Doctoral Thesis in Focus: Smart strategies for Managing Projects and Staying Motivated

Location: AIB 1020/30 (Hochschulring 40)
Begin: 24.09.2026, 09:00
End: 24.09.2026, 16:00

This workshop is part of the MAPEX Doctoral Qualification Programme. We aim to support and train doctoral candidates in acquiring transversal skills and developing useful competencies for future leading tasks inside and outside of academia.

Workshop Description

In the course of doctoral work, the challenges often shift from the beginning to maintaining concentration, coping with diverse tasks, and maintaining a high level of motivation. This workshop is aimed at doctoral students in the natural sciences and engineering who are pursuing their doctoral studies. Participants will reflect on their current situation, learn strategies for prioritizing tasks, strengthen their time management skills, and discover motivational tools to help them continue to make progress during challenging phases of their research and project work.

Workshop Topics

- Prioritization strategies for complex research and project tasks

- Time management tools for balancing personal life, paperwork, and academic commitments

- Motivation techniques for maintaining energy and concentration over the long term

- Reflection on the current status of the doctoral program: successes, challenges, and next steps

Workshop Learning Goals

- Recognize and structure your own priorities

- Apply and reflect on time management methods for research contexts

- Develop motivation and self-management strategies for challenging phases

- Effectively combine long-term doctoral goals with daily project tasks

Teaching method

This workshop offers a balanced mix of short presentations by the trainer, individual learning phases, and joint group exercises. The aim is to help participants develop their own strategies and an action plan for prioritizing their tasks, keeping track of time, and staying motivated—with practical examples, specific tips, and self-reflective tasks. Content from the natural sciences serves as material for further study.

Target Group

The workshop is especially useful for Ph.D. candidates of Natural and Engineering faculties at any stage of their Ph.D. Early Postdocs can also take advantage of the workshop.

Workshop Instructor

Dr. Melanie Schall is a lecturer in methods, media and didactic concepts in vocational education and research. After completing her studies in education and educational sciences, she initially gained experience as a social pedagogue, focusing on counseling and supporting young people in school, career preparation, and volunteer services. She became interested in the potential of digital media for educational purposes at an early stage. Since graduating in social informatics (2018), she has combined practical professional experience with research and development of media-based teaching concepts. Her doctoral thesis (2024) deepens this focus with an emphasis on incompany trainers. Her work concentrates on the design of innovative forms of learning for trainers and the implementation of seminars for teacher training students, as well as supervising students and doctoral candidates in their theses and research projects.