About us

More than 200 PhD students are at the heart of DoSChem. Student representatives, elected annually for a one-year term, give students a voice in the Steering Committee and help shape the programme.

• Equal members of the DoSChem Steering Committee
• Represent student interests and contribute to decision-making
• Facilitate communication between students, supervisors, and management
• Lead the organization of the Student Symposium (DoSChem’s largest annual event)
• Manage a dedicated budget for community activities (e.g. Stammtisch, networking events, excursions)

Student representatives strengthen the DoSChem community while gaining leadership and transferable skills.

Want to represent your fellow PhD students and contribute to the DoSChem community? Get in touch with us dos.chem@univie.ac.at or the student representatives students.dos.chem@univie.ac.at. Elections take place every autumn.

2025-2026

• Sebastian-Felix Fritz (Panel C, Pallitsch group)
• Angela Hofmeister (Panel C, Maulide group)
• Felix Niedermaier (Panel B, Ahrends group)
• Anna Katharina Picha (Panel A, Boresch group)
• Marion Sappl (Panel A, Schröder group)

2024-2025

• Vanessa Partsch (Panel B, Marko group, representative)
• Florian Call (Panel B, Marko group, representative)
• Ella Duvanova (Panel C, Rompel group, deputy)
• Venet Nici (Panel C, Rompel group, deputy)

2023-2024

• Chiara Luna Onorati (Panel A, Lieberzeit group)
• Christina Brenner (Panel B, Köllensperger group)
• Moritz Zelenka (Panel A, Backus group)
• Hoa Le Xuan (Panel C, Rompel group)

2022-2023

• Martin Schaier (Panel B, Köllensperger group)
• Philip Verdross (Panel A, Bismarck group)
• Tadija Kekic (Panel B, Somoza group)

2021-2022

• Leopold Dürrauer (Panel C, Becker group)
• Bianca de Jonckheere (Panel B, Ahrends group)
• Stefanie Rubenzucker (Panel B, Ahrends group)
• Patrick Guggenberger (Panel A, Kleitz group)

2020-2021

• Leopold Dürrauer (Panel C, Becker group)
• Bianca de Jonckheere (Panel B, Ahrends group)
• Stefanie Rubenzucker (Panel B, Ahrends group)
• Ludwig Schwiedrzik (Panel A, González group)

Sebastian-Felix Fritz, Group Pallitsch: 

“After a year as a Student Representative, I can say you really do experience a lot, meet loads of new people, and get the chance to help make DoSChem a bit better for everyone. Although PhD students are often completely swamped with their own projects, being a Student Representative gave me the chance to step outside that bubble, work as part of a team, deal with a few challenges along the way, and improve my organisation and communication skills. Was it worth all the work? Definitely! Is there still more we can do to further improve DoSChem? Yeah, absolutely — and that’s what makes it exciting.”

Anna Picha, Group Boresch: 

“Getting the opportunity to be part of the student representative team for a whole year taught me a lot. I got to take on responsibility, support students with their personal needs, but also connect with a lot of people — both students and PIs — from the whole Doctoral School of Chemistry. Being part of this team also allowed me to bring in my own ideas and initiatives that DoSChem members can benefit from, including the organisation of fun events outside of the typical stressful PhD life. Organising several events was a new skill that I was able to acquire and further develop, which I found very complementary to the usual day-to-day life of a PhD student. Overall, I really enjoyed this position, and I am sure that the experience will help me on my future path.”

• Explore the University of Vienna's overview of counseling and support services
• Browse the “Women in Biology” has a list of resources Women in Biology resource collection
• Learn more about sexual harassment and discrimination through the u:respect campaign