Advising and Support Ombudsperson for Doctoral Candidates
Ombudsperson – general information
In March 2011, the office of ombudsperson was created to support doctoral candidates and supervisors at the University of Heidelberg. The two ombudsmen appointed to the office will act as confidential and impartial advisors and mediators to whom doctoral candidates and their supervisors can turn in cases of conflict surrounding their doctoral projects.
Current office of ombudsperson
The office of ombudsperson is currently held by two professors:
-
Professor Christiane von Stutterheim
Institut für Deutsch als Fremdsprachenphilologie
Plöck 55
69117 Heidelberg
E-Mail: cvs@idf.uni-heidelberg.de
-
Senior professor Hans-Werner Wahl
Netzwerk Alternsforschung der Universität Heidelberg
Bergheimer Str. 20
69115 Heidelberg
E-Mail: wahl@nar.uni-heidelberg.de
Consultation process
Contact information
Questions or problems can be submitted initially
- by email
- or by post.
The ombudsperson will then contact the applicant in order to clarify the problem and determine which offices or authorities could contribute to finding a solution. In some cases, a simple advising session may be sufficient to resolve the problem. In other cases, the ombudsperson will, with the permission of the applicant, arrange a mediation session with the other parties involved. The ombudsperson has the authority to make recommendations regarding further action. The implementation of the recommendations, however, is up to the parties involved.
Services
The services of the office of ombudsperson
- are free of charge
- cannot be contested in a court of law
- or referred to another authority.
The responsibilities of the following institutions remain unaffected:
- jurisdictions of the doctoral committees or
- the committee for the ensurance of good academic practice.