Elections and Candidates 2024

You can vote your doctoral researchers representation (ProKo) from 12th to 19th of June 2024.

All candidates are listed below

The order does not indicate any preference, but follows the random order of the elections.

Good news: Voting in the FAU election is as simple as voting in the European elections in Estonia.

It’s possible within 1 minute online:

https://online-wahlen.fau.de/

Remember: You have 2 votes in total and can give either 2 votes to 1 candidate or 1 vote each to 2 candidates.

The elections run until 19.06.2024 9:00. Obviously, voting as soon as possible ensures to certainly use your vote and have a say.

Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Theology

Marie Kluge

Hi all!

My name is Marie, I am 26 years old and in my first year as a PhD candidate at the Chair of English Cultural and Literary Studies. As an external doctoral student working full time, I feel I would be uniquely qualified to represent those affiliated with, but not embedded in the university structure. Intrinsically motivated and driven by scientific spirit, the university should value the experience and dedication of external PhD candidates specifically.

I am a big advocate of DEI (Diversity, equity, and inclusion) frameworks and believer in their value in and outside the academic setting and would make sure to promote the application, adherence, and further development of such at the FAU. Another point that is very dear to me is the precarious job situation caused by the current funding situations (esp. in the humanities) and the WissZeitVG, which has been protested against, for example, since 2021 under the hashtag #IchBinHanna. Working for a scientific publishing house, I have seen firsthand how many scholars move away from academia because of the lack of prospects – it is thus especially important to me to advocate for an academic job market that is sustainable, calculable in the long-term, and secure. In general, I aim to represent all of the diverse and unique voices within our community to the best of my ability – please contact me anytime if you have any concerns, suggestions, or just want to vent (we all need that from time to time).

Milena Müller

Philosophische Fakultät und Fachbereich Theologie; Lehrstuhl für Ältere deutsche Literatur

Mohamed Khaled Elsayed

“Yes, we probably can” / ‘Ja, vielleicht können wir das schaffen” is my slogan. My name is Mohamed, for short (Mo). I have been a deputy representative ( to our fantastic college, Lisa Seuberth) for about a year now.
We have shackled the waves at FAU a bit, but there’s a lot of work ahead.
We, my colleagues and I, have tried our best to keep you updated, and this should be the case all the way.
I have three folds points on my program for this year, 2024/2025:

1. Better working conditions related to the hiring and contracting situation at FAU. There has been much momentum there, but we, as Proko, could channel this effect more effectively.

2. Diversity understanding. I am an Egyptian PhD researcher myself. I tried at first to start with dealing with the allocation of the maximum resources and possibilities to support/assist the professional/psychological aspects of doing a Ph.D. at FAU, and this is what I think is the way to go. And now the setup is actually a little bit too real for anyone to pick up and proceed.

3. Related to the internationalization concerns, I would try to maximize the appetitive attitude, which is honestly there at the FAU leadership level, to achieve its fair and beneficial outcomes in inclusive ways. Whatever our backgrounds or beliefs, this is, in my opinion of, FAU as a public space that has the tools and capacity to welcome and include literally everyone. It might be somehow optimistic, but afterall, yes, we probably can.

Kirstin Ulrich

Philosophische Fakultät und Fachbereich Theologie; Lehrstuhl für Didaktik des Deutschen als Zweitsprache

Judith Willberg

Hi everyone, I’m Judith!

I’m currently working on my PhD in German Linguistics where I specialize in public, political and scientific communication in Germany regarding education in general and the PISA-studies in particular. I am convinced that publicly talking and debating topics that concern all of us is essential for shaping democratic life at the university and building relationships amongst all of us. Therefore, I am applying for ProKo!

As you can imagine, one of my main concerns is to guarantee free speech without discrimination or prejudgements – which is why I am (like many others) troubled by the language restrictions put upon us by the Bavarian government. Furthermore, in my opinion it should be possible and manageable for doctoral candidates to have a good work environment at university and at the same time to have a life ‘outside’ with family, friends and hobbies, without having to worry about deadlines, applications and how to finance research and living in Erlangen. I really hope to help better the conditions we all face while working on our degrees.

