International doctoral candidates and visiting scientists

Source: https://www.fau.eu/research/research-careers/early-career-support-and-graduate-center/for-supervisors-and-mentors/international-doctoral-candidates-and-visiting-scientists/ Parent: https://www.fau.eu/

Researchers from all over the world live and work at FAU. They are a valuable asset to our University and their experiences, perspectives and their passionate commitment to their research enhance FAU’s profile as a cosmopolitan and diverse university.

However, certain issues should be considered before an invitation is extended to a guest from abroad to ensure that fruitful collaboration does not turn into an unpleasant experience.

Application procedure for visiting scientists

Postgraduate researchers who would like to spend some time conducting research at FAU can apply to come to FAU as a visiting scientist. There is an application procedure especially for visiting scientists. This may include checks to ensure compliance with export control regulations.

For doctoral candidates, the checks to ensure compliance with export control regulations are conducted within the context of admission to a doctoral degree for candidates with a nationality from one of the following states: China, Russia, Belarus, Iran, Sudan, Syria, Afghanistan, North Korea or Myanmar.

Requirements

Click on the tabs to receive further information about the requirements.

Academic and other prerequisites

Make sure you find out at first hand (at least in an online interview) what sort of academic and language skills the candidate has.
Check their qualifications, and contact the Zentralstelle für ausländisches Bildungswesen (Central Office for Foreign Education – ZAB) if necessary. If you decide to invite the candidate, please ensure that the Office of Doctoral Affairs takes a decision regarding their admission to a doctoral degree (registration on docDaten and application for admission to a doctoral degree), ideally before they arrive.
Make the requirements clear and define rights and obligations.
Familiarize the candidate with our standards of good academic practice and collegial teamwork.

Financial prerequisites

Doctoral candidates financing their own degree require at least €1350 of capital per month for the entire duration of their doctoral degree! (€853 are required by law, but this is nowhere near enough). The amount of capital required increases if family members accompany the doctoral candidate.
Doctoral scholarships that are linked to successfully completing a doctoral degree on schedule must be avoided.
Currently the only health insurance available to self-financing doctoral candidates and guest researchers is a type of private insurance that is not recommended, known as “incomer insurance”.
It is very important that you inform self-financing researchers that this type of “incomer insurance” can cause problems, for example because
any accompanying family members are not covered by it
costs for pre-existing medical conditions are not covered, even if the insured party was not aware of them beforehand (this includes costs for giving birth for an existing pregnancy, chronic medical conditions, etc.)\ These are some of the reasons why this type of insurance is not recognized by the immigration authorities in Nuremberg when an application for a residence permit is made. This insurance is, however, recognized in Erlangen.
Currently the only satisfactory solution to solve this problem with health insurance is to give the candidate a position at the University which is subject to statutory insurance contributions.
If an employment contract is out of the question, you must make very sure the candidate is aware of this before giving them confirmation of supervision to prevent any false hopes.
It is practically impossible to offer accommodation run by Student Services to doctoral candidates. Please be aware that this may lead to your doctoral candidate having difficulty finding suitable accommodation (costs, time, etc.).

Other aspects

Be aware that it can take several months for a visa to be issued.
Invitation letters must contain enough detailed information (see the sample provided by the Welcome Center).
Researchers should contact the Welcome Center in good time (registration).
It is currently very difficult to find childcare in Germany for children up to 6 years old. The waiting period for a place can be up to one year. Please ensure you inform candidates who intend to bring their family with them of this problem. The FAU Family Service provides advice in this respect.
Please also consider how to integrate the researcher at the Chair (introducing them to their contact person at the department on the day they arrive, holding mandatory events such as doctoral seminars in English etc. to ensure quality and prevent psychological stress).
Ensure that doctoral candidates can participate in German language classes.
Make sure you recommend participation in a course in intercultural skills, for example at the Welcome Center.

Ultimately, it will reflect badly on you if a disgruntled doctoral candidate has to return to their home country after a legal issue concerning their residence permit escalates or if a hard-working doctoral candidate you are supervising has problems because they are unaware of issues relating to scientific misconduct. Make sure you apply the same criteria for self-financing researchers as researchers with a position at the University. Be aware of the fact that the same standards for academic good practice and the same patterns of communication may not apply in all cultures. A “no” can even be taken to mean “yes”, and a provisional invitation can be interpreted as a confirmation.