BioMove provides a state-of-the-art program in modern scientific theory and methods to prepare its graduates for academic work in the fields of movement, behavioural and evolutionary ecology, conservation biology, biodiversity research and related topics. An important goal of the doctoral program in BioMove is to broaden the interdisciplinary competence of young researchers, enabling them to develop projects that bridge methods, concepts and disciplines, uncompromisingly pursuing the primacy of the research question. This will be achieved by group-based, goal-oriented scientific synthesis (‘bottom-up’-research teams) rather than only by classical top-down knowledge transfer.

In particular, doctoral training will concentrate on interdisciplinary workshops and scientific exchange with research fellows and international guest scientists (‘MoveScientists’ program), linked to an exchange program for doctoral researchers (‘PhDMove’ program), and summer schools. Additonally, the PhD students visit at least four soft skills courses at the Potsdam Graduate School (PoGS) or in similar institutions during three years (more details below). Furthermore, workshops on the general rules of "Good Scientific Practise" as well as "Gender related Workshops" (more) will be conducted. During the yearly retreats, the status quo of the single projects are reported and plans and goals for the future are defined. At the end of the first PhD cohort, we will organise a BioMove Conference to summarise and share the results of the first three years of BioMove with the research community and the new PhD student cohort. All workshops and activities are arranged according to the needs and wishes of the PhD student cohort.

Workshops:

1)   Concepts in movement ecology and biodiversity research

      (Oct. 2015 – Febr. 2016)
2)   GIS basics (10.-12.02.2016)
3)   Advanced Statistics (29.02.-04.03.2016)
4)   Ecological Modelling (14.-18.03.2016)
5)   GIS & Remote Sensing (01.-04.11.2016)
6)   Data Management
7)   Population Genetics

Summer Schools:

Telemetry: Animal tracking methods and advanced data analyses -  Station Gülpe (Havelaue) (10.-14.10.2016)

Retreats:

Kick-off – Huberhof Seehausen (Uckermark) (05.- 06.10.2015)

One year BioMove – Burghotel Bad Belzig (09.- 10.11.2016 )

Retreat 2017 - Seminarhotel Paulinenhof Bad Belzig (10.-11.10.2017)

Soft Skills & Good Scientific Practise:

A)   Data management (05.02.2016)
B)   Animal Protection Laws & Permissions for Animal Experiments

      (10.06.2016)
C)   Scientific Writing (21.-22.02.2017)
D)   Science Communication (April 2017 + Oct. 2017)

Gender Related Workshops:

a)   Gender meets Culture (22.-23.10.2015)
b)   Rhetoric Empowerment for women (30.-31.01.2017)
c)   Career Day: Compatibility of career and family (autumn 2017)

BioMove Conference:

September 2018 @ UP

MoveScientists

2016

Dr. Kamran Safi, Germany

Prof. Justin Calabrese, USA

Prof. Ran Nathan, Israel

Dr. Allert Bijleveld, Netherlands

Prof. Bram van Moorter, Norway

Dr. Simon Ripperger, Germany

Dr. Marc Wehrhahn, Germany

Dr. Carsten Neumann, Germany

Dr. Jannes Münchow, Germany

Prof. Alexander Brenning, Germany

Prof. Klaus Fischer, Germany

Prof. Steven Declerk, Netherlands

Dr. Emiel van Loon, Netherlands

Prof. Ulrich Brose, Germany

2017

Prof. Franz Bairlein, Germany

Dr. James Turner, Germany

Prof. Yaron Ziv, Israel

Prof. Janne Soininen, Finland

Dr. Greta Bocedi, UK

Prof. Kirk Moloney, USA

In addition to the scientific curricula, one- and two-day workshops on diverse topics are frequently offered to enhance professional skills for career development by the Potsdam Graduate School (PoGS) and the Dahlem Research School (DRS). Workshop topics include performing presentations, leading discussions, time and self-management, grant writing, job application training, team-management, PhD thesis defence training, scientific career strategies as well as social, personal, leadership, communication, and intercultural skills. Workshops on topics, that are interesting for the majority of PhD students, like scientific writing or science communication, are organised in addition.