What does a university assistant do?
As a university assistant at TU Graz, you have the opportunity to deepen your knowledge in your respective field and improve both professionally and personally. Employment in this position is typically limited to four to five years and offers you the chance to write a doctoral thesis ‒ an essential step for a successful career in both research and academia! During this time, you will work closely with other researchers and project partners, participate in conferences and publish your own research results.
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Pursuing a doctorate while working as a university assistant
Tasks
- Collaborating on innovative research projects
- Writing scientific publications, including doctoral theses
- Organising and teaching courses
- Supervising students who are writing their final thesis
- Helping with administrative tasks at the institute
How do I become a university assistant?
To work as a university assistant, you must have completed a master’s or diploma degree programme (or an equivalent qualification) in a field relevant to the specific position. This is essential for being able to work competently in an academic setting.
Interested?
Would you like to start your career as a university assistant at TU Graz? We are always looking for new talent to join us and regularly advertise vacant job positions!
Opportunities and challenges
Working as a university assistant is varied and offers the opportunity to participate in innovative projects and contribute your own ideas. The position is ideal for building your professional network as it entails close collaboration with experienced researchers and international project partners. Through teaching, you can pass on your knowledge to students and support the next generation of researchers. Working as a university assistant is an investment in your own future and career – your professional and personal development is a core aspect of the position.
And the best part? You will get to write a doctoral thesis and get paid for it!
At the same time, the position obviously comes with some challenges. The fixed-term nature of the contract and the often diverse work tasks require good planning, a high degree of intrinsic motivation and the ability to work independently, especially for completing the doctoral thesis.
Similar career opportunities at TU Graz
In addition to regular university operations, TU Graz works closely with companies from technology and industry to set new milestones in research. For these projects, we are always looking for university project assistants and student project employees. Working in these positions allows you to participate in exciting research and administrative activities within the framework of specific scientific projects.
You can also gain initial professional experience even while studying in your degree programme as a student assistant.
University project assistants
How do I become a university project assistant?
To work as a university project assistant, you must have completed a master’s or diploma degree programme, or an equivalent qualification. While the work of university assistants focuses on research in combination with teaching, university project assistants focus on research and the management of research projects. Therefore, they often do not have to participate in teaching-related activities at all.
Typical tasks include:
- Participating in academic and scientific activities, depending on the faculty involved
- Collaborating on innovative research projects
- Writing academic papers and other publications
- Writing a doctoral thesis is also possible in many cases
Vacant job positions for university project assistants are advertised on our job portal. Alternatively, you can apply for a vacant position directly through the respective institute. We recommend you inquire with the lecturers and administrative staff of the institutes to show your motivation and interest!
Student assistants
Student assistants support research, teaching and administrative work while studying in their degree programme, thus gaining some initial professional experience.
You can find all the relevant information on the page Student assistants.
Student project employees
To work as a student project employee, you must have an interest in the respective research area and a solid academic foundation in the subject area. Applications can be made directly through the respective institutes. We recommend you inquire with the lecturers and administrative staff of the institutes to show your motivation and interest!
