Motivation for Candidature

I started getting involved in the student and university self-administration at a very early stage of my studies, as I realised that a university depends as much on its students – even though they do stay for a much shorter period at the university – as on its professors and other staff. Therefore, it has always been my cordial concern to advocate the students’ interests, which due to their shorter stay at the university and the relative lack of experience in matters of self-administration resulting from this, but also due to the imbalance in power between tutors and students are not always sufficiently taken into consideration.
Regarding Ph.D. students this imbalance does even intensify. On the one hand, at some institutes there is only a very limited number of them to be found – sometimes even only a single one. Thus, they cannot rely on their numbers in order to be heard – like normal students. On the other hand, a lot of Ph.D. students are working for their Ph.D. supervisors. This linkage between financial dependency and the need to rely on the good will of the supervisor weakens the position of Ph.D. students. They face difficulties to advocate their interests against their supervisors.
Hence, it is my primary target to help Ph.D. students in situations in which there is a divergency between them and their supervisor. Establishing some sort of mediation group to solve these conflicts consensual is one of my targets in this regard. However, since I am aware of the unease of most Ph.D. students to risk open confrontation with their supervisor, I will also be personally on hand to discuss – in an anonymised manner – complaints brought to my attention with the respective supervisor.
Additionally, it is my intention to strengthen the general position of Ph.D. students by, inter alia, introducing an anonymised system to evaluate supervisors.
Completing two different studies as well as my work within the interdisciplinary Research Unit, however, made me also realise that Ph.D. students of different faculties can face quite different issues and thus have quite different needs, especially due the difference in the structure of their studies.
Therefore, my second main objective is to establish a Ph.D. representative in each faculty, who will doubtlessly – especially due to his/her own experience – be more aware of the needs and difficulties faced by the Ph.D. students of her/his faculty. This might also decrease the reluctance of Ph.D. students to contact their representative.


Further Information at: Institute for Law of Nations and European Law