Doctoral Researchers’ Status Report Seminar (hybrid) [25.06.21]
An extra doctoral researchers’ status report seminar of the IRTG AMAIZE-P was jointly organized at the University of Hohenheim and the China Agricultural University (CAU) on 30 and 31 March, 2021.
Group photo on CAU campus with doctoral researchers and scientists, 30 March, 2021 (Photo: Ms. Ruotong Si / CAU)
The purpose of the seminar was to bridge the one-year gap which would otherwise have occurred between the 5th and the 6th block seminars of the first generation of IRTG doctoral researchers (November 2020 and November 2021). Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this doctoral researchers’ seminar was organized as a hybrid event. The progress reports were delivered online from homeoffice or office by the doctoral researchers in Hohenheim, and in two lecture halls at the CAU (in plenary session) by the doctoral researchers on the Chinese side.
The total number of participants was 50, with 16 doctoral researchers presenting on the German and 19 on the Chinese side, plus their respective supervisors. Since the focus lay on the doctoral researchers’ progress reports, no external speakers from other institutions were invited. The individual time allocated for each German and Chinese doctoral researcher was 7.5 min., + 5-10 min. of joint discussion for each Research Subject (RS). The presentations of the IRTG’s 13 RS were either separately prepared or held as single joint PowerPoint presentations by the German and Chinese doctoral researchers for each RS, connected live via the online platform. Pre-recorded PPTs were no longer required for this seminar, due to the increasing familiarity by all participants with the online platform and its overall great reliability.
Lecture hall at CAU with Chinese participants during doctoral researchers' seminar (Photo: Ms. Ruotong Si / CAU)
The sessions were recorded live via the online platform’s recording function (as back-up). The resulting MP4 video files were made available for educational purposes upon request for IRTG AMAIZE-P members only. This doctoral researchers’ seminar successfully continued the format for online or hybrid events which had been established since the 5th block seminar in November 2020. It enabled to maintain close contacts between doctoral researchers and supervisors in Germany and China, despite the international travel restrictions in place since March 2020.
At the end of the seminar, extra time was available for the German and Chinese doctoral researchers to jointly discuss the Doctoral Researchers' Conference which would be organized by themselves as part of the forthcoming 6th block seminar in October 2021.
Lecture hall at CAU with Chinese participants during doctoral researchers' seminar (Photo: Ms. Ruotong Si / CAU)
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the special nature of the doctoral researchers’ status reports seminar, no additional educational programme, and no site visits and excursions were organized during the seminar.
The doctoral researchers’ seminar has shown the further progress in joint research amongst the first generation of doctoral researchers despite some temporal delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It again highlighted the closeness of collaboration among the first generation of doctoral researchers on both sides.
Additionally, online Steering Committee Meetings of the Chinese and German spokespersons and coordinators in the IRTG AMAIZE-P were held on 23 March and on 16 April, 2021.
