DK Training goals

Candidates for a position in the DK have to have a university degree, which in the respective university system makes them eligible for a doctoral programme. The degree can be in any area but preference will naturally be given to areas that have a thematic link to the students intended specialisation in the DK.
Students‘ main duty is to work on their thesis. For students using neuroscientific methods specific introductory courses as part of our Master Programme with specialisation „Cognition & Brain“ will be available and, more importantly, close collaboration with experienced members of the  Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience (CCNS) with these techniques. Students can claim an intensive specialisation (under the tutelage of three renowned professors), experience in allied field through the required course work (external minor). They can list a minimum of 6 months international experience and ideally several high impact publications of their thesis work.
Students will have plenty of opportunity to gain teaching experience. The Department of Psychology has a large student intake and covers its teaching duties to a large extent through external (not members of teaching staff) tutors, mostly doctoral students. Students are initiated by teaching the first time jointly with a professor or other experienced teacher.
The best training of presentation techniques and scientific writing will be provided by joint writing of papers, joint poster designs and joint oral presentations at conferences with a faculty member or other experienced researcher. Additional help on these matters can be provided by the University´s „Personalentwicklung“ (employee development programme).
Many other additional qualifications are available by members of the DK:

  • Training in mediation and conflict resolution (Jonas),
  • Training in diagnosis and non-pharmacological treatment of sleep disorders (Workgroup Schabus,  www.sleepscience.at),
  • Practical training in polysomnography (PSG) for sleep research with (i) healthy subjects, (ii) insomnia patients as well as (iii) disorders of consciousness patients (Hödlmoser, Schabus),
  • Behavioural assessment of disorders of consciousness (CDK),
  • General training in neuropsychological diagnosis (CDK),
  • Diagnosis and Remediation of learning disabilities in children (Wimmer, Hutzler),
  • Social interaction and motivation in sports (Jonas),
  • Quantification of hormones (Pletzer),
  • Somatic physiology measurement of emotion and stress; ecological momentary assessment of cognition and emotion; virtual reality as a research tool (Wilhelm).