GSfBS workshop programme

Workshops and their benefits for your career

You might have asked yourself…

How you could create and deliver powerful, well-structured and coherent talks and deal professionally and self-confidently with challenges in the question and answer sessions following presentations.
How to develop well-structured posters and how to get messages across optimally.
What to do when "big shots" visit your poster.
How to test experimental hypotheses, how to calculate sample sizes, and understand the difference between p-value and confidence intervals.
How to apply R programming to handle “big data” to best treat and analyze them.
How to convey scientific messages using text, tables or plots.
How you could learn to optimally manage your PhD project (and not only that one).
How to start off writing a paper because you don’t know where to begin.
How to get started to apply for your own research funding.
How to resolve conflicts and move things forward.
How to tailor communication with peers and PhD advisors or senior scientists. How to master communication challenges as well as identify and align weak communication habits. How to explain problems and challenges related to research and human interactions in the best possible way. How to act and react more assertively.
Which are and whether you have the “right skills” to explore job opportunities outside academic research and how you could prepare for a next career move.

…the solution is to get training. We welcome you to participate in the workshops of the GSfBS!

Our tailor-made workshop programme provides the necessary tools to develop and enhance the academic and professional skills you need. Our experienced trainers' expertise meets the specific demands of scientists involved in biological and life sciences.

Dr. Ruth Willmott is a native English speaker and biologist with over ten years of professional experience in the field of science communication.

Dr. Michaela Höhne-Wiechmann and Dr. Ben Hartwig are graduates of the GSfBS, professionals on their fields of training, and are familiar with the needs and circumstances at the GSfBS and the University of Cologne.

Prof. Röbbe Wünschiers is a biologist specialized on teaching Computational Biology.

Dr. Alexander Klassmann is a mathematician who has long term experience in teaching biologists.

Sabine Lerch is a communication consultant, trainer and coach with a long standing experience on specific communication needs of Life and Natural Scientists.

Below you can find the current GSfBS workshop programme. Registration is only possible through the GSfBS office, not through the respective trainer!

For workshop requests, information and registration (except for Good Research Practice trainings) please contact Kathy Joergens at kjoergen@uni-koeln.de.

Before registering, please note that Doctoral Candidates complying with the GSfBS doctoral study programme are prioritised. When applying for a course, please indicate the date of your most recent TAC meeting and update your TAC meeting documentation in the GSfBS G-folder in Docfile.

Good Research Practice (compulsory part of the GSfBS core programme)

This one-day workshop is part of the GSfBS compulsory core programme. In accordance with the regulations of the Graduate School, all Doctoral Candidates are obliged to participate once in an education event on Good Research Practice (GRP) in the first 12 months of their PhD projects. Please find more detailed information at https://gs-biosciences.uni-koeln.de/phd-programme

Seminar content:

Based on the Guidelines of the University of Cologne on Good Research Practice, we will work on the following:

Biases in Science by Prof. Niels Gehring
Individual topics by independent group leaders, tba
Data management, University regulations, the analogous notebook, Dr. Isabell Witt
Authorships and contributorships, forms of plagiarism, Dr. Katerina Vlantis

Please note: PD Dr. Gabriella Lundkvist gives a workshop at the MPIs for the Biology of Ageing and for Plant Breeding Research for and limited to the doctoral candidates of the institutes including CGA and IMPRS. This workshop is equivalent to the GRP workshops offered by the GSfBS.

Trainer: various trainers, see seminar content

Mode of Instruction: English

Target group: Doctoral Candidates in the first 12 months after starting to work on their PhD projects

Dates: offered several times a year; next date: tba

Time Frame: 09.00 am - ~ 17.00 pm

Location: CoMB Building

Registration: Please send an email to Dr. Isabell Witt at isabell.witt(at)uni-koeln(dot)de

Advanced Scientific Writing

This three-day workshop is aimed at Doctoral Candidates from the second year of their doctorate with little or no paper writing experience.

Seminar content: Please find a detailed description here: Advanced Scientific Writing

Trainer: Dr. Ruth Willmott

Mode of Instruction: English

Target group: Doctoral Candidates 1,5 - 2,5 years into their doctorate, or when drafting an annual report or a publication

Dates: 23.-25.09.2026

Time Frame: 09.00 am - 17.30 pm (day 1); 09.00 am - 17.00 pm (day 2); 09.00 am - 15.30 pm (day 3)

Location: CoMB Building

Showcasing your research at international scientific meetings

This 3.5-day workshop covers conference preparation with regard to abstracts, posters and talks. The intensive and comprehensive training, which extends over a 5-day timeframe, will enable you to optimally showcase your research as well as represent yourself and your institute more professionally at international meetings.

Please note: If you have already attended BioScript’s courses Presenting with Confidence or Designing and Presenting a Poster, then you are exempt from participating in Showcasing your Research at International Meetings, due to too much duplicated training material!

