Training
One of the educational challenges of an international graduate training venture like an IMPRS is offering each student an individually tailored programme of graduate courses. Our firm goal in creating IMPRS-CPQM is to do so, optimising each programme for the student’s background, expertise and research projects. With this in mind, we offer two ‘core’ courses, one of which will be compulsory for each student, but give them their individually tailored programme via access to a wide range of other graduate courses offered by the graduate schools with which IMPRS is a formal collaborator.
Our core courses will be:
a) Introduction to Interacting Electron Physics in Solids which will concentrate on modern condensed matter physics, and be designed to familiarise masters-level chemists with the key concepts in the field, described with as little use of formal mathematics as possible.
b) Introduction to Solid State Chemistry which will start with various methods of synthesising inorganic materials, followed by an introduction to the basic principles of the structures of crystalline materials including the classic archetypes and the intriguing fields between them.
To supplement the core courses we will offer choice from a large number of graduate-level courses, taught by experts in Germany and Scotland. Each student will be expected to take at least three elective courses during their PhD, tailored to suit their background and the needs of their research project.
Recommended elective courses will include:
- Superconductivity
- Magnetism
- Solid-State Spectroscopy
- Quantum Field Theory
- Quantum Phase Transitions
- Surface Properties
- Topology and Probes of Condensed Matter
- Principles of Phase Formation and Phase Transitions
- Structure Determination with X-Ray Diffraction Methods
- Symmetry in Molecules and Crystals
- Crystal Chemistry
- Inorganic Materials
Non-academic courses
We further will offer non-academic training to our students which will complement their scientific training. These courses will cover topics like presentation skills, scientific writing, and other soft skills. Usually, our students select the topic of these seminars and workshops and also organize these events themselves, so that they can pick topics which they find most relevant for their development.
Past events covered topics such as "Reading and mnemo techniques", "Stress management", and "Communicating your research". You can find information about all events in our event archive.
IMPRS-CPQM students can also attend skills courses and other non-academic training offered by the partner universities:
Seminars, workshops and other events
In addition to the courses, we intend to run a seminar organized by the students themselves. One major goal is to facilitate face-to-face interaction between all IMPRS-CPQM students, even though they may work in different fields of research. Further, the students can use this platform to learn about new scientific topics and simultaneoulsy improve their skills regarding scientific presentations and discussions. The topics of this seminar will cover the course material or the research performed by the students as part of their PhD project.
Several times per year, IMPRS-CPQM will organize multi-day events such as retreats, workshops, and summer or winter schools. These events will focus on particular aspects within the scope of IMPRS-CPQM and may be open to non-IMPRS students as well. We will announce the details for these events as they become available.
We also encourage students in IMPRS-CPQM to attend international conferences and workshops. These events give them a great opportunity to present their research to a wide community and thus establish their own scientific network.