Mainz Physics Academy

PRISMA⁺ is committed to the training and careers of young researchers at all stages of their academic careers – from advanced Bachelor students to postdoctoral researchers. Within the cluster of excellence, the Mainz Physics Academy (MPA) forms the common umbrella for all these activities of graduate training and the promotion of young researchers.

An ‘Excellence Track’ aims to provide excellent students at various stages of development with an individual, additional study program focused on early entry into research projects.

In addition, the MPA organizes various summer schools and other extra-curricular activities in cooperation with other PRISMA⁺ institutions, such as the Detector Laboratory and the Mainz Institute for Theoretical Physics(MITP).

Finally, the MPA sees itself as a platform for the career development of all young researchers involved in PRISMA⁺: a wide range of extracurricular training courses and workshops as well as accompanying career development measures round off the MPA portfolio. The aim is to provide young people with the best possible qualifications and prerequisites for a successful career – whether in science, business or industry.

Under the umbrella of the MPA, two calls for proposals for several PhD fellowships take place annually.

In line with the overarching strategy of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), we consider the active promotion of young researchers as a central element to achieve scientific excellence. For this reason, the MPA is closely integrated into the university-wide strategy, which views the promotion of young researchers as one of its core tasks. Thus, in 2014, the JGU founded the Gutenberg Council for Young Researchers (GYR) as a central institution to systematically and sustainably promote young scientists and artists. Furthermore, with the Gutenberg Teaching College (GLK), established in November 2010, the JGU lives up to its self-conception anchored in its mission statement and teaching strategy: to regard research and teaching as equally important tasks and to achieve excellent results in these areas.

The MPA coordinators are readily available to young scientists as contact persons for all questions regarding their program of study and life in Mainz. They also provide confidential and low-threshold advising in problematic situations. The door to the MPA Office (Staudingerweg 9, 02-428) is always open to all PRISMA students.

“With the Mainz Physics Academy we want to build a bridge between the outstanding research at PRISMA⁺ and academic teaching. In the future, all measures for graduate training and support of young scientists will be brought together under one umbrella. Additional offers for career development also play an important role.”

“Excellent students and young scientists from Germany and abroad are essential for the success of our work at PRISMA⁺. The success of PRISMA⁺ depends crucially on our ability to attract them to join Mainz University.”