Outstanding Doctoral Supervision – Award Ceremony 2023

Congratulations!

On July 4, 2023, the recipients of the 2023 Outstanding Doctoral Supervision Award were honored at a ceremony in the "Campus Space".
The prize in the natural sciences and engineering was awarded to Prof. Dr. Nicole Megow, Professor for Combinatorial Optimization and Logistics in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science.
In the humanities and social sciences, the winner was Prof. Dr. Kerstin Martens, Professor for International Relations and World Society at the Department of Social Sciences.

Commitment and Passion

“At our university, many doctoral supervisors at all faculties take on their task with a great deal of commitment and passion. One of the central aims of today's award ceremony is to draw attention to this achievement,” said the Vice President for International Affairs, Academic Qualification, and Diversity, Dr. Mandy Boehnke, at the award ceremony.

Valuing Doctoral Supervision

Lively participation from the university and beyond both appreciated and reaffirmed the great importance of good doctoral supervision.

Perspectives of former doctoral candidates

In his laudatory speech for the award winner in the natural and engineering sciences, Prof. Dr. Nicole Megow, former doctoral student Dr. Lukas Nölke described, “Some of the qualities I most admire in Nicole Megow are her drive and her infectious enthusiasm for discrete mathematics. Her diversity literacy – the ability to act in an appreciative, respectful, and unprejudiced manner – is another skill that sets her apart and that she always exemplifies. It is rare to encounter a mentor who is so competent in her field as well as so empathetic and encouraging on a human level."

Perspectives of former doctoral candidates

In his laudatory speech, Prof. Dr. Kerstin Martens' former doctoral candidate Dr. Fabian Besche-Truthe said, “Kerstin Martens excels at teaching research organization and research design to her students and research assistants. Additionally, she is an excellent career coach. She has a good perception of where our research is applicable and which audience we can best reach with our topics.”

Donator of the prize money: Alumni of the University of Bremen e.V.

"Usually, awards are given for the work of an individual. Here it is different. Here, we honor those whose work creates the conditions for outstanding achievements by individuals. This is exactly the reason why we, as an alumni association, are committed to this award,” said Dr. Tim Nesemann, chairperson of the University of Bremen Alumni Network association. The prize money of 2,000 Euros per person is earmarked exclusively for projects to support doctoral students.

Festive atmosphere

The saxophonist Christopher Spintge accompanied the ceremony at the Campus Space of the Sparkasse Bremen AG with his tunes.

Three further nominees were also honored at the ceremony and Dr. Mandy Boehnke cited examples from their nominations as insights into good doctoral supervision practice.

Multiple nominees 2023:

Prof. Dr. Kai Bischof
Faculty Biology/Chemistry

Dr. Kathrin Mädler
Faculty Biology/Chemistry

Prof. Dr. Lutz Mädler
Faculty Production Engineering

The University's Board of Directors appreciates excellent supervision

Along with the Vice President for International Affairs, Academic Qualification, and Diversity, Dr. Mandy Boehnke, who moderated the event, the Vice President for Teaching and Studies, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Maren Petersen, and  the Vice President for Research and Transfer, Prof. Dr. Michal Kucera honored the award winners with their presence and thus underlined the impact that good doctoral supervision has.