Clara Tristram

Hello everyone,

my name is Clara and I’m a PhD student at the Department of Sport Science and Sport at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität in Erlangen. With a deep focus on public health, health promotion in children and adolescents and the social sciences of sport, I am actively contributing to our academic community through teaching, working in research projects and publishing impactful research.

Beside my work as a research associate at the department and my thesis, I am highly interested in the university system and its political concerns. I first came into contact with university policy work when I was elected as the second representative speaker for researcher at our department (so called “Vertreterin der Mittelbauvertretung”).

During this time, I realised how important it is for doctoral students in particular to be represented in university policy committees, which is why I now want to get involved in ProKo.

My motivation for working in ProKo is primarily to represent the voice of doctoral students beyond the faculty level. I am convinced that our voice needs to be taken into account, especially when it comes to decisions that directly affect us, such as the current revision of the doctoral regulations.

In general, I am running for election because I believe in fostering a collaborative and inclusive academic environment in both research and the political concerns in the university system. As a member of ProKo I would like to engage in the promotion of the exchange of doctoral students across all faculties.

Please feel free to contact me – I am always looking forward to get in touch with new people 🙂

Thanks a lot, Clara.

Faculty of Business, Economics, and Law

Johannes Kätscher

My name is Johannes, I am 25 years old and I have been pursuing my PhD in employment law since October 2023 focusing my research on the use of artificial intelligence in the workplace. As a representative of the PhD students my main goal is to enhance the networking among the PhD students in my department, as well as (if possible) across departments, by maintaining and expanding existing opportunities such as regular meet-ups. In general, I aim to be a contact person for all PhD students, advocating for fair doctoral conditions and decent supervision. As a member of the Doctoral Representation, I will consistently work towards this aim.

Leonie Manzke

Originally an MSc. in Psychology, I now pursue my PhD in Information Systems researching the impact of digital interventions on human behaviour. Every PhD student deserves a positive journey. By using our voice and building a supportive network, we can address challenges together. Let’s build opportunities and support each other!

Franziska Bold

Rechts- und Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät; Lehrstuhl für Sustainability Transition Policy

Kian Schmalenbach

I am Kian, a doctoral researcher in Information Systems and ProKo candidate for the School of Business, Economics, and Society (WISO). For the past two years, I have represented WISO in ProKo and am now the elected Co-Speaker of the Bavarian Representation Network of Doctoral Researchers (LaProBay). During my time in ProKo, I have contributed to internal restructuring and process optimization, established a university sports course for doctoral researchers, and represented our interests in the commissions for internationalization and accreditation of study programs. In the coming term, I would like to focus on expanding the Bavarian-wide Doctoral Representation Network by recruiting and mentoring new board members with the goal of forming a formal association. In addition, I plan to support ProKo in further promoting equal opportunities for doctoral researchers, especially in improving working conditions and addressing issues faced by international researchers.

Julia Klaus

Hi everyone!

I’m Julia, a 29-year-old sixth-year doctoral candidate at the International Criminal Law Research Unit (ICLU) of FAU. As I reach the final phase of my interdisciplinary research on the major Japanese war crimes tribunal after World War II, I am confident that I can bring a wealth of experience to ProKo.

I began my PhD journey as an external student, funding my studies by working at a Munich law firm three days a week. I gladly returned to university when my supervisor offered me a position as a research associate at ICLU, from which I successfully applied for a doctoral scholarship. With the necessary funding secured, I embarked on a ten-month research trip around the world, gathering sources from dozens of archives in nine countries. As you can see, I love to roll up my sleeves and tackle the impossible and am well-versed in navigating all kinds of avenues to fund a doctorate. My first-hand experience comprises being both an external and an internal doctoral student at FAU, and cooperating with people from disciplines other than law.

