About
JUMPA was launched in October 2018 to provide graduate researchers with the opportunity to work with, and be jointly supervised by, leading academics from the University of Melbourne (UoM) and the Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH (FZJ/Jülich Research Centre), a member of the Helmholtz Associate of German Research Centres and one of the largest internationally recognised interdisciplinary research centres in Europe, in partnership with RWTH Aachen, University of Wuppertal, University of Bonn, University of Cologne and HHU Dusseldorf.
Graduate researchers undertake a Joint-PhD project at UoM and FZJ, and as part of this experience, spend at least 12 months of their candidature at Melbourne, and at least 12 months at FZJ, accessing research facilities and expertise at both institutions. Upon completion, participants will be eligible to graduate with two testamurs, one from UoM and one from the German university affiliated with their academic supervisor at FZJ. JUMPA Joint PhD projects are funded by either UoM or FZJ. The funding institution is referred to as the home institution and is normally the one where candidates spend most of their time.
Through a Joint PhD, graduate researchers:
- Gain complementary skills from international colleagues to increase the impact of their research
- Grow their international networks and develop a truly global perspective
- Become part of two high-quality research environments and cultures
- Have the joint nature of their PhD recognised by two testamurs – one from the University of Melbourne and one from their Jülich supervisor’s associated partner university
The first cohort of graduate researchers is spread across multiple faculties at the University of Melbourne including the Faculty of Science (FoS); the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences (MDHS); and the Melbourne School of Engineering (MSE); and the FZJ Institutes of Bio- and Geosciences- Plant Sciences (IBG-2); Bio- and Geosciences- Agrosphere (IBG-3); Neurosciences and Medicine- Cognitive Neuroscience (INM-3); Neurosciences and Medicine- Medical Imaging Physics (INM-4); Advanced Simulation- Civil Safety Research (IAS-7); Complex Systems- Structural Biochemistry (ICS-6); and the Ernst Ruska Centre for Microscopy and Spectroscopy with Electrons- Physics of Nanoscale Systems (ERC-1).
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New Publication from IBG-2 and BioSciences JUMPA collaboration
Congratulations to JUMPA PhD candidate Lisa Mau, Professor Ute Roessner (School of BioSciences at UoM), and Dr Josefine Kant (Plant Science: IBG-2 at Forschungszentrum Jülich), on a new publication: Wheat Can Access Phosphorus From Algal Biomass as Quickly and Continuously as From Mineral Fertilizer. Read the full paper here.
7 March, 2021 News -
Stefan Bode is a DAAD Research Ambassador
Associate Professor Stefan Bode, JUMPA PI, has been appointed as a DAAD Research Ambassador. Stefan is Head of the Decision Neuroscience Laboratory and the Director of the Decision Science Hub at the Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences at the University of Melbourne. His research focuses on the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying perceptual, health-related, and voluntary decision-making, as well as decision …
17 March, 2020 News -
Professor Ute Roessner inducted into the Victorian Honour Roll of Women
We are proud to announce that Professor Ute Roessner, academic lead at The University of Melbourne for JUMPA and Head of the School of BioSciences, has been named a Trailblazer on the Victorian Honour Roll of Women. The Victorian Honour Roll of Women "acknowledges and celebrates the achievements of women in Victoria", and this year was the 20th anniversary of the Roll. In …
17 March, 2020 News -
Stefan Bode awarded 2019 Australasian Cognitive Neuroscience Society Young Investigator Award
We are delighted to announce that JUMPA PI Assoc. Prof. Stefan Bode has won the 2019 Australasian Cognitive Neuroscience Society Young Investigator Award. This award recognises outstanding cognitive neuroscientists in Australasia who are making internationally recognised contributions to their field. Stefan studied psychology at the University of Göttingen, Germany, and the University of Zurich, Switzerland, and in 2010 he received his …
17 November, 2019 News -
Martino Schillaci in interview: discussing his research and experiences as a Joint-PhD Candidate in the JUMPA program
Martino Schillaci, the first student who enrolled in the JUMPA program, discusses his research and experiences as a joint-PhD candidate with Jessica Piesse, Coordinator of the program in a special interview. Interview recorded and produced by Jessica Piesse, Coordinator of the JUMPA program Click here for the full interview and listen to Martino discussing the application of his research on sustaining agricultural …
6 August, 2019 News -
JUMPA wins UoM Award in Excellence for Internationalisation of Research
