Supporting early career researchers at various qualification levels is of crucial importance to MATH+, as its main objectives include top-level training of highly skilled young mathematicians for careers inside and outside of academia.
The continued education and support of doctoral researchers, as well as young postdocs, within MATH+ is building upon the foundation laid by the Berlin Mathematical School (BMS). The BMS is the MATH+ graduate school and as such an integral part of the Cluster. The cluster’s activities on the graduate level are complemented by the MATH+ postdoc program, and six independent junior research groups.
The Berlin Mathematical School provides the framework and environment for graduate education as well as for the development and support of early career researchers.
MATH+ Postdoctoral Program
The MATH+ Postdoctoral Program addresses early-stage postdoctoral researchers across all mathematical fields from around the world. They are given the opportunity to carry out their own ambitious research agenda, either within the BMS Dirichlet Postdoctoral Program or within one of the MATH+ research projects.
Being a MATH+ Postdoc helps them grow as independent researchers, helps them to create their own scientific network, and enables them to gain new experiences and qualifications for their future careers. In this respect, MATH+ provides a rich scientific environment and the means to collaborate with researchers within MATH+ and beyond.
The MATH+ postdoctoral researchers gain particular visibility in a biannual (postdoc-organized) postdoc conference coordinated with the BMS Days in February, which took place for the first time in February 2019. In addition, the postdoctoral researchers have ample opportunities to gain teaching, supervisory, and mentoring experience in the framework of the BMS teaching program – with the opportunity to obtain help, feedback, or advice, either individually from mentors on the MATH+ Faculty, or in complementary skills workshops and courses, or through events offered by the university.
Independent Junior Research Groups
MATH+ funds six positions for heads of independent junior research groups in application-driven basic mathematical research, in order to strengthen support for excellent young researchers who already have some years of postdoc experience, and to give them a head start in building their own research profile and group within the supportive environment of a large Cluster of Excellence.
Detailed description of the Independent Junior Research Groups
Hanna Neumann Fellowships
Named after the outstanding Berlin mathematician, Hanna Neumann, who made key contributions in group theory, two MATH+ Hanna Neumann Fellowships are awarded annually to female postdoctoral researchers in recognition of outstanding work: one is awarded to an early career researcher based in Berlin and provides funding for a research stay abroad, or for inviting key collaborators for up to six months; the other is given to a junior female researcher from abroad and can be used to fund visits to MATH+ for up to six months.
YAM Fellowship Program
MATH+ is one of the official partners of the Young African Mathematicians (YAM) Fellowship Program.
The YAM network is a collaboration between five AIMS centers in Cameroon, Senegal, Rwanda, Ghana and South Africa and four German excellence clusters with a focus on mathematics: The mission of the YAM program is to provide fellowships for talented and motivated young African mathematicians at a master’s level who wish to gain research experience in a subject of their interest in mathematics. Through immersing themselves in the activities at one of the four German excellence clusters, students can profit from the high-quality international research environment of the host institution and ultimately increase their own network and their chances of applications to PhD programs in the Global North.
Detailed description of the YAM Fellowship Program