What makes a well-written grant proposal? After two decades of writing, revising, and reviewing grant proposals, I recently discovered the blog posts of @amderrington, who like no one else captures the most crucial points. A selection.👇 The perfect introduction. State exactly (1) what you will do, (2) why it is important, (3) your research aims, (4) your objectives, and (5) what you will do with the results. Do this in key sentences, repeat them exactly again and again. parkerderrington.com/grant-writing-…

The Devil's Guide to Incremental Research

In the past years, I have noticed a number of "recipes" for scientific papers – patterns that maximize the number of publications despite limited significance. To raise awareness for these recipes, we have to name them. Enjoy! (1/18) You are the first to solve a problem. Great. But how will reviewers know if the problem is relevant? They will have to assess the technique and your results. On which grounds? In the end, your paper may be rejected simply because people don't know what to do with it. (2/18)

Letzte Woche habe ich auf der @seconf21 einen Vortrag zum Thema "Erfolgreiche Forschungsanträge stellen" gehalten. Hier sind meine zwölf Tips: Ein Antrag auf "DFG-Sachbeihilfe" (1-2 Doktorand:innen, 2-3 Jahre) wird von zwei Fachgutachter:innen geprüft, ausgewählt von der DFG. Beide sollten zu einer klaren Förderempfehlung kommen.
Gewählte DFG-Fachkollegiaten prüfen die Gutachten und ranken die Anträge...

What's it like to be a #PhD student in #Germany? You can get paid, and well. You can afford a car, an apartment, and provide for a family. You may work with great advisors at great institutions. And the food... well, the food. Read on! As a PhD student in Germany in computer science and engineering, you typically are an *employee* of your university or research institution - and thus get paid! A typical 100% contract at the "E13" level starts with ~4,000 EUR/month and increases over time.