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Graduate School of Life Sciences

Inauguration of the GSLS building

After over two years of continuous work and spending nearly six million Euro the new building of the Graduate School of Life Science (GSLS) was inaugurated on September 11th 2018. The GSLS is providing professional training and support for PhD students in the Life Sciences (Medicine, Biology, Psychology, Chemistry, Physics) since 2006 and is currently accompanying over 600 doctoral researchers - more than a third of them international researchers - in more than 250 research groups on they journey to their degree. With their innovative programs and offers, the GSLS is leading nation wide when it comes to development and support of doctoral students.

The new building now provides on three floors more than 1.200 square meters of room for seminars, workshops and lectures as well as offices for the graduate school staff plus think tanks for doctoral students - small private offices that can be booked for a few weeks to work in.

Many officials from both public life and the university were present for the inauguration ceremony, the core of which were the seven welcome addresses by the keynote speakers:

  • Prof. Dr. Alfred Forchel - president of the University of Würzburg - remarked that ...the new building is the central hub for all aspects of graduate training at the University of Würzburg... adding that the GSLS program ...enables [PhD students] to solve the problems of society even in 20 years time.
  • Dr. Michael Mihatsch - head of department at the ministry for art and science - called the new building a fine addition to the life sciences that ...stands for the competence and scientific excellence of Würzburg in this area of research.
  • Oliver Jörg - member of the state parliament - highlighted the importance of the university for its region and called the new GSLS building ...an important part of our work to ensure, that the region Mainfranken will be ready for the future.
  • Dr. Paul Beinhofer - president of the district government of Lower Frankonia - highlighted that the early founding of the GSLS showed that the University of Würzburg had ...read the signs of the times and developed their graduate schools. The new building stands at the nexus between old campus and new campus as well as between scientific progress and city development.
  • Christian Schuchardt - head mayor of Würzburg - celebrated the new building as ...a mile stone for the city of Würzburg and the entire region.
  • Jan Knippel - head of department at the State Construction Office - praised the building as ...solid, of high quality, durable and economical - in a single word: sustainable.
  • Prof. Dr. Caroline Kisker - dean of the GSLS - focused on the role of the GSLS as a ...common basis to connect medicine and natural sciences... and stressed that ..the new building enables even more networking.

The welcome addresses were followed by an ecumenical blessing of the building by Dr. Stefan Rambacher and Dr. Edda Weise.

Please also refer to the press release, Press and Public Relations Office, University of Würzburg