Curriculum of the iRTG
The iRTG will provide an interdisciplinary and systematic educational program to foster expertise in basic cardiovascular research and to guarantee professional and transferable skills for future career development. Integrated students will be educated in basic principles of aortic disease development covering pathophysiological mechanisms, immunological pathways, and pharmacological and interventional therapeutic approaches. The students will learn the state-of-the-art techniques required to perform cutting-edge research, including the fundamentals of cell culture, complex animal experiments and phenotyping, molecular biology, imaging, flow cytometry, etc. Career-relevant soft skills will be taught, within established graduate programs of the Universities of Bonn, Cologne, and Düsseldorf.
Scientific Seminars
Renowned national and international guests are invited to give lectures every month. The students organize meet-the-expert sessions in which the guests answer questions from the students.
Progress Report / Journal Club
The students meet monthly either to present their own research results and to discuss them with the other students or to present a current paper. Here strengths and weaknesses of the paper presented will be discussed.
Soft-Skill Courses
On one hand, students will be educated in basic topics such as the protection of animals, bioethics, and the socioeconomical framework of science. On the other hand, students will be trained in the soft skills required for future career development, including project management and communication, presentation, didactic, and leadership skills, as well as techniques for composing successful grant and job applications.
Clinical Workshops
One overarching aim of TR259 is to expand the outstanding, site-specific unique skills and to exchange information and create synergies. In order to guarantee a translational education of iRTG doctoral researchers, Clinical Workshops will be held at each site based on the specific scientific strength of that site. This site-specific exclusive knowledge will be shared with all doctoral researchers and medical doctoral researchers in three focused two-day workshops:
- Aortic Aneurysm (Cologne)
- Aortic Stenosis (Bonn)
- Imaging in Aortic Disease (Düsseldorf)
Summer School
The summer school will take place at a location outside of one of the three sites. The summer school is combined with soft-skill workshops. A morning scientific program with presentations and discussions will be complemented with afternoon outdoor activities and social events in the evening.
