Group picture of doctoral students participating in the DoKDoK conference 2022 in Arnstadt.

ALPHA - Abbe schooL of Photonics pHd certificAte - program

Since 2023, ASP offers the ALPHA program as an additional qualification concept for its enrolled doctoral students. This certificate program addresses those areas of qualification and career development that are not (yet) covered in the doctoral regulations.
Group picture of doctoral students participating in the DoKDoK conference 2022 in Arnstadt.
Image: Maximilian Weißflog

In a nutshell: The ALPHA program

The ALPHA program is voluntary and open to all ASP doctoral students. However, it is specifically designed for those doctoral students who do not already belong to a structured programme (e.g. CRC, IRTG, RTG etc.) and who would like a doctoral programme to accompany their doctorate. When opting in for this program, additional achievements such as workshops and conference contributions are awarded credit points (CP) specific for this program in the course of the doctorate. After completion of the doctorate, these achievements are documented in a graduate certificate issued by the ASP.

Please note that a total of 30 CP obtained during the doctoral studies is necessary to fulfil the ALPHA program and to finally obtain the certificate. It is NOT the goal to earn as many credit points as possible as additional points will not be listed on your certificate. It is also NOT intended to increase the duration of a doctorate for collecting these 30 CPs. Rather, a goal-oriented and efficient doctoral research is given highest priority, both from the viewpoint of the doctoral candidate and of the supervisor.

What to do now?

Credit points (CPs) for ALPHA

ASP doctoral candidates can earn credit points (CPs) by participating in qualification and career development measures. In principle, all offers published and advertised by the ASP are suitable for obtaining CPs, even if this may not be explicitly stated in every case.

The following point scale is a guideline for the measures that are available in ALPHA and is based on systems already established at the FSU (for example, www.jsmc.uni-jena.deExternal link or www.uni-jena.de/en/graduate-academy). It is based on the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS), in which one credit point (CP) corresponds to around 25 to 30 working hours (including preparation and follow-up time). For example, all qualification offers offered by the Graduate Academy of the FSU and some external providers are already categorized and quantified by the ECTS.

At the same time, the ALPHA CP system also takes into account the individual and photonics-specific qualifications acquired by an ASP doctoral candidate at the Jena site, such that offers and activities that are not ECTS standardized can also be converted into CPs through an individual assessment by the ASP. Activities beneficial to the individual career or to the ASP are also flexibly awarded.

A Good Scientific Practice (mandatory)

  • Participation in a workshop on Good Scientific Practice, usually 1 CP

B Photonics (minimum 10 CP, maximum 18 CP)

  • Participation in the DoKDoK conference (highly recommended, 1 CP per day)
  • Participation in national and international photonics conferences (0.5 CP per day)
  • Participation in photonics workshops and summer schools (1 CP per day)

+1 CP for each own contribution like a presentation or a poster at such events

C Transferable Skills and Voluntary Work in Academia (minimum 5 CP)

  • Participation in seminars or workshops (without claim for completeness, see www.uni-jena.de/en/phd-qualification , 1 CP per day)
  • Voluntary work at honorary offices in academia (e.g. organization of a conference, work in an academic committee, up to 5 CP, individually decided)
  • Voluntary student mentoring (up to 3 CP, individually decided)

D Teaching (no minimum, but mandatory e.g. at the Faculty of Physics and Astronomy)

  • 1 CP per weekly semester teaching hour[2] ("Semesterwochenstunden", SWS)
  • Participation in workshops on teaching (e.g. "Lehre lernen" at FSU, 1 CP per day)

Evidence for teaching duties must be provided by the doctoral candidate in a suitable form (e.g. Friedolin). If this is not possible, an informal teaching record can be signed by the supervisor.

ALPHA Certificate

In order to obtain the ALPHA certificate, the participation in the qualification and career development measures is recorded by the doctoral students themselves in their personal doctoral students' account ("doc-in")External link. This account is made available to every doctoral student as a necessary requirement for a doctorate at the FSU. However, recording the above-mentioned participations is voluntary and at the discretion of the doctoral candidate.

The ASP office will issue a certificate accompanying the doctoral certificate, including documentation of the participation, once

  • the doctorate was successfully completed, and
  • a total of at least 30 CPs according to the above guidelines have been achieved.

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