Curriculum

The best possible support for your PhD studies

The IMPRS curriculum ensures a high-quality and comprehensive graduate education in all aspects of gravitational physics. It is our goal that theorists acquire a basic understanding of the experimental foundations of laboratory work in general and of interferometry, laser physics and quantum optics in particular. And experimentalists, on the other hand, are expected to acquire a basic understanding of data analysis, relativistic astrophysics and numerical relativity.

University and AEI lectures, and Lecture Weeks

The curriculum of the IMPRS combines specialized lectures offered regularly at Leibniz Universität Hannover, specialized lectures by AEI scientists which are video-transmitted to the other part of the institute.

At the heart of the curriculum are our IMPRS Lecture Weeks. These are weeks of block lectures in general relativity, data analysis or numerical relativity (alternating), and experimental gravitational-wave physics (with changing topics), taking place at seminar hotels in the surroundings of Europe. With this concept, we want to ensure that experimentalists also get some basic knowledge in the theoretical fields of gravitational-wave astronomy and theorists learn the basics of the experimental fields. The second important goal of these weeks is to bring the students of the different research fields and both institute locations together.

Interdisciplinary training program

Our final structured curriculum is turning out to be very successful. Because of the enormously broad scope of the research at the AEI, communication between the extremes has always been a challenge. Due to the interdisciplinary training program in the IMPRS we are beginning to see a new quality of communication, since experimentalists and theorists have a basic understanding of each other’s daily work and challenges.

Professional skills, project and human resource management

It is an ambition of the School that its graduates not only possess first-rate scientific skills but that they also acquire additional competences. Our training topics range from professional skills like scientific writing, scientific presentation and proposal writing to various media training courses and career development events. Work in gravitational wave astronomy is normally project-based and carried out under time and budget pressure with a success-oriented schedule, as other projects normally depend on it. As a result, effective project management is something all students have to learn from day one, furthermore they have to learn working in a team of peers. An emerging and rapidly expanding field as gravitational astronomy can only blossom through intense science marketing combined with effective outreach measures. Students are incorporated in this and thus acquire communication skills early in their careers.

Offers from Graduate Academy at Leibniz Universität Hannover

We make use of the resources offered by the Graduate Academy of LUH (GA), in particular the Promotion plus+ programme, which is unique within Germany.

I case of a possible partifipation fee please contact the IMPRS office so that the office can arrange payments.
 

German Courses

In this semester, a basic German course is given.

Every Monday and Thursday, between 17:00 - 19:15 in seminar room 106, registered members learn basic German language, namely A2 level. With A2 level, participants aim to be able to understand sentences and frequently used expressions related to areas of most immediate relevance (e.g. personal and family information, shopping, work, local area), to communicate in simple, routine situations involving simple and direct exchange of information on familiar and routine matters, and to be able to describe in simple terms own background and education, immediate environment and things related to immediate needs.