German-Polish Dialogue 2002
Summer Course for Young Polish Scientists
organized by
Technische Universität Darmstadt
and
Deutsches Polen-Institut
August 12 - September 21, 2002
News: July 09
Aims: We invite advanced students from Polish Universities to parti-
cipate in a scientific and cultural program taking place in Darmstadt,
Germany, from August 12 till September 21, 2002. The program is
focused on individual projects in physics, chemistry and material
sciences. The resulting scientific contacts will be intensified and
supplemented by a dialogue program, where questions of the common
history, culture, and aspects of the changes expected in Europe will be
discussed at the Deutsches Polen-Institut.
If you are motivated to get to know the German academic system, the
style and level of scientific work in a German university,
if you would like to meet German students and establish personal contacts
with them,
if you are open-minded to cultural and political aspects of the German-
Polish relations,
then, please, feel encouraged to apply for this Summer Course 2002.
You will participate in the current scientific work of one of the host groups at
TU Darmstadt, covering the fields of experimental and theoretical solid state
physics, polymer science, chemistry, material science, nuclear physics, plasma
physics, nonlinear optics, and theoretical biophysics. The selection of your host
group will be according to your individual interests (please, give two or three
choices) and available places. You will be informed on our selection before July
1.
The program of the course looks as follows. In the beginning of this course the
host professors will give introductory lectures on their scientific work. In return,
all participants are also asked to introduce themselves by an oral presentation.
The talk may cover any subject you wish, about your work in science (if you
have already started your diploma or PhD thesis), or your experiences during
your studies, or about a historical, sociological, or cultural topic of your interest.
Please, prepare this talk in advance, since we would like to have these
presentations already in the first or second week of your stay.
The major part of this course you will spend on your individual project in your
host group, working together with German diploma and PhD students and being
supported by your local tutor. Towards the end of the course (Sept. 13-15) we
will have a weekend meeting outside Darmstadt with both guests and hosts,
where each of you should report on her or his experiences.
In addition to the scientific ‘laboratory part’ of the course the dialogue program
contains a cultural component focusing on subjects of the common history,
present, and future. An important part of it, namely a 3-day workshop, will be
organized by the ‘Deutsches Polen-Institut’ (DPI), involving a set of discussions
(Polish-German history; Poles in German media; the role of Polish migrants in
the German society) and a seminar on ‘German and Poles: old and new
stereotypes’. The program will be completed by guided tours in Darmstadt,
Frankfurt and Mainz and by visits to local companies (e.g. Merck, Wella, Opel).
Social events will not be forgotten.
Financial support: Thanks to the financial support by the Deutscher
Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD), the Gesellschaft für Schwerionen-
forschung (GSI) and the TU Darmstadt we are able to cover all of your expenses
during the course including travel support, free accommodation, living costs,
and excursions. Because of our limited financial and personal resources the
number of participants will be limited to 25.
Application: Please, fill carefully and completely the Registration Form for
electronic application. You will receive an email confirmation of your registra-
tion within two working days. Deadline for your application is June 1, 2002.
You will receive our final decision on your participation by the end of June.
Together with your approval you will get more detailed information on the
program, your accommodation, financial support, how to organize your travel
and how to reach our institute (well in time for the Welcome Party!).
Please, check this homepage ( http://exp1.fkp.physik.tu-darmstadt.de ) from
time to time, whether it has been updated. If you have any further questions
don’t hesitate to contact us.
The organizers:
PD Dr. Hartmut Benner, Prof. Dr. Franz Fujara, Dr. Horst Nienstädt,
Inst.für Festkörperphysik, TU Darmstadt, Hochschulstr.6, D-64289 Darmstadt;
Tel: 0049-6151-16 5568, Fax: -16 2833, email: kalougina@web.de
Dr. Dieter Bingen,
Deutsches Polen-Institut, Mathildenhöhweg 2, D-64287 Darmstadt;
Prof. Dr. Janusz Holyst,
Instytut Fizyki, Politechnika Warszawska, Koszykowa 75, PL-00 66 Warszawa;
Tel: 0048-22-660 7133, Fax: 0048-22-628 2171, email: jholyst@if.pw.edu.pl
Darmstadt, July 9, 2002
Meanwhile you have received your final invitation for the German-Polish Dialogue
2002, and you have confirmed your participation.