My agenda for ProKo focuses on embracing the needs of external doctoral students, many of whom do not even reside near Erlangen/Nuremberg. I am further committed to advocating for the respect and inclusion of diverse identities within the FAU doctoral community, particularly in light of political efforts to restrict gender-sensitive language. Additionally, I aim to ensure that FAU’s by-laws foster a progressively open, yet critical, approach to incorporating AI tools in our doctoral research. My agenda is open and inclusive—please feel free to share any issues or concerns you believe ProKo should address. Until then, enjoy the summer term and best of luck with your research!

Faculty of Medicine

Ann-Katrin Hellmann

Medizinische Fakultät; Hals-Nasen-Ohrenklinik, Kopf- und Halschirurgie – Abteilung für Phoniatrie und Pädaudiologie

Lennart Magnus Lorenz

Medizinische Fakultät

Beatrice Fröhlich

Medizinische Fakultät; Professur für Systemische Neurophysiologie

Delara Azodanlou

Hello everyone!

My name is Delara, I’m 23 years old and a fifth-year medical student working on my MD thesis in the Department of Dermatology for the past two years. My research focuses on ex-vivo expanded natural killer (NK) cells and their impact on (skin) cancer cells.

Through my participation in the IZKF doctoral program, I have had the opportunity to interact with many other doctoral students, particularly medical doctoral students. These interactions were highly rewarding and have shown me how different individual doctoral theses are in terms of supervision, goals and expectations.

One topic that is particularly important to me is to draw attention to the funding opportunities for MD students as many of us have to work on our doctoral thesis alongside our full-time studies or take a semester off. Another important point is to raise awareness of ProKo and its agenda among MD students.

It would be an honor for me to represent my fellow MD students as an elected doctoral candidate representative for the MedFak.

Xiu Shi

As a representative of the medical school’s doctoral students, I understand the heavy coursework and extensive time required for experiments. This leaves little time and energy for anything beyond academics, labs, and personal life. PhD students form a significant group with specific needs, and I aim to advocate for them and address real issues. I believe that supporting medical students will ultimately benefit society as a whole.

Faculty of Sciences

Verena Leopold

My name is Verena and I am doing my doctoral thesis in the field of quantum optics. I am for the second time a candidate for the election of the doctoral candidates’ representatives, more precisely a representative for the NatFak.

Thank you for making me an elected member for the current year. You might have noticed that me and my colleagues tried hard to fight for the rights of Doctoral Researchers at FAU. Besides my current aims: better food, better payment and more self-determination, I want to put my focus on power abuse and discrimination at FAU for the next run.

Only together we can make a change!

Gerrit Röllinghoff

With friends spread over many disciplines doing their PhD, I am aware of the large spread between the quality of working environments for PhD students, sometimes even within the same faculty. Often, it seems like PhD students have very little recourse against mistreatment, be it a product of the system or personal. I aim to raise awareness of PhD student’s rights and to provide backing for anyone standing up for them. The process of doing a PhD should be enjoyable for everyone, as contributing to science is an inherently joyful thing. Everyone’s work environment should strive to meet this standard, and I want to do my part in making this a reality.

Ashay Sathe

Hello everyone,

I, Ashay Sathe, am a doctoral student in theoretical physics at FAU. As a student of theoretical physics, i understand the issues that several doctoral students in various different fields, face ranging from lacking of private funding opportunities via grants & scholarships to part-time employment (which has largely being affected due to some recent regulations) as well other day-to-day difficulties. By being a doctoral representative, I wish to help doctoral students navigate this landscape of difficulties, funding possibilities, and to be able to make some contribution and potential impact at the rules-and-regulations level which would assist PhD students in general.

This is my motivation for taking part in the ProKo elections.

Pauline Rost

My name is Pauline and I am doing my PhD in Applied Mineralogy since about three years. As part of the Proko, I would like to work together with my colleagues for positive changes regarding the concerns and needs of other doctoral candidates. It is particularly important to me to advocate for the self-determination and the voice of doctoral candidates on issues that affect their work.