The University of Melbourne is pleased to announce Professor Ute Roessner and the JUMPA team have been granted the Melbourne Excellence Award for Excellence for Internationalisation of Research. Each year the University of Melbourne recognises and celebrates the outstanding work of academic and professional staff in the key areas of engagement, professional excellence, research, strategic priorities and teaching through the Melbourne …
21 July, 2019 News -
Professor Ute Roessner wins the 2019 Humboldt Award
Professor Ute Roessner, academic lead at The University of Melbourne for JUMPA has been awarded a 2019 Humboldt Research Award. The award was granted in recognition of Ute's achievements to date in plant research. Ute's research is focussed on the the development and application of metabolomics technologies to study metabolism and physiology of biological systems. Find out more about her research …
21 July, 2019 News -
Bonn University is a ‘University of Excellence’
The University of Melbourne is pleased to announce that our partner through JUMPA, the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn was granted the status of “University of Excellence” on Friday 19 July 2019. The above image shows the University of Bonn's Rector Prof. Dr. H.C. Michael Hoch celebrating the award. With the new Excellence status as well as six Clusters of Excellence acquired in 2018, …
21 July, 2019 News -
University of Melbourne April 2019 Germany Tour
In April 2019, a cohort from the University of Melbourne visited the Forschungszentrum Jülich Gmb (FZJ) and met with some of the joint PhD candidates enrolled in the Jülich-University of Melbourne Postgraduate Academy (JUMPA) program. JUMPA was launched in October 2019 and is an international research training group with the FZJ. In its first cohort, JUMPA will support 19 doctoral candidates across …
11 May, 2019 News -
Official launch of JUMPA
We are excited to announce that the Jülich-University of Melbourne Postgraduate Academy (JUMPA) international research training group has been officially launched! With research collaborations already underway, it was announced that the first cohort of JUMPA will support 20 talented graduate researchers across multidisciplinary areas of plant sciences, agriculture, neuroscience, medical imaging, civil safety research, structural biochemistry, and physics of nanoscale systems. …
14 October, 2018 News
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Esther Wollert
Optimization of an N-type calcium channel blocker for a general neuroprotection approach based on a neuron specific calcium ion influx reduction. Project summary: Dysregulation of the intracellular calcium homeostasis seems to play an important role in neuronal cell damage and cell death observed in several neurodegenerative disorders, as for example Alzheimer's disease (AD) or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). In particular, increased …
7 March, 2021 HHU Dusseldorf,... -
Jane Yook
Research Project Title: The role of attention in predictive visual motion processing Research Project Summary: Neural transmission in the brain causes processing delays. This is problematic when visually localizing moving objects, One way the brain might compensate for such delays is through prediction. This project will combine psychophysics, time-resolved EEG decoding, and functional MRI approaches to study predictive mechanisms in the human visual cortex. …
17 March, 2020 University of C... -
Qingping Chen
Compressed sensing for quantum-filtered Sodium MRI sequences Supervisors: The University of Melbourne: A/Prof. Leigh Johnston Forschungszentrum Jülich: Prof. Dr. Jon Shah/ W.A Worthoff Home University: RWTH Aachen University Partner University: The University of Melbourne GR Student Profile: I acquired my BSc degree of Biomedical Engineering at Fudan University in China (Sep. 2012 – Jun. 2016). And I have completed my MSc degree in the joint …
12 May, 2019 RWTH Aachen Uni... -
Stefan Sanow
Molecular mechanisms of microbe-enhanced plant performance under nitrogen limitation Nitrogen is the most abundant and essential mineral for plants. It is in nucleic acids and proteins; notably rubisco for photosynthesis. The world population is growing and available arable land is decreasing. Higher demand for crop production has come with an increased use of chemical fertilizer; of which N is the major …
11 May, 2019 University of B... -
Sibel Yildirim
Development of next generation fertilisers and their interactions with the soil/plant system Project Duration: 2019 - 2022 Supervisors: The University of Melbourne:Prof. Ute Roessner, Prof. Uta Wille Forschungszentrum Jülich: Prof. Michelle Watt Home University: The University of Melbourne Partner University: The University of Bonn Student Profile: I have always been interested in interdisciplinary and innovative scientific topics, and so chose to study Biomedicinal Chemistry for my …
11 May, 2019 University of B... -
Chengchuan Wu
Improved Sodium Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain Project Summary: Sodium Magnetic Resonance Imaging offers complementary information to traditional proton (hydrogen) MRI. The signal available for imaging sodium is however orders of magnitude smaller than its proton MRI counterpart, therefore providing technical challenges to acquire sufficiently high-resolution images in sufficiently constrained scan times. Both the Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine at FZJ …