Why do we carry out this kind of summer course? Apart from the fact that the
organizers have close scientific contacts to partners and institutions in the
neighbouring country, we believe that there is a need to reinforce the contacts
between Poland and Germany on all levels, especially including the scientific level.
And the best future multipliers for this aim are young people, just you. During your
stay here in Darmstadt we would like to discuss this point with you and look forward
to hear your opinion on it.
Let us turn to practical things, which are of interest to you:
Travel:
We expect you to arrive on Monday, August 12, by early afternoon. First we will
settle the necessary organization business (keys, accommodation, student cards,
money, …). In the evening we plan to have a small welcome party in our institute.
Please, tell us early enough when and how you will arrive so that we can either pick
you up at the train/bus station or explain to you in detail how to reach the Institute.
Please, try to use reasonably inexpensive travel means (e.g. bus, train with student
ticket). For those of you coming from the same region (see list of participants) it might
be convenient to organize group tickets. We can support your tickets up to a limit of
150 €. Flights can only partly be reimbursed up to this limit!.
Office of Summer Course:
The practical organization of our Dialogue Program will be in the hands of
Mrs. Natalia Kalougina, phone: +49-6151-16 5569;
fax: +49-6151-16 2833
email: kalougina@web.de
If you have any question or problem concerning organisation, please, do not hesitate
to contact her or anyone of the organizers.
Accommodation:
We made reservations for single and double rooms in the guest house of
‘Niederramstädter Heime’ in D-64367 Mühltal (5 km away from the city centre) as
well as for rooms in private apartments. The accommodation is free, and the
distribution of the rooms will be organized on your arrival. All accommodations can
conveniently be reached by public transportation.
Living expenses:
The rooms include cooking facilities, and in most cases there are supermarkets and
bakeries nearby. We think that you prefer to prepare breakfast and supper on your
own. For lunch it is most convenient to visit the mensa. Typical prices for a meal are
between 2 and 3 €.
Although we cannot tell you the exact amount at present (since we are still fighting
with our sponsors), you can expect a support of 300 to 400 € for cost of living. This
will be certainly enough to survive for six weeks in Darmstadt.
TUD Student Card:
During the summer course you will officially be immatriculated at TUD. Apart from
reduced fees for museums, theatres, cinemas etc. you will have the big advantage of
having free public transportation all over Hessen! This will allow you to plan your
individual weekend trips to Frankfurt, Mainz, Wiesbaden. Marburg or Kassel without
any cost for the ticket.
Health insurance:
However, to get the student card, we need a certificate of your health insurance
valid inside Germany for the time of your visit (Aug. 11 – Sept. 22). We ask you
to settle this problem very soon and to present us your (original) insurance card /
policy immediately after arrival.
Host group:
You already got the information in which group you are going to perform your
individual project. In some few cases we were unable to follow your suggestions, but
we hope you will not regret our changes. Most of the host tutors will be present at
the welcome party, so that you can directly contact them.
Individual presentation talks:
Already the next day, after some general informations about Technische Universität
Darmstadt (TUD) and the Dialogue program, we will start with lectures presented by
some of the hosts where they introduce their research fields. These introductions will
serve as an approach to your laboratory studies. In turn with these lectures we
expect you, the participating students, to introduce yourselves by short oral
presentations of about 20 minutes duration. The talk may cover any subject you wish,
about your work in science (if you have already started your diploma or PhD thesis),
or your experiences during your studies, or about a historical, sociological, or cultural
topic of your interest. Please, prepare this talk in advance, since we would like to
have these presentations already in the first week of your stay.
At the end of the course each participant should report on her/his experiences,
including the first scientific results of his project.
Excursions:
We are going to organize several excursions, exploring Darmstadt and its environs,
one or two neighbouring cities, research institutes, and industrial companies. For
details, please, see the preliminary program. All excursions are free.
Moreover, during the weekends you will have plenty of time to organise your own
excursions, e.g. biking tours through the Odenwald and to River Rhein, visits to other
sightseeing areas inside Hessen (making use of your free student ticket), or going on
longer trips to e.g. Köln, Heidelberg or Strassbourg on your own expenses.
The preliminary program of the summer course is given below. It will be updated from
time to time, so, please, check this homepage at least once a week!
We are happy to see you soon in Darmstadt!
The organizers