For further scientific qualification, the Medical Faculty at the UKE offers two structured PhD programs: a 2-year PhD program for medical doctors who seek to gain further in-depth research skills as well as a 3-year PhD program for non-medical students, emphasising a strong research-oriented and interdisciplinary education. Both programs offer specific courses and a comprehensive curriculum within the so-called Academy of Biomedical Sciences which has a specific UKE-promoted focus on neuroscience or health services research. Young scientists are thereby provided with a motivating and active research environment, which allows them to build up professional scientific expertise and to acquire subject-specific knowledge. The PhD-curricula provide students with important key skills like project management and methodological skills. Integration in faculty-wide PhD networks fosters the dialogue and exchange among PhD students. Currently 24 ongoing PhD procedures in the medical doctor PhD program and 219 in the non-medical PhD program are supervised at the UKE. With 14 female and 31 male habilitation candidates, a total of 45 habilitation procedures were accomplished successfully in 2019. In addition, UKE offers several programmes to promote young scientists and interdisciplinarity, such as a competitive ‘tandem’ program that supports the best project consisting of a young medical and clinician scientists PI (100.000 Euro/ year), or financing of a research year for young, excellent clinicians.
The UKE is certified for the compatibility of family and work/ career and offers several services for its employees (child care, home office, family services, financial and social counselling, etc.). For each successful habilitation by a woman, the UKE awards the according department with another 50% position for one year, to support another female young scientist. Following the Charta of diversity which the UKE signed in 2013, in 2020 an integration commissioner (migration, integration and anti-racism) was implemented.