Further graduate research
Bayreuth University has an extensive programme for supporting young researchers in cooperation with the DAAD, the KAAD, the Humboldt Foundation and other scholarship bodies.
For a number of years African Linguistics has offered a supplementary course for students of African languages from francophone universities, with special training for post-Maîtrise students. They are given supervision while preparing their final thesis (DEA "Diplôme d'Études Approfondies“) and they are prepared for their future tasks in special seminars on methodology and theory. For two years now this special programme has been funded by the DAAD. An additional advantage is that Bayreuth teachers can get to know their subsequent doctoral candidates in an earlier phase of their academic career.
We attach great importance to support for international junior researchers. We are especially interested in supporting young researchers from Africa. A compulsory study programme for doctorate and post-doctorate students was already part of the graduate research group "Intercultural Relations in Africa" (1990-1999). For the SFB/FK 560 (2000-2007) we deliberately chose the variant of the "cultural research school (Kulturwissenschaftliches Forschungskolleg)“, in order to be able to provide support for junior researchers. In addition to many guest lectures and international conferences, our interdisciplinary study programme also included special seminars on research methods, documentation techniques, presentation and multimedia competence.
Within the SFB/FK 560 (2000-2007), African doctorate students could take part in the study programme during their stay in Bayreuth and receive special supervision. They worked for their doctorate partly in Bayreuth and partly at their home universities in Africa. The aim was to support them by providing sound academic training, while at the same time encouraging them to continue working at their universities in Africa.