Mental health is often misunderstood, especially in academia. Myths about what causes psychiatric conditions, who is affected, and how these challenges show up can create barriers to support and open conversation. Yet research shows that mental health struggles, from anxiety to depression, are far more common in academic and scientific communities than many realize.
Join us for this seminar and facilitated discussion, designed for researchers, by researchers. We’ll explore:
the prevalence of mental health illness in general and academic populations  signs and symptoms, highlighting those seen in academic settings the science underlying the causes and treatments of mental illnesses, with an emphasis on depression and anxiety (most common mental illness) Together, we will identify gaps, barriers and opportunities for support at your institute. The discussion will be shaped by your questions and experiences, and we’ll measure knowledge before and after to ensure the conversation leaves you with actionable insights.

One-day interactive on-site workshop (April 24, 2026)
 
Only few PhD graduates stay at the university in the medium term and the most optimistic estimates give only 10 % of PhDs a realistic chance of attaining a professorship. Therefore, it is very wise for scientists to start exploring alternative career paths early on. Several obstacles stand in the way: the intense focus on the dissertation and the resulting lack of time, doubts and fears about career prospects both inside and outside academia, and the shortage of concrete strategies and role models.
 
This workshop offer is intended to give doctoral candidates and postdocs the opportunity to deal specifically with the topic of possible career prospects outside of their academic career – be it to have a good "plan B", be it to concretize perspectives and take their first steps.   Note: This workshop is aimed at the international job market. Please consider our other workshop offer in March if you are specifically interest in working in Germany or other German-speaking countries.   The workshop is offered exclusively for KCDS members and members of the CRC Wave Phenomena. If there are free places left, non-members can also sign up. Registration for non-members will be open starting February 1, 2026.   Registration
Please visit the KCDS intranet portal to register for this course.
 
For non-members of KCDS:
In order to sign up, a KCDS guest/non-member account is necessary.
If you don't have an account yet, you can register here: Create a KCDS account to book courses
Once your account is activated by a KCDS administrator, you will be able to book the course.

This two-day block course takes place on Friday, June 12 and 19, 2026 at Campus South.
 
SCC operates the high-performance computer systems Hochleistungsrechner Karlsruhe (HoreKa) and bwUniCluster 2.0. This introductory course will give you a theoretical overview of the following topics (block #1-2) and includes a practical workshop and a visit at the HoreKa facility (block #3).

Block #1:
- Supercomputer hardware design and architecture
- CPUs, Accelerators and High-Performance Interconnects
- Infrastructure, (Power) Efficiency and cooling concepts
- Operating models and user services

Block #2:
- Software stacks and job scheduling
- Programming models
- IT Security

Block #3 (date will be determined with participants):
- Practical workshop
- Visit at the HoreKa facility
 
Registration The course "Intro to High Performance Computing" is organized jointly by graduate schools KCDS and ENZo and it is open to all interested doctoral researchers at KIT.
Please register via ILIAS until May 20, 2026.

This two-day block course takes place on Friday, June 12 and 19, 2026 at Campus South.
 
SCC operates the high-performance computer systems Hochleistungsrechner Karlsruhe (HoreKa) and bwUniCluster 2.0. This introductory course will give you a theoretical overview of the following topics (block #1-2) and includes a practical workshop and a visit at the HoreKa facility (block #3).

Block #1:
- Supercomputer hardware design and architecture
- CPUs, Accelerators and High-Performance Interconnects
- Infrastructure, (Power) Efficiency and cooling concepts
- Operating models and user services

Block #2:
- Software stacks and job scheduling
- Programming models
- IT Security

Block #3 (date will be determined with participants):
- Practical workshop
- Visit at the HoreKa facility
 
Registration The course "Intro to High Performance Computing" is organized jointly by graduate schools KCDS and ENZo and it is open to all interested doctoral researchers at KIT.
Please register via ILIAS until May 20, 2026.

The program of this year's summer school will focus on Graph Neural Networks, covering both fundamental concepts and practical applications.
Participants can expect a mix of lectures and interactive sessions that provide insight into the mathematical foundations as well as real-world use cases of graph-based machine learning methods.
 
KCDS members as well as doctoral researchers from KIT and other universities/ research centers are welcome to join! There is no participation fee. Please note that KCDS doesn't cover travel and accomodation expenses.