Trainer: Dr. Ruth Willmott

Mode of Instruction: English

Target group: Doctoral Candidates, any time before writing an abstract for a conference, presenting a poster and/or giving a (short) presentation at a conference

Dates: 10.-12.06.2026 plus either 15. or 16.06.2026 (depending on group allocation)

Time Frame: daily 09.00 am -17.00 pm (as a rough schedule)

Location: CoMB Building

Career Orientation

This one-day workshop was created for Doctoral Candidates at the beginning of their doctorate, aiming to learn about their career options in- or outside of academic research.

Please note: For Doctoral Candidates further into their PhD project, who will soon start applying for jobs, we offer two other career courses to choose from: Getting Funded (for jobs in academia) and Career Mentoring and Management (for jobs on the wider market).

Trainer: Dr. Ruth Willmott

Mode of Instruction: English

Target group: Doctoral Candidates at the beginning of their doctorate

Date: 06.11.2026

Time Frame: 09.00 am - 17.00 pm

Location: CoMB Building

Career Mentoring and Management

This 2.5-day workshop was created for Doctoral Candidates at the end of their Doctorate, about one year before applying for jobs on the wider market (not in academia!).

Please note:

For DCs aiming to apply for jobs in academia, we offer the course Getting Funded. Please understand that only one of these career courses can be booked per person. So if you are planning to / have already attended the BioScript workshop Getting Funded, you are not eligible to apply for the Career Mentoring & Management workshop.
For Doctoral Candidates at the beginning of their doctorate, aiming to learn about their career options in- or outside of academic research, we recommend the workshop Career Orientation.

Trainer: Dr. Ruth Willmott

Mode of Instruction: English

Target group: Doctoral Candidates at the end of their Doctorate, about one year before applying for jobs on the wider market

Dates: 04. - 05.11.2026 plus either 09. or 10.11.2026 (depending on group allocation)

Time Frame: 09.00 am - 17.00 pm (day 1); 09.00 am - 13.00 pm (day 2); 09.00 am - 17.00 pm (day 3 or 4)

Location: CoMB Building

Getting Funded

This 2.5-day workshop was created for Doctoral Candidates at the end of their doctorate, aiming for an academic career in medicine and/or the biological sciences. It addresses the needs of PhD Candidates wanting to apply for funding for their first postdoctoral position.

Seminar content: Please find a detailed description here: Getting Funded

Please note:

For DCs aiming to apply for jobs on the wider job market, we offer the course Career Mentoring and Management. Please understand that only one of these career courses can be booked per person. So if you are planning to / have already attended the BioScript workshop Career Mentoring and Management, you are not eligible to apply for the Getting Funded workshop.
For Doctoral Candidates at the beginning of their doctorate, aiming to learn about their career options in- or outside of academic research, we recommend the workshop Career Orientation.

Trainer: Dr. Ruth Willmott

Mode of Instruction: English

Target group: Doctoral Candidates at the end of their Doctorate, about one year before applying for a postdoc position

Dates: 09. - 10.04.2026 plus either 13. or 14.04.2026 (depending on group allocation)

Time Frame: 09.00 am - 17.00 pm (day 1); 09.00 am - 12.30 pm (day 2); 09.00 am - 17.00 pm (day 3 or 4)

Location: CMMC Building

Project Management

This 2.5-day online workshop addresses the key aspects of project management and imparts essential skills in the following areas:

Project planning - utilising state-of-the-art planning tools and methodologies
Project monitoring and control - to optimise time management and ensure high-quality outcomes
Effective task delegation
Leadership and coordination skills for successful teamwork
Essential communication skills for project managers
Conflict resolution and challenge management within project environments

Trainer: Sabine Lerch

Mode of Instruction: English

Target group: Doctoral Candidates at all stages

Dates: tba

Time Frame: 09.00 am - 17.00 pm (day 1 and 2); 09.00 am - 13.00 pm (day 3)

Location: online / via zoom

R-workshops

We offer a variety of R-workshops, which are administered via the ILIAS platform at https://www.ilias.uni-koeln.de/ilias/ilias.php?baseClass=ilrepositorygui&ref_id=4715687

Introduction to R for beginners, 4 course sessions, 28.09. - 02.10.2026
Introduction to statistical testing with R, 4 course sessions, 05. - 09.10.2026
tba

Please note: All detailed information about the course contents, any necessary prior knowledge, course preparation and equipment can be found on ILIAS at the above mentioned link! Registration is also possible via the ILIAS link only! Please note that your course admission and all further information will ONLY be communicated via ILIAS, so that you need to check-in there to see the status of your application!

