A cornerstone of the qualification program of the IRTG is the exchange stay of each fellow during the dissertation phase at our partner institution in Seoul. The composition of the group guarantees that for each student there is a scientist from the partner institution matching the student's research interest and adding value to the expertise at home. The colleagues in Seoul offer to our doctoral students scientific input and stimulation from a complementary point of view and vice versa. After the exchange visit, doctoral students will report on their experiences during an IRTG retreat or in a separate meeting. It is planned that IRTG students from Bielefeld will visit the partner institution in South Korea during the fourth semester. The IRTG workshop in Seoul in 2018 resp. 2020 will take place at the beginning of the exchange stay.

During the dissertation period, PhD students of the IRTG will participate in several workshops.

• Annual joint workshop
  Each year in February an IRTG workshop takes place either in Seoul or Bielefeld. The aim of these workshops is to further establish the existing research cooperations and to intensify the scientific exchange, in particular, between young researchers. The dates of these workshops will be chosen in accordance with the exchange stays of the doctoral students.
• Retreat
  At the end of the first and the fifth semester the doctoral students are invited to attend the IRTG retreat. The program of these 3-4 days consists of several parts. On the one hand, one scientific block course addresses all doctoral students. Moreover, the more advanced students and the postdoctoral researchers report on the progress of their research projects. On the other hand, during the retreat we offer two block courses, one for first year doctoral students and one for the third year doctoral students. The first block course is about publications and good scientific practice. In this course the doctoral students will learn and discuss several issues related to good scientific practice and to the process of publishing. Students will be informed about the formal framework during their PhD period including the role of the ombudsman. With regard to scientific publications, the following questions will be addressed: DOs and DON'Ts in mathematical texts, correct referencing, choice of journals, role of impact factors, referee process. The second block course addresses career paths in academia and industry. Issues discussed here include third party funding opportunities, possible internships, math oriented jobs in industry, letters of application, job interviews.
• Workshops outside of the IRTG
  From the very beginning, we encourage doctoral students to participate in conferences and summer schools related to their own research. These are good opportunities to establish contacts with researchers from all over the world, but also to present own research and to develop skills in communicating the own work, as well as discussing it with colleagues from different scientific backgrounds. Whenever appropriate, the supervisors will suggest suitable conferences and workshops to the doctoral students. However, doctoral students are encouraged themselves to look for conferences and summer schools according to their interests. Since the contact to the scientific community is important for the development of the further scientific and professional career, doctoral students are encouraged to pursue short-term research stays at other institutions