Support for scientists in early career phases

The university is setting up the "Oldenburg Young Academy (OYA)", a cross-university academy for top talents in the postdoctoral phase and for junior professorships. The aim is to identify excellent academics in early career phases, make them more visible and promote interdisciplinary networking.
The OYA brings together top talents to discuss current issues in scientific practice and how they relate to society. They develop positions and solutions to the current challenges of scientific work and social change. The OYA can thus also act as an advisory body, e.g. for the university and city management level of the city of Oldenburg.

For particularly talented and advanced students, the University is developing an honours programme that promotes interdisciplinary research and recognises the achievements of participants. The aim is to inspire students to pursue an academic career and/or prepare them for responsible leadership roles in our society. Through the programme, students gain insights into different disciplinary cultures and improve their understanding of their own discipline.

The "International Conference on Undergraduate Research" (ICUR) network consists of eight universities, including the University of Oldenburg, who want to work together to support their students in their undergraduate research. The aim of the network is to organise an annual hybrid conference for undergraduate students, bringing together students from all over the world. For more than 10 years, the conference has been held simultaneously at all participating universities without students having to physically travel. In addition to the students' presentations and posters, a joint supporting programme rounds off the event.

The university has become part of the network and organises the annual "International Conference on Undergraduate Research" in Oldenburg. The first pilot event took place in 2025 (see here). In the coming years, students from the University of Groningen (RUG) will also be invited to attend the conference in person, supported by a travel grant.

The university finances conference and research trips for students to give them the opportunity to gain experience in academia and present their own initial results. The central support services are to be significantly expanded in order to give students an insight into academic appointments, enable them to gain experience at (inter)national level and build networks at an early stage. Based on the success of the "forschen@studium" programme, a similar service is to be continued and expanded in a modified form. This includes the opportunity to apply for short stays for research purposes or to take part in specialised courses at other universities or similar.