Lisa Grabinger is beaming as brightly as the sun on this day. The 26-year-old from Regensburg has made it: she can now call herself Dr Lisa Grabinger. Her doctorate is not only a step towards the future for her personally, but also for OTH Regensburg. In 2023, the university was granted the right to award doctorates in research-intensive fields – less than two years later, the first doctoral graduates are proudly bearing their titles.
Prof. Dr. Oliver Steffens, Vice President for Research and International Affairs, emphasises: "These first independent doctorates mark a real milestone in the history of our university. I am particularly pleased that Ms Grabinger, a woman, has earned her doctorate in a technically oriented field of research – a strong sign of greater visibility and equal opportunities in science. OTH Regensburg is thus demonstrating that it not only promotes young scientists at the highest level, but also specifically supports women in underrepresented areas."
The dissertation was supervised by Prof. Dr. Jürgen Mottok at the Doctoral Centre for Applied Computer Science (PZAI). In her thesis, Lisa Grabinger examined data science in empirical eye-tracking research. The young woman has been teaching empirical eye-tracking research at OTH Regensburg for several years. In doing so, she found that statistical data analysis was the biggest challenge. The idea behind her doctoral thesis was to remove this hurdle for students and even spark enthusiasm for statistics in some of them. The tool she developed will be used in the relevant courses in the future.
A straightforward path from childhood dream to doctorate
"I consciously chose OTH Regensburg for each of my academic degrees. For my bachelor's degree, it was still based on my childhood dream of studying in the city where I grew up. For my master's degree and doctorate, it was because I had come to know and appreciate the institution and its people. The doctoral centres offer universities the opportunity to show what they are capable of – the opportunity to produce research biographies on their own," says Grabinger.
Prof. Dr. Ralph Schneider, President of OTH Regensburg, congratulated the doctoral candidate: ‘The first independent doctorates are a strong signal for the further development of our university. Ms Grabinger completed her doctorate in a data- and technology-driven field of research. This underlines our goals from the university development plan: to promote young scientists and strengthen equal opportunities in all areas. The successful doctorate is a visible sign that we are consistently pursuing this path.’
Doctoral centres: New paths to a doctorate
Bavaria's Minister of Science Markus Blume emphasises: "Double congratulations to Regensburg: Congratulations to the newly minted Dr Lisa Grabinger and congratulations to OTH Regensburg on its first successful doctorates – this is a milestone in the history of the university. With six doctoral centres that fit perfectly into the OTH profile, the university is excellently positioned and broadly based. The doctoral centres are a booster for application-oriented research. Our universities throughout Bavaria now have the opportunity to fully develop their research capabilities. Industry and companies also benefit enormously from the focus on application and practice. The right to award doctorates for our universities of applied sciences and technical universities is a young but impressive success story!"
With the independent right to award doctorates, a significant step was taken in 2023 to strengthen research-based qualifications at universities of applied sciences in Bavaria. Together with Munich University of Applied Sciences and Nuremberg Tech, OTH Regensburg has now established six doctoral centres in particularly research-intensive fields of the future. These centres enable young scientists to pursue an independent doctorate at the highest level – directly at the university.
Doctorates can still be completed in cooperation with universities in Germany and abroad. This is a proven option, especially for subject areas that are not represented in any of the doctoral centres. More than 170 doctoral candidates at OTH Regensburg have already successfully pursued this path – an overview can be found in the ‘Frisch promoviert’ (Newly Graduated) section of the university website, which presents completed doctoral projects and the people behind them.
More information about the doctoral centres and the various paths to a doctorate at OTH Regensburg can be found here.
