450401 SE PhD Research Seminar: Human Geography (2023W)

This PhD and Master Seminar is jointly organized by the Population Geography and Demography, Human Geography/Economic Geography and Urban Studies Working Groups. The purpose of the Seminar is to establish and support a culture of peer review and collaboration, to source perspectives from throughout the different thematic fields, and to "institutionalize" the progression of dissertation/master research. Rather than a formal, frontal presentation, the Seminar is more like a workshop and interactive round-table discussion.

General setting:
- One or two PhD students per seminar (Postdocs are also invited to present their habilitation projects)
- Approx. 45–60 minutes per PhD student (Postdocs): 25 min presentation, 10 min comments from the discussant (the discussant should be external to our faculty, students are responsible to find a suitable discussant), followed by questions and comments from the audience)
OR
- One or two master thesis students per seminar
- Approx. 30 min per master thesis student: 15–20 min presentation; 10–15 min for questions and comments from the audience

Invited discussants for PhD and PostDoc Presentations are asked to prepare short presentations, summarizing the strengths of the PhD project, identifying potentials for improvement and offering other advice.

Doctoral students are advised to bring their dissertation projects up to the PhD Seminar three times. Each presentation corresponds to a major step in the dissertation process:
- Step 1: research proposal, focus on discourse, problem statement, research gaps and questions
- Step 2: midterm presentation: operationalizing the research, first results of conceptual and empirical work
- Step 3: final (pre-defense) presentation