Trainer: Dr. Alexander Klassmann

Mode of Instruction: English

Target group: Doctoral Candidates at all stages+

Time Frame: 2.5 hours per course session

Location: CoMB Building

Python

We offer several Python workshops, which are all administered via the ILIAS platform at https://www.ilias.uni-koeln.de/ilias/ilias.php?baseClass=ilrepositorygui&ref_id=4715687

Introduction to Python for beginners, 4 course sessions, 20, 21, 23, 24 April 2026, afternoon
Introduction to Python for beginners (follow-up), 1 course session, 26 May 2026, afternoon
Introduction to version control with Git, 1.5 hours, 28 May 2026, afternoon
Introduction to Jupyter notebooks and Quarto, 1.5 hours, 28 May 2026, afternoon

Trainer: Dr. Alexander Klassmann

Mode of Instruction: English

Target group: Doctoral Candidates at all stages

Time Frame: 2.5 hours per course session

Location: CoMB Building

Linux

In case of sufficient demand, the GSfBS offers the following Linux workshops in presence, which are administered via the ILIAS platform at https://www.ilias.uni-koeln.de/ilias/ilias.php?baseClass=ilrepositorygui&ref_id=4715687. Please drop us a note, in case you are interested in these workshops!

Introduction to the Linux command line, 2 course sessions, tba
Introduction to Linux scripting (bash & awk), 2 course sessions, tba

Please note: All detailed information about the course contents, any necessary prior knowledge, course preparation and equipment can be found on ILIAS at the above mentioned link! Registration is also possible via the ILIAS link only! Please note that your course admission and all further information will ONLY be communicated via ILIAS, so that you need to check-in there to see the status of your application!

Trainer: Dr. Alexander Klassmann

Mode of Instruction: English

Target group: Doctoral Candidates at all stages

Time Frame: 2.5 hours per course session

Location: CoMB Building

Bioinformatics

The four-day workshop covers practical training and introduction to:

Linux and data processing in the command line with Bash, Sed, AWK and RegEx
Data management with GitHub and Jupyter Notebooks
The MariaDB data base system

Practical training includes:

BLASTing Forensic PCR Primers
In Search of Diﬀerences in Proteomes
Querying for Potential Redox-Regulated Enzymes
In Search of Diﬀerences in Proteomes

The course is based on the lecturer's textbook, which can be downloaded at https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-70314-0

Trainer: Prof. Dr. Röbbe Wünschiers

Mode of Instruction: English

Target Group: Doctoral Candidates at all stages

Dates: calendar week 38

Time Frame: daily 09.00 am - 17.00 pm

Location: CoMB Building

ChIP-Seq analysis: from fastq files to figures

This online course extends over several months and has been developed to enable Doctoral Candidates to analyze their own data while being concise and flexible enough to fit their busy schedules. Each module consists of several short videos, each about 10-15 min long, that can be watched whenever there is time. To deepen the understanding, questions and exercises will be provided at the end of many videos. There will be regular live Q&A session via zoom where questions can be asked and exercises discussed. The course consist of an introductory pre-recorded session and consists of four modules covering all steps needed to analyse ChIP-Seq data. The course is equally suitable for CUT&Tag, DSBCapture and ATAC-Seq data.

Seminar content:

Introductory session - introduction to the platform and the course concept, what to know before getting started
Module 1 - Introduction to Unix: useful commands, installing programs, using high-performance clusters
Module 2 - From fastq files to count matrix: quality control, adapter trimming, alignment, peak calling, count matrix generation
Module 3 - From count matrix to differentially enriched regions: introduction to R, differential analysis with two or more conditions
Module 4 - Different options for further analyses: bigwig files and IGV browser, profiles and heatmaps, gene annotation, transcription factor binding sites, copy number aberrations, intervene pairwise

Trainer: Dr. Michaela Höhne-Wiechmann

Mode of Instruction: English

Target group: Doctoral Candidates at all stages

Dates: Course start is currently open from 27 April - 15 June 2026

Dates / live Q&A sessions via zoom - at 16:30 h each: 01 June 2026, 29 June 2026, 27 July 2026, 24 August 2026

Time Frame: In addition to the live sessions, please block about 1-2 hours per week for the self-learning part of the course. We recommend to take one module every 3 to 5 weeks.

Location: online course with live sessions via zoom

Navigating challenging communication

This in-person workshop starts off with two full days of group training, and is followed by an individual coaching session on day three, open to DCs at all stages of their PhD.

Seminar content:

Navigating challenging communication – an often overlooked, nonetheless important skill in today’s (fast paced and highly interactive) professional world

Participants of this workshop will learn to:

Identify common sources of communication issues
Understand the psychologicmal dynamics of human interaction, including the effect of emotional factors
Engage effectively with difficult counterparts
Apply tools such as nonviolent communication and active listening

Trainer: Sabine Lerch

Mode of Instruction: English

Target group: Doctoral Candidates at all stages

Dates: 12.-14.10.2026

Time Frame: 09.00 am - 17.00 pm (day 1 and 2); 1 hour individual coaching between 09.00 am - 14.00 pm (day 3)

Location: Youth hostel in Cologne-Riehl (day 1 and 2); CoMB Building (day 3)