25 Years of IMPRS-ESM

To provide doctoral candidates with optimal support throughout their journey, the IMPRS-ESM relies on an advisory panel that regularly discusses the progress of doctoral projects. Guy Brasseur brought up this concept, with which he was familiar from his time in the United States, from the start, but it was initially met with resistance. However, Jochem Marotzke—who had conducted research in both the United States and the United Kingdom before being appointed director at MPI-M in 2003—also supported this supervision model. Consequently, the IMPRS-ESM established the panel system in fall 2004. It continues to prove its worth to this day. “The success of the IMPRS-ESM is largely due to our rigorous supervision process. The panels were an essential step,” says Marotzke, who led the school from 2006 to 2009 and from 2012 to 2017.

The biannual meetings between the Advisory Panel—which typically consists of three experienced researchers—and the doctoral candidate are prepared in writing and documented. Martin Claussen, director emeritus at MPI-M, who headed the IMPRS-ESM from 2018 to 2023, describes how the introduction of the advisory panels changed supervision: “It forced the doctoral candidates to reflect on their position, and we always knew how the project was progressing. That way, no one fell through the grid anymore.” University professor Johanna Baehr, who has been deputy director of the IMPRS-ESM since 2018, emphasizes that, of course, the interaction between the doctoral candidate and the advisor is crucial to the success of the doctoral project. However, she adds, “there is additional support available beyond that, and we don’t always have to reinvent the wheel. That’s why we try to structure the path to a doctorate without limiting it.” 

Scheduling, submission deadlines, and documentation requirements are all part of this structured approach. The IMPRS Office team, consisting of a coordinator and assistants, has always supported the doctoral candidates with these administrative tasks. They also help international candidates settle into life in Germany. “The comprehensive support was overwhelming for me, in a very positive way,” says Abisha Gnanaraj, an IMPRS-ESM alumna who completed her PhD at IMPRS-ESM in 2025. “The office team found a solution to every problem—or at least helped me find the right people.”

When the going gets tough, it helps to know that others are going through rough patches too. “The group is there so you don’t have to face uncertainties and overcome mental challenges alone,” says IMPRS-ESM Coordinator Mundt. Fostering a sense of community and shared identity among doctoral candidates has never been left to chance. As early as 2002, the school, which was coordinated by Almut Arneth at the time, introduced the annual retreat. During this event, all IMPRS candidates and their advisors come together to discuss their doctoral project progress, much like at a scientific conference. The discussions get right to the heart of the matter. “But it is part of the scientific process for colleagues to critically scrutinize and debate research. This protected environment is a wonderful place to learn how to do that,” says MPI-M Director Bjorn Stevens, who headed the IMPRS-ESM from 2009 to 2011. 

The joint courses and summer schools also help bring each cohort closer together. In addition, the IMPRS office team and the doctoral candidates have organized shared experiences that reinforce a sense of community. For instance, every year, the IMPRS-ESM members would march through gray, windy winter weather to eat kale together, a traditional North German team-building activity that the school had maintained for years.

Thanks to its successful combination of proven concepts and innovative approaches, the IMPRS-ESM has received positive evaluations and had its funding renewed multiple times over the years. Most recently, it was institutionalized. To date, 272 individuals have completed the doctoral program, within 3.8 years on average. The dropout rate is less than ten percent. More than 800 published research papers and several awards and fellowships for IMPRS-ESM graduates attest to the quality of the scientific work produced. It is therefore not surprising that the IMPRS-ESM served as a model for other doctoral programs, such as SICSS, IMPRS-ESM’s “sister graduate program,” which was established within the CliSAP Cluster of Excellence in 2008 and continues today within the CLICCS Cluster of Excellence. The two programs share some courses.

The IMPRS-ESM continues to play a pioneering role by consistently pursuing new avenues instead of resting on its laurels. For instance, after Sarah Kang was appointed, the MPI-M underwent a thematic restructuring. Since 2023, rather than focusing on individual components of the Earth system—the atmosphere, the ocean, and the land—the various departments now examine the Earth system as a whole while posing different questions about it. This approach is now also applied to the IMPRS-ESM. This realignment has further strengthened collaboration with the university. It now encompasses a broader range of disciplines, optimally combining the expertise of both institutions. 

In this way, the IMPRS-ESM has forged its own path through uncharted territory. In this case, the plan to nurture the next generation of researchers with a structured program, internationalize research, and strengthen collaboration with universities has proved very successful. Now that the program has become permanent, an exciting future lies ahead for the school. This path will also be shaped by an appreciation for tried-and-true methods, an openness to new ideas, and a drive to innovate.