Graute-Oppermann Graduate College

The Graute-Oppermann Graduate College of the Drs. Graute and Graute-Oppermann Foundation aims to strengthen interdisciplinary clinical medical research at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Duisburg-Essen in North Rhine-Westphalia. Cooperative projects involving at least three university professors who jointly establish a graduate college and supervise doctoral medical students are supported. Over a period of 36 months, up to €150,000 (€50,000 annually) is available as a grant for scholarships (monthly €1,000 per doctoral candidate), material costs, and travel expenses. The focus of the funding is on cross-disciplinary clinical medicine questions as well as the sustainable networking of working groups. Evaluation criteria include the interdisciplinarity of the project, the cooperativity within the supervisory team, the scientific relevance and quality of the research topic, and the comprehensibility of the perspectives and supervisory structures.

Eligible for funding are educational institutions and public institutions of the Faculty of Medicine that jointly design a graduate college. The application must include a tabular overview of the doctoral theses, a summary presentation of the joint research project including the current state of research and supervisory structure, CVs of the supervising university professors with a relevant publication list as well as, if applicable, those of the doctoral candidates, a commitment to supervision, and the planned use of funds. The complete documents must be submitted electronically as a single PDF file by June 30, 2026. The selection process involves external reviewers. The foundation's goal is to promote medical talents and to sustainably anchor cooperative research at the University of Duisburg-Essen.