctoral researchers are particularly successful in a nationwide comparison. According to the DFG analysis of the ratio of completed to incomplete doctorates, 79 percent of doctoral students completed their doctorate within eight years, while 21 percent discontinued their doctorate in the meantime. In contrast, in the first generation of the Research Training Groups 3D-NanoFab at the TU Ilmenau, 12 out of 13 doctorates, i.e. 92 percent, were successfully completed. This puts the Ilmenau DFG Research Training Group 3D-NanoFab at the forefront in a nationwide comparison.
