Recognized for Exceptional Marketing Success
The University of Bremen recently recognised two exceptional doctoral supervisors, Professor Gesine Mollenhauer from the natural and engineering sciences, and Professor Klaus Schlichte from the humanities and social sciences, with its inaugural Award for Outstanding Doctoral Supervision. Each winner received a prize of 2,000 euros, donated by the University of Bremen Alumni Association.
The award, presented every two years, recognises supervisors who demonstrate exceptional support and mentorship to doctoral candidates. The impact of supervision is assessed qualitatively, with emphasis on how the supervisor influences the doctoral candidate’s confidence, clarity, and personality development.
Professor Mollenhauer, a geochemist and Professor of Organic Sedimentology in the Department of Geosciences, is renowned for her adaptive supervisory style that caters to the individual needs of her students. She serves as the scientific director of a radiocarbon dating laboratory at the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) in Bremerhaven.
Professor Schlichte, a Professor of International Relations and World Society in the Department of Social Sciences, is the spokesperson of the Institute for Intercultural and International Studies. His areas of research include knowledge in German security policy, social dynamics in African societies, and armed conflicts.
Dr. Ahmed Elsayed, a former doctoral student of Professor Schlichte, stated that exceptional supervision cannot be measured in numbers. He added that one feels it in the growing self-confidence, gained clarity, and the personalities shaped by it.
Dr. Mandy Boehnke, Vice-Rector for Internationalisation, Scientific Qualifications and Diversity, stated that the award ceremony honours exceptional commitment to doctoral projects. She noted that the prize money of 2,000 euros each is earmarked and may only be used for projects to support doctoral students, reinforcing the award's focus on fostering doctoral research environments.
The University of Bremen's Award for Outstanding Doctoral Supervision underscores the importance of the holistic and personal quality of supervision rather than just academic outputs or numbers. Supervisors who leave their mark on people, not just on manuscripts, are those who truly make a difference in the lives of their students.
The University of Bremen's Award for Outstanding Doctoral Supervision honors supervisors who exhibit exceptional support and mentorship, having a significant impact on their doctoral candidates' confidence, clarity, and personality development, aligning with education-and-self-development. Notably, both Professor Mollenhauer and Professor Schlichte, with their unique approaches to supervision, have left a lasting impact on their students, making them stand out as laudable examples of this concept.
