Thesis Defence Training

A Doctorate plus^BIGS workshop offered by the Bonn Graduate Center

The last big milestone in a doctorate is the oral defence of the dissertation, which brings particular challenges in communication. This workshop is aimed at doctorial students, who want to engage in intensive preparation for their disputation.

In-person Workshop

Thursday, October 23, 2025
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Friday, October 24, 2025
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Please register your interest in this workshop by September 10, 2025.

Registration closed

Trainer

Alexander Roggenkamp

Language

English

Location

Alte Sternwarte
Poppelsdorfer Allee 47*

^{*The premises have limited accessibility. Please contact
us if you need assistance.}

Target Group

Doctoral students from the Bonn International Graduate Schools (BIGS)

Track(s)

Research

Certificate

16 units are applicable within the Doctorate plus certificate

Eine Wissenschaftlerin und ein Wissenschaftler arbeiten hinter einer Glasfassade und mischen Chemikalien mit Großgeräten.

Description

Based on the individual experiences of the participants, presentation techniques and defence strategies are developed in the workshop. This includes appropriately interpreting scientific study results during the course of the disputation as well as adequately reacting to possibly critical questions in response. Strategies for convincing argumentative as well as rhetorical positioning during the disputation are conveyed.

The doctoral students actively implement these in the most important part of the workshop - the disputation simulations. lf required, managing stage fright and nervousness can also be addressed.

Content

You will get an overview what to expect for your thesis defence.
You know typical questions which may occur in your thesis defence.
You get an individual feedback concerning your rhetorical performance.
You train to show your scientific expertise in an appropriate way.
You can implement different communicative strategies that allow you to react to difficult questions in a calm and professional way.