Looking beyond the horizon and finding inspiration: Spending time abroad during the doctoral, postdoctoral or habilitation phase can bring great benefits – and be funded. Research stays at other universities or participation in summer schools and international conferences open up new perspectives and strengthen personal networks. In the new GraFa blog ‘Head out!’, early-career researchers from TUBAF share their experiences. In short interviews, they present their research topics and report on how their stay abroad has helped them advance both scientifically and personally.
First up is Laura Hohlfeld, a doctoral student at the Institute for Nanoscale and Biobased Materials. She is researching stimuli-responsive biomaterials that can be used for smart applications – for example, wound pads that can release active ingredients in a controlled manner. She reports on her experiences at the European School on Rheology 2025 in Leuven, Belgium: ‘I wanted to take my experiments and data analysis to the next level – and that's exactly what happened that week.’
Saif Hossain is a doctoral candidate at the Institute for Glass Science and Technology. This summer, he had the chance to attend the Summer School of the International Commission on Glass in Montpellier, France. He says: ‘Learning has no boundaries. The summer school provided me a platform to get both theoretical insights and knowledge on real life solving problems in recycling of glass. A case study was a new experience and challenging. But, within a short time, we overcame the challenges.’
GraFa is funding stays abroad
The Graduate and Research Academy (GraFa) provides funding for international mobility for early- career researchers from TUBAF. The funding programme for the internationalisation of doctoral studies, postdoctoral research and habilitations provides financial support for initial international steps in academic careers.
