The support of young scientists is a central concern of the IGZ. Accordingly, we are involved in all phases of academic training (link to teaching) and qualification. Students of different disciplines can learn about scientific work while doing an internship or their final thesis with us. They benefit from the wide range of methods and modern measuring and analytical techniques at the institute.

The close cooperation of our research groups with national and international partners offers numerous networking and mobility opportunities for young scientists. We employ staff from 27 nations and are pleased to regularly welcome visiting scientists for research stays at the IGZ.

Our current vacancies can be found under Job Offers. If you are interested in carrying out a thesis, a doctoral project or a guest stay, you can also contact the respective research group leader directly.

All research groups regularly offer exciting PhD projects on socially relevant topics such as adapting to climate change, reducing the use of pesticides, food security and sustainable production systems.

Molecular biological, biochemical and socio-economic methods are used to address the molecular mechanisms of plant stress tolerance, the role of biotic interactions in plant growth and resistance, the optimization of cultivation conditions or issues relating to sustainable and healthy nutrition.

After completing their doctorate, the institute supports researchers in defining their own career goals and gaining the appropriate qualifications. In 2023, an internal institute strategy for early career researcher development was developed, which identifies the various career paths and ensures supportive framework conditions.

The doctoral students and postdocs regularly elect spokespersons who bundle the peer groups interests and represent them. For example, they organize social events as well as peer coaching on presentation skills and are closely involved in the further development of the range of services for promoting early career researchers.

In 2012, the junior professorship of Prof. Dr. Susanne Baldermann on the topic of food chemical analysis of secondary plant substances was established as a joint appointment of the IGZ and the University of Potsdam. In 2021, Prof. Baldermann took up a W3 professorship at the University of Bayreuth. She continues to supervise ongoing projects and doctoral students in her former group at the IGZ.

In 2018, Dr Franziska Hanschen was able to acquire funding for a Leibniz junior research group on the optimization of the degradation of glucosinolates in brassica. In 2022, Franziska Hanschen was successful within the Leibniz Program for Women Professors, the professorship will be established in cooperation with the Technical University of Berlin in 2024.