Integrated Research Training Group (IRTG)

The goal of the Integrated Research Training Group (IRTG) in Planetary Science is to educate the next generation of planetary scientists with a background in different disciplines.
The qualification programme comprises three key educational areas:

(1) specialized seminars and courses focus on research-related skills, advanced methods, and topics related to planetary remote sensing, meteoritics, cosmochemistry, impact research, and planetary geophysics;

(2) seminars and courses on planetary sciences topics are the main forum of intellectual exchange within the programme. National and international scientists (including TRR 170 colleagues) lectured at the TRR 170 seminar series at Berlin and Münster, the annual scientific meetings, and a winter and two summer schools (2016: Planetary geodynamics; 2017: Impact processes in the solar system; 2018: Origin of the Earth Moon system);

(3) transferrable skills needed for general career success were offered both at Berlin and Münster. Workshops (scientific writing, poster presentation, scientific presentation, and graphics software) were organized by doctoral students and the coordination office and were fully funded by TRR 170.

The TRR 170 exchange programme sustained collaborations with international institutions that perform research in planetary science. The programme funded fellowships for visiting researchers such as qualifying students, postdocs and senior researchers to participate in educational events and to collaborate with TRR 170 research groups. One of the programme’s tiers offered travel stipends for lecturers at winter and summer schools, and speakers at TRR 170 seminars and workshops. Another tier provided funding for short-term stays for TRR 170 doctoral students and postdocs to visit partner institutions abroad. The programme also co-funded the participation of international doctoral students in the winter and summer schools.