(Post-)Graduate Support at its Best!

The in-person format will take place from August 10 to 12, 2026, in Dorfweil (Schmitten im Taunus). The writing workshop is organized by the two doctoral candidates Anna Höfli-Leitz and Caroline Scherer, and supported by financial resources as part of the “Call for Events 2026”.

In everyday academic work, it is often challenging for doctoral candidates and postdocs to find time for focused writing and in-depth data analysis. The three-day writing retreat is designed to provide early-career researchers with the opportunity to work intensively on their projects. We will be accompanied by Dr. Verena Jörg (DIPF) as an expert, who will give input on writing and writing processes and will be available for individual discussions and consultation on participants’ work.

Otherwise, we deliberately refrain from offering an extensive program in order to maintain a strong focus on writing and concentrated work following the Pomodoro principle. To enable you to fully concentrate on your writing or analysis project, the retreat will take place in a pleasant accommodation with full board.

Please register via email to grade-education@dipf.de by July 10, 2026.

The online workshop will take place on September 1, 2026, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and will be led by Dr. Beate Scholz from Scholz CTC GmbH. It aims to provide participants with essential knowledge and practical tools in a compact format to support the preparation of their own research proposals after completing their PhD. By presenting their own short project outlines, participants will gain hands-on knowledge that they can apply directly when preparing research proposals.

A successful project proposal must meet a range of requirements on different levels: it must clearly present the applicant’s scientific and strategic objectives, take into account the mission of the respective funding organization, and address both the regulations and requirements of funding programs as well as the expectations of reviewers. This workshop examines these levels from various perspectives and equips participants with tools to help them prepare their project proposals appropriately and present them successfully to reviewers.

Please register via email to grade-education@dipf.de by July 05, 2026.

The online workshop will take place on November 23, 2026, from 9 AM to 5 PM. The instructor, Dr. Julien Patrick Irmer, offers a practical introduction to structural equation modeling (SEM) using the free software R and the lavaan package. Fundamental regression concepts will be refreshed and extended to include latent variables and measurement errors. All content will be applied to real datasets in R.
Participants should have basic knowledge of regression modeling in R (model fitting, interpretation) as well as fundamental R skills (importing data, installing packages, understanding syntax) and need to bring their own laptop with an up-to-date version of R.

Please register via email to grade-education@dipf.de by March 30, 2026.

The online workshop on December 14, 2026, from 9 AM to 5 PM offers a hands-on introduction to advanced structural equation modeling techniques with R and lavaan. Dr. Julien Patrick Irmer will deepen key SEM fundamentals and expand them to more complex, particularly longitudinal, modeling approaches. Participation in the workshop requires basic knowledge of latent variable modeling with lavaan, specifically model formulation, adjustment, and fit interpretation. Solid R skills are expected. Participants must bring their own laptop with the latest version of R installed. For participants of the introductory workshop "Structural Equation Models in Educational Research: Introduction to Latent Variable Modeling in R," this workshop provides an ideal continuation.

Please register via email to grade-education@dipf.de by November 27, 2026.