Rebecca Masanetz

Hi all!

I am 27 years old and a third year PhD student with several years of experience in executive committees including the graduate school Life@FAU. As part of the Proko, I aim to represent all doctoral students at the FAU, and stand up for our needs and interests.

Let’s go for it together!

Marie Andert

Studying for more than 5 years at FAU, I have often wondered what keeps this university running. In fact, it is a system of students representing one another, bringing forward their needs and ideas. This year, I have decided to take part in the system and hope to represent you guys soon.

Faculty of Engineering

Timo Schwall

Hey Folks! I am Timo and in my second year as a PhD student at the Institue for Electronics Engineering. The focus of my research is chip design for communications, especially towards next generation mobile communications and beyond.

My motivation to run for Proko is to ensure appropriate representation of doctoral candidates in the relevant committees and to act as a contact person in case of trouble or problems for PhD students at the FAU.

Rajesh Chirala

I’m Rajesh Chirala, a first year doctoral researcher from the chair of electron devices (LEB – Dept. EEI, TechFak). I want to actively encourage arts and hobbies of scientists. Enjoying the little facets that make us all our own person enlightens a person as much as a microscope. I want diversity to be well complemented by integration. For that I would be pushing hard for having dedicated language proficiency courses for the doctoral researchers in a more regularized manner. We all need to share our lives and become a community. By sharing, we get to know precisely the little fragments of individuality that we all carry, we also develop crucial relationships with the people that surround us. One idea I have is to form a film club (short/feature). To share the beauty of my passion and the passion of the people that make it the way it is, with as many people as I can. Perhaps also to inspire others to do the same with THEIR passions besides nurturing an art form.

Markus Meindl

Hi everyone,

My name is Markus Meindl. I am a 31-year-old researcher at the Chair of Power Electronics and Fraunhofer IISB in Erlangen. I am currently in the final phase of my doctorate, which focuses on the pioneering research field of hybrid-electric aviation. This field combines the best of both electric and traditional aviation and is poised to revolutionize the industry. I’m excited to share my insights and experiences with you all.

Due to the connection between FAU and Fraunhofer, I could work on international EU aviation research projects during my doctorate. For example, I was the technical leader of the EU project GENESIS (https://www.genesis-cleansky.eu/ ). The consortium consisted of 10 international partners from industry and research. The independence and freedom of movement and supply chains of products for industry and private customers are valuable assets in the global economy. To achieve this in an environmentally friendly way, the electrification of competitive, alternative, and emission-free means of transportation (aircraft, ships, cars, etc.) is of great importance. This can be achieved through technical innovations. On the YouTube and Instagram channels of Energie Campus Nürnberg, for example, there are already some videos in which I explain hybrid-electric flying (https://www.instagram.com/energie_campus_nuernberg/?hl=de , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CFHcOZUcR0 )I try to bring topics closer to people and understandably share my knowledge. I would, therefore, like to be a link between the Energy Campus Nuremberg, the technical faculty, and the doctoral students at the Fraunhofer Institute.

This also leads to my motivation for the ProKo. On the one hand, I would like to pass on my experiences during my doctorate to help other doctoral candidates with their doctorates. Due to my experience in international research projects, I can provide support and advice on some projects. In addition, I would also like to represent the Faculty of Engineering across universities, advocate for doctoral candidates and students, represent their interests, discuss them, and try to implement them accordingly.

Christian Groves

As an external, long-distance doctorate student with professional and union affiliations, I´d like to bring this experience the ProKo to promote equal opportunities in the continuous development of all doctorate students at the technical faculty. I´ve joint chaired an undergraduate student integration committee at one university and sat on the student council as the representative for postgraduate studies at another university. I bring experience from enrolment in 4 universities in 2 different countries over a decade, both in full time attendance and in a part-time long-distance learning format.