Training Program
The Vienna BioCenter PhD program has about 260 students in over 60 groups across 4 institutes. A PhD typically takes 4-5 years, with funding guaranteed until graduation. Half of our students are women, and 75% are from outside Austria. Many of our faculty have undergone extensive leadership training, lifting the standards of mentorship and supervision across campus.
Our role is to ensure that all candidates have the support and resources necessary to develop research projects that matter and that are based on rigorous science.
A flexible curriculum designed for and with PhD Candidates
The program has a concise mandatory core training. One keystone is the 3-week introductory course called Prime Your PhD. The course covers a variety of professional skills needed to succeed as a PhD student, such as scientific writing, presentation skills, and scientific ethics. It is also key to forming a cohort of students to mutually support each other throughout the PhD. Other mandatory components include attendance and presentation in the long-running interdisciplinary Monday Seminar and an annual mentoring meeting with the supervisor to discuss career development. In addition, we offer various elective courses. For detailed information on the curriculum, see the “Student Lounge.”
A training program to develop well-rounded professional scientists
A variety of programs and resources on campus (detailed below) are available for skill development a la carte--students take advantage if and when they have the need, in agreement with their supervisor and Thesis Advisory Committee. To expose PhD students to the wider researcher community, participation and presentation in international courses and conferences is encouraged. Furthermore, students are encouraged to suggest and develop new courses or training initiatives. The Scientific Training program strongly supports bottom-up and peer-learning training.
Programs and resources on campus
The Scientific Training team offers approximately two trainings per month on the VBC campus or online to develop transferable skills (see our calendar). We also provide a comprehensive guide to help you find training resources both on and off campus, organized by skill. The mandatory Prime Your PhD introductory course includes training in most of the skills shown in the guide.
All PhD students can access the university-wide transferable skills training platform, u:rise, with their u:account. There are regular offerings in skills such as scientific presentations, coding, use of AI, self-management, career development, teaching, conflict management, and so on.
This platform is built for current researchers at VBC to connect with alumni. Through the platform, the Scientific Training team provides career development and networking events, community (no need to “connect” to other members), career resources (career path stories, job board), news, and soon a mentoring program.
This trainee-led initiative aims to build bridges between academia and industry through tailored events, including company presentations and dedicated networking sessions.
VBCF Computational Biology Training provides ~2-4 practical courses in computational data analysis topics each month.
How do you do it? – in short HDYDI – is an informal monthly seminar series where PhD students and postdocs teach their peers about something they have become an expert in. The subject could be a specific method, technique or piece of equipment, but also a skill or a life hack that lets them thrive in Science.
The slides and/or recordings of the past seminars are uploaded here (password protected).
- The interdisciplinary "Monday Seminar" is a 15-min presentation given by every PhD student and postdoc every 1-1.5 years, followed by a feedback session with the faculty. Every Monday from 12.30 to 13.30 in the IMP lecture hall three speakers present in front of other PhD students, post docs and members of the faculty. Participation (attendance and presentation) is mandatory.
- RISE Lectures (Research/Inspiration/Support/Empowerment): Students are supported by the VBC faculty in inviting ten internationally renowned scientists per year to give a talk at the VBC Campus, as part of the established and prestigious VBC lecture series. RISE lectures are preceded by one short talk held by a PhD student whose research falls into the speaker’s field.
- Various other open seminars featuring both internal and external speakers are organized by each institute in the program. See calendar here.
- Journal clubs and “work in progress” seminars (lab meetings and institute-specific series) are organized locally and independently; research groups will keep tabs on relevant series.
Every year, students make a great effort to organize the Vienna BioCenter PhD Program Symposium which is supported by the institutes and through sponsorship. Leading scientists present their latest discoveries within the symposiums' selected range of topics. Postdocs and other researchers are also welcome to attend.
- The postdoc mentoring program was set up for postdocs to offer advice, guidance, and insights to PhD students from the perspective of someone who has been in their shoes not long ago. This is an opportunity for growth of both the mentor and mentee.
- An alumni mentoring program is forthcoming. Stay tuned!