10 May, 2019 RWTH Aachen Uni... -
Theresa Boas
Improving prediction of crop yield with long-term meteorological forecasts and data assimilation The prediction of crop yield can be improved by correcting model simulations with measurement data using data assimilation methods. In this project, new data types like captured by stationary and mobile cosmic ray probes, and sun-induced fluorescence will be used for this purpose. The improved quality of weather predictions …
10 May, 2019 RWTH Aachen Uni... -
Allene Macabuhay
The role of lipids in the formation of beneficial interactions between plant roots and soil microbiota under heat stress The plant root-soil microbe interface is a major frontier with potential opportunities for addressing crop agricultural challenges, especially under abiotic stress. This study will harness specific plant growth promoting soil microbes and demonstrate their beneficial effects using the model plant, Arabidopsis thaliana, …
1 March, 2019 Current researc... -
Yiu Hong Ko
The influence of aging on the dynamics of performance monitoring and change-of-mind decisions Due to improvements in health care systems and medical care in most developed countries (such as Germany and Australia), the average life expectancy has risen well above 80 years in recent years. Aging, however, has several direct and indirect effects on cognitive functions, for example decision-making and cognitive …
1 March, 2018 University of C... -
Lisa Mau
The effects of renewable fertilizer on wheat root morphology Phosphorus (P) is an essential element for plant nutrition and its scarcity is one of the major restraints in agricultural crop production. Mineral rock phosphate P fertilizers, although they are poorly accessed by plants and unused residues result in run-off that pollutes the groundwater, are a finite resource still irreplaceable today. Microalgae …
1 March, 2018 University of B... -
Helen Overhoff
Individual variability in decision-making and performance monitoring The evaluation of one’s own action errors has been shown to be dependent on the individuals’ appreciation thereof. Individual differences in the neural processing of errors can be linked to personality profiles related to the perception of errors, such as perfectionism. It is very likely, however, that the individual mind-sets and perfectionism profiles change …
1 March, 2018 University of C... -
Martino Schillaci
Root microbe interaction to benefit cereal growth under temperature stress During my PhD I will investigate the impact of beneficial microbes on root architecture and metabolism of the model grass Brachypodium distachyon grown under non-optimal temperatures and specifically the interaction between Brachypodium distachyon and the plant growth promoting bacterium Azospirillum brasilense at sub-optimal temperatures. In particular, I am focusing on the effect …
1 March, 2017 University of B...
JUMPA was launched in October 2018 by The University of Melbourne and the Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, in partnership with RWTH Aachen, University of Wuppertal, University of Bonn, University of Cologne and HHU Dusseldorf.
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The University of Melbourne
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The Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH |
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HHU Dusseldorf |
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University of Bonn |
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University of Cologne |
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University of Wuppertal |
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RWTH Aachen |
Upcoming JUMPA Joint PhD research projects are advertised below. Please read the application guidelines and register your interest with us at JUMPA-research@unimelb.edu.au.
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How to Apply
REGISTER YOUR INTEREST Applicants for Jülich-University of Melbourne Postgraduate Academy (JUMPA) Joint PhD projects should: Identify a project (or projects) of interest Register their interest at jointphd-admin@unimelb.edu.au including the following information: Name, contact details Joint PhD project of interest Cover Letter, CV and Transcript Any supporting documentation This information will be forwarded to the relevant supervisors at Melbourne and Jülich. Note, all applicants are required …
9 July, 2019 Upcoming resear... -
Atomic resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy (theoretical focus) (UoM based)
This project advances atomic resolution scanning electron microscopy and its application in materials science. We will exploit recent advances in detector technology to obtain data in the diffraction plane obtained as an atomic sized probe is scanned across the specimen. Data can also be acquired as a function of probe position when vacancies in atomic orbitals, created after ionization by …
6 March, 2019 Upcoming resear...
Please contact us at jointphd-admin@unimelb.edu.au