#31 Newsletter Graduate Center

The next semester is coming up, and we have a few reminders and invitations for you. As the co-writing sessions were well received even during the summer break, we have organised more for the upcoming semester. The next session is on Friday, 4 September from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m and will continue monthly during the winter semester. We are looking forward to the new semester and planning our Welcome Event for all new doctoral students on Thursday, 8 October. Additional information about the PhD is also available on our website.

☞ Invitation: Welcome Event for new doctoral students

To provide initial information and orientation, the Graduate Center warmly invites all doctoral students new to the mdw (and the ones, who couldn't make it last year) to our Welcome Event on Thursday, 8 October 2026. As part of the onboarding process, there will be a dedicated Onboarding Workshop for PhD students from 11:00 AM - 01:00 PM. In the afternoon, advanced PhD students will present their projects at the PhD Meet and Greet. You can find the detailed programme here. We are very much looking forward to this event and to meeting all new doctoral candidates! Please save the date and register via graduiertenzentrum@mdw.ac.at
 

☞ Doc-Buddy-Programme

The mdw's Doc-Buddy-Programme is designed to help new doctoral students settle in at the mdw and to welcome them during the first weeks at their new university. Consisting of experienced and new doctoral students, the Doc-Buddy group provides orientation and guidance at the mdw, as well as valuable networking opportunities in the first semester. If you are interested, please register by 30 September by emailing graduiertenzentrum@mdw.ac.at

☞ Postdoc Appreciation Week Austria

Postdoc Appreciation Week brings together role models, industry experts, and postdoctoral researchers from various institutions. Their panels and workshops will be held at various universities in Austria, with several events taking place at Anton-von-Webern-Platz. The events will take place from 21–25 September 2026. You can find a detailed programme here. 

☞ Reminder: PhD-Co-Writing-Session

The Graduate Center listened carefully to the outcomes of this year's Klausur der Wissenschaften (KdW) and, together with the moderators of the PhD group, Vera Djemelinskaia and Abby Wagner, initiated the much needed monthly co-writing space, happening always on a Friday morning from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. We successfully started this pilot in May, and will continue this week in a group study room in the library. Seats are limited and reserved on a first-come, first-served basis, so it would help us immensely if you could please indicate with a quick email to graduiertenzentrum@mdw.ac.at which dates you would like to attend.

Friday, May 8, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Friday, June 5, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Friday, July 3, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Friday, July 31, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Friday, September 04, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
 

If there is interest, we can also consider a hybrid format and enable participants to join online. 

☞ Info-Session LBG Career Center 

The LBG Career Center offers a workshop on time management for doctoral researchers affiliated with a university or research organization in Austria who are interested in learning how to structure their time more wisely- to have productive time at work as well as time to recharge. The workshop will take place on October 12, 2026 from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.  Registration is possible until October 11, 2026.

☞ PhD Advancement Scholarship

In 2026 the mdw offers again scholarships for students enrolled in the mdw’s Doctor of Philosophy programme. Support can be provided for a total of 2 academic years. When reapplying, one must submit the application form plus a statement justifying one’s application for an extension and a progress report concerning one’s dissertation project.

Support shall be provided in the amount of € 700 to € 1,000 per person from October to July. For more information see here.
Application is still possible until: October 16, 2026

☞ Call for Contributions

The PhD students of the Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna (MUK) are organizing an Artistic Research Conference that will take place 18–20 January 2027. The call for the topic "Back to Practice - Practice as a Mode of Knowledge Production in Interconnected Artistic Processes" is open now. Please send your proposal (including a short biography, a video documentation or project pitch with a link to your portfolio, and information regarding duration as well as spacial/technical requirements) until September 13th to: doctoralconference2027@muk.ac.at

☞ Reminder: Doctoral Fellowship Program of the Austrian Academy of Sciences

The DOC Fellowship Program of the Austrian Academy of Sciences offers funding for highly qualified doctoral candidates in all areas of research. The fellowships are intended to allow young researchers to dedicate themselves to working in focused fashion to complete their doctoral thesis within a clear timeframe. 
Here you can find more information on the call. For further information, please contact the mdw's research support office.
Application deadline: September 15, 2026