The PACE office is the contact point for all doctoral students. The PACE team assists its PhD-students in administrative affairs and helps with lots of study concerns. One of our core values is to treat everyone with respect.

We offer:

• individual assistance in organisational or administrative matters, both for your journey to Paderborn and during your PhD studies
• the assistance of a tutor concerning: enrolment, registration for foreigners, health insurance, bank account, etc.
• ongoing administrative support during your time here in Paderborn
• Periodic reflection concerning the progress of the dissertation project
• Complementary soft skill trainings
• Mediation and support in conflict resolution

PACE is international, intercultural, multidisciplinary and open minded. As we said before, for PACE members a respectful behaviour is understood.

Working together with people of different nationalities and cultural backgrounds requires sensitivity as well as the awareness that it is important to treat each other with respect and courtesy.
To meet the demands of a multicultural environment, we offer soft skill trainings in English to our students. These include seminars such as “respectful workplace” and “conflict management”.

Please take a look at our complementary skills program to get an idea of the variety of trainings.

Furthermore, we support our PhD-students in many ways. Please read more below.

Moving to a foreign country can turn out to be a challenging situation. PACE offers all kinds of assistance to facilitate your time in Paderborn.

The student tutor program
To make your arrival in Paderborn more comfortable, your student tutor welcomes you at PACE and supports you in completing the necessary administrative steps such as opening a bank account, organising your health insurance, or accompanying you to the registration office and the international office of the University of Paderborn. He or she will help you to find your way around the university and the city.

German courses
The language of instruction at PACE is English. But quite apart from the fact that you can follow your courses in English, your knowledge of the German language will be one of the main factors determining how easily you will adjust to life in Germany.
Therefore, we offer a German course to our international PhD-students. This course teaches you basic German in order to successfully take part in Paderborn daily life.

Intercultural Exchange
PACE supports intercultural exchange by offering a cultural program that covers city tours, company visits, and informal meetings. Furthermore, we are pleased to assist our PhD-students in organizing their own intercultural events.


The international office of the University of Paderborn provides lots of information concerning the arrival preparation and daily life in Paderborn.

PACE encourages women to follow up their studies with a PhD.  We are aware of the fact that our society cannot afford to ignore the expert knowledge and potential of talented young women scientists.

Since 2008, the Zonta Club Paderborn awards a yearly prize to women PACE doctoral students with outstanding results in scientific research.

The Zonta Club Paderborn, a member of Zonta International, is an independent network of women professionals, who are in executive positions or run their own business. The club aims at improving women’s positions in all social groups.

Taking into account that scientific research is only possible to a limited extent directly after the birth of a child, PACE prolongs the fellowship for up to six months.

Additionally, women researchers can join the mentoring program for women run by the University of Paderborn. You can read more in German here.