Ombudsperson for Doctoral Students
Prof. Dr. Susanne Wittekind (Department of Art History)
Contact: susanne.wittekind
uni-koeln.de
During work on your doctoral project differences of opinion and tensions can arise between yourself and our supervisory team. When these situations arise, seek a dialogue and speak openly about your situation. Misunderstandings or unspoken expectations are often the catalysts for these tense situations.
An Ombudsperson has a neutral arbitrational function. During moments of conflict they seek to mediate between affected parties by seeking out the origins of the conflict through conversation and looking for solutions reasonable for all involved.
As the a.r.t.e.s.-Ombundsperson I am the contact person for all doctoral students of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities who are having problems or are in active conflict with their supervisors or a.r.t.e.s. class mentors. I will advise you in private conversation, will moderate a discussion between you and your supervisor or class mentor if desired and will work together with you to find solutions to these conflicts.
Doctoral students can turn to me if, for example,
- you feel poorly supervised (i.e., little to no academic exchange, lack of response to emails, lack of feedback on presentations or dissertation chapters)
- you are struggling to agree on secondary or tertiary supervisors
- different parties within your supervision team are placing divergent requirements
- you have questions about your rights and requirements as a doctoral student (participation in courses, colloquia, conferences, etc.)
About me:
I came to the University of Cologne as Professor for Art History in 2002. I previously studied in Tübingen and Munich, was a doctoral student in the research group “Politische Ikonographie” in Hamburg, and Postoc in the interdisciplinary research group “Schriftkultur und Gesellschaft im Mittelalter” in Münster. Since 2006 I have been a liaison instructor for the German Academic Scholarship Foundation and through this position have supervised doctoral students beyond my subject area. From 2009 to 2019 I was the mentor for a.r.t.e.s. Klasse 1, “Dynamiken des Wissens und der Gesellschaften in vormodernen Kulturen“. Since 2016 I have been a member of the doctoral board of the Faculty for Arts and Humanities and since 2019 have been the a.r.t.e.s. Ombudsperson.