Two conflict parties and a mediator

Consulting in cases of conflict

What do I do in cases of conflict in the supervision relationship or in cases of scientific misconduct?
Two conflict parties and a mediator
Image: istockphoto.com/Andrii_Yalanskyi

Consulting in cases of conflict

The Graduate Academy's Ombudsman Office is an independent and impartial advisory and mediation body. The  ombudspersons are appointed by the Senate. It is their task to arbitrate serious conflicts between doctoral researchers and their supervisors or to mediate between the parties involved. In addition, the ombudspersons are responsible for arbitrating and mediating in severe conflicts between postdocs and their supervisors, as long as the conflicts arise from the supervisory relationship and the work on further academic qualification (e.g. habilitation or habilitation-equivalent achievements).

The ombudsman are six experienced academics who act confidentially, independently and impartially. They have their background in different disciplines:

  • Prof. Dr. Erika Kothe (Biological Sciences)
    Deputy: Prof. Dr. Stefan Nolte (Physics and Astronomy)
  • Prof. Dr. Tobias Rothmund (Social Sciences)
    Deputy: Prof. Dr. Rainer Thiel (Philosophy)
  • Prof. Dr. Jutta Hübner (Medicine)
    Deputy: Prof. Dr. Uwe Cantner (Economics and Business Administration)

In cases of conflict, please contact Dr. Gunda Huskobla. She supports the activities of the ombudsman in the office of the Graduate Academy and will pass on your request upon preliminary consultation.

Gunda Huskobla, Dr
Gunda Huskobla
Image: Anne Günther (University of Jena)
Haus für den wissenschaftlichen Nachwuchs - Zur Rosen
Johannisstraße 13
07743 Jena Google Maps site planExternal link

Good scientific practice

When violations of “good scientific practice” are discussed in public, people often think of cases of plagiarism in doctoral theses. However, the topic covers a substantially wider spectrum of scientific conduct:

  • dealing with data (including checking, recording, ownership and storage),
  • the publishing process and authorship,
  • responsible supervision,
  • academic cooperation,
  • conflicts of interest
  • dealing with conflicts.

Examples of inappropriate academic behaviour include inventing or faking data, violating intellectual property (theft of ideas or plagiarism), and sabotaging the research of others. The Friedrich Schiller University Jena has adopted guidelines concerning the protection of good scientific practice. These can be found here.

In the event of suspicions or accusations concerning scientific misconduct, please contact one of the persons of trust. The German Research Foundation (DFG) has also deployed an ombudsman for scienceExternal link whom you may approach.

Further offers for consulting in cases of conflict for employees of University of Jena

The staff representative council de of Jena University offers consulting in cases of mobbing, stalking and harassment.

The department for staff development offers in cases of conflict mediation between conflict parties (employees of Jena University).