Dear EuXFEL PhD student,
it is with great pleasure that I am writing these welcome words to “your” webpages. With time, I expect these pages to become an important hub for information transfer for many of you.
The creation of the PhD Student webpages is a very important milestone in the genesis of our PhD program. This program at EuXFEL started several years ago, but it was only with the beginning of operation of the instruments that it really took off. In September 2019 you were only 19 students and today EuXFEL is approaching the number of 50 approved PhD student contracts! Such a steep increase in a short period of time is a real challenge for us as a facility but at the same time a great step towards the development of a strong in-house R&D program, the foundation upon which all successful user facilities grow and flourish.
We want to make sure that you have the best possible learning and development experience while you are here. In these pages, you will find adverts for activities and events, scientific and soft-skill courses, XFEL-specific training opportunities, and much more! All with the perspective to allow you to grow, because we want your EuXFEL years to serve as the best possible launching pad for your future scientific careers.
And these webpages will certainly help you in all stages of your EuXFEL adventure. They will help the newcomers integrate into the PhD Student community, by signing up for social events or participating in various courses together. They will provide a forum, to those of you well into your PhD project, for posting your first results thereby stimulating scientific exchange with other students. Finally, those of you approaching the end of your contract can get a glimpse into what awaits you “out there” by visiting our Alumni webpage. You will also find a page with links to future job opportunities. And by the way, you can count on us, supervisors and Management, to support you in your search for your next placement.
I close this message wishing you, on behalf of the whole Management Board, the most enriching and rewarding experience at the EuXFEL. The friendships that you will form and the connections you will make with colleagues and users will become the seeds of your future professional network wherever on this planet you end up in the next phases of your career! Moreover, the experience you students share with each other within the PhD Student Program will, without any doubt, contribute to the establishment of a long-term identification with EuXFEL and we are almost certain that you will come back one day, maybe as a user? an instrument scientist? a director? Who knows! In the meantime, we wish you the very best for a successful PhD and are always happy to welcome you “home” again!
Sakura