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| Heidelberg,
Thursday, 19 December 2002 |
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| Joint
Doctoral Degree from the University of Heidelberg and EMBL |
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The University of Heidelberg and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory [EMBL] have signed a 'Memorandum of Understanding', laying the groundwork for a doctoral degree to be jointly awarded by the two institutes.
The Ruprecht-Karls University of Heidelberg and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory will now award joint doctoral degrees. The two institutions have signed a 'Memorandum of Understanding' that lays the groundwork for this move. At the signing ceremony, Prof. Peter Hommelhoff, Rector of the University, and EMBL Director General Fotis C. Kafatos said that the move will foster an even greater degree of collaboration in the future between two institutes that already enjoy a strong relationship.
"This project is a successful example of cooperation between our university and a European academic scientific institute with a highly-acknowledged reputation," said Rector Hommelhoff. The many existing research collaborations will now extend to the doctoral degree. This program will offer participants not only excellent possibilities for research, but will also ensure intensive mentoring of the doctoral students. For example, Hommelhoff says, "the program will create additional courses and journal clubs in an interdisciplinary, international environment. The progress of students will be monitored on an annual basis by an advisory committee consisting of representatives of both EMBL and the University."
The combined programme can serve as a brilliant example of a doctoral program that combines the strengths of both partners: excellent research conditions as well as the combination of research and teaching. "The Ruperto Carola University would like to promote this program as a standard for future collaborations with other non-university scientific institutes, without diminishing the fact that the right to award doctoral degrees is an essential component of university research and teaching. I am convinced that the partners in this cooperative effort will successfully structure both parts of the program."
An important day for EMBL
Director General Fotis C. Kafatos spoke of "an important day for EMBL." The oldest university in Germany and the unique, young-by-comparison research institute "reinforce each other to an exceptional degree." Looking back at EMBL's history, Kafatos cited the presence of the University as a key factor in the decision to place EMBL in Heidelberg, and the result has been the development of a leading center for the life sciences in Germany
In granting the Laboratory the right to award its own doctoral degree, EMBL's sixteen member states recommended that the PhD programme cooperate with a high-caliber national scientific center. The University of Heidelberg was selected because of its leading position in the German life sciences.
Prof. Thomas Rausch, Dean of the Faculty of Biological Sciences, also spoke of the University's role in establishing EMBL more than 25 years ago. For many years, a large number of EMBL doctoral candidates have officially received their degree from this faculty. The new programme recognizes a long tradition of inofficial cooperation and is laying the foundation of scientific breakthroughs. |
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