{"id":8232,"date":"2026-02-26T10:16:20","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T10:16:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cyber-valley.de\/?post_type=news&#038;p=8232"},"modified":"2026-11-07T08:01:34","modified_gmt":"2026-11-07T07:01:34","slug":"2017-training-outstanding-doctoral-students-at-imprs-is-interview-with-leila-masri","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/cyber-valley.de\/de\/news\/2017-training-outstanding-doctoral-students-at-imprs-is-interview-with-leila-masri\/","title":{"rendered":"2017: Training outstanding doctoral students at IMPRS-IS \u2013 Interview with Leila Masri"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><br><strong>In 2016, important actors from science, industry, and politics founded the Cyber\u00a0Valley Consortium, which became the first Innovation Campus in Baden-W\u00fcrttemberg. Ten years on in 2026, we&#8217;re revisiting the most important milestones from the last decade. Each month, we&#8217;ll focus on a particular year since Cyber\u00a0Valley&#8217;s beginning.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This month,&nbsp;we\u2019re&nbsp;looking back to 2017 when Cyber\u00a0Valley\u2019s graduate school, the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/imprs.is.mpg.de\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">International Max Planck Research School for Intelligent Systems (IMPRS-IS)<\/a>,&nbsp;was founded. IMPRS-IS trains outstanding doctoral students from around the world&nbsp;and&nbsp;supports them in their PhD research so they can use their AI expertise to build a better future in Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Leila Masri has been&nbsp;the scientific coordinator&nbsp;at IMPRS-IS since 2017. She has supported its growth into one of Germany\u2019s largest doctoral programs, now comprising more than 300 doctoral researchers and nearly 100 faculty members. Committed to fostering diversity in science, she also contributes to initiatives broadening access to research, including the CaCT\u00fcS and RIGI internship programs in T\u00fcbingen and Stuttgart.&nbsp;In the following interview,&nbsp;she reflects&nbsp;on IMPRS-IS\u2019s founding and what makes the graduate school unique.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">When you helped launch IMPRS-IS in 2017, what vision did you have for the program, both for the students and for the broader research community?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As a scientist myself, I completed my PhD in T\u00fcbingen and Kiel and later worked as a postdoctoral researcher in Austria. Throughout my academic career, I have been deeply committed to supporting students and teaching, an interest I further developed by earning a university teaching diploma from the University of Stuttgart. When Michael J. Black and Katherine J. Kuchenbecker at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (MPI-IS) launched IMPRS-IS in 2017 and were looking for a coordinator, it felt like a natural fit. My vision was to help build a welcoming international community where doctoral researchers and faculty could connect, exchange ideas, and thrive together, while providing an environment in which excellent research can flourish. It has been incredibly rewarding to see this vision come to life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Looking back over the past years, which moments or milestones felt particularly defining for IMPRS-IS, and why do they stand out to you personally?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Looking back, one of the defining milestones was how quickly IMPRS-IS grew. Our original goal was to build a doctoral program with around 100 PhD students over six years, so reaching that number in less than two years was incredibly encouraging. Over those six years, we ended up recruiting more than 400 doctoral researchers, making IMPRS-IS one of the largest yet youngest doctoral programs in Germany.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Furthermore, we had long wanted to organize industry visits so our students could see how research works outside academia and exchange ideas with researchers working in industry. Interestingly, this happened quite naturally through our alumni, who started hosting us at companies like Bosch, with a visit to Amazon coming up soon; both also partners in Cyber\u00a0Valley. That organic development has been particularly rewarding to see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">From your perspective, what is unique about IMPRS-IS? What distinguishes it from other doctoral training programs?&nbsp;<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What makes the program special is how it brings together the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems with the Universities of Stuttgart and T\u00fcbingen. This gives doctoral researchers access to both cutting-edge research infrastructure and strong academic networks. The focus on intelligent systems naturally connects AI, robotics, engineering, and related fields, and the close ties to the Cyber\u00a0Valley ecosystem help link fundamental research with industry and innovation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the same time, the structured doctoral program \u2013 with thesis advisory committees, Think &amp; Link gatherings, annual boot camps, and professional development opportunities \u2013 provides valuable support to its doctoral students as well as to its senior scientists. Furthermore, beyond all the institutional and program strengths, what truly sets IMPRS-IS apart for me is its people and culture. It genuinely feels like a home: a place defined by trust, support, warmth, and collaboration.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That strong sense of community, alongside research excellence, is what makes IMPRS-IS truly unique.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">IMPRS-IS students come from a broad range of backgrounds, but do you think that they share any particular mindsets or qualities?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yes \u2013 although IMPRS-IS students come from very different academic, cultural, and personal backgrounds, I do think they share common mindsets and qualities. The program is highly international, with doctoral researchers from\u00a0over 35 countries, more than\u00a060% non-German speakers, and about\u00a028% female researchers, alongside a wide range of academic backgrounds and expertise. That diversity enriches the research they conduct, as people approach problems in different ways and contribute their own personal touch to the research they pursue.<br>There\u2019s a noticeable culture of empathy, openness, and mutual support \u2013 people are approachable, willing to exchange ideas, and genuinely invested in each other\u2019s academic and personal success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What aspects of the program are you personally most proud of today?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Honestly, I don\u2019t think I can point to one single aspect in isolation \u2013 what I\u2019m most proud of is really the\u00a0people who make IMPRS-IS what it is. The program\u2019s success stems from the collective effort and commitment of many individuals: the strong guidance from our spokesperson\u00a0Katherine J. Kuchenbecker, the steady support of the executive board and coordination office, and the genuine engagement of faculty members and scholars who are consistently willing to support doctoral researchers. That level of dedication creates an environment where doctoral candidates feel\u00a0encouraged, guided, and valued. We can now measure this success: IMPRS-IS has attracted\u00a0top-tier scientists from around the world, involves\u00a0nearly 100 faculty members, hosts\u00a0over 300 doctoral candidates, and has\u00a0graduated more than 150 PhD students since 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Combined with the program\u2019s\u00a0diversity, interdisciplinarity, and culture of openness and mutual support, IMPRS-IS is not just a strong academic program \u2013 it is a place where people can\u00a0thrive both scientifically and personally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">To celebrate Cyber\u00a0Valley&#8217;s ten-year anniversary,&nbsp;we&#8217;ll&nbsp;be sharing a variety of content across our website and social media channels reflecting on milestones from the last decade. Stay tuned for the next installments!&nbsp;<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":8219,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"cv-tag":[307],"location":[],"network-role":[],"news-category":[370],"user-group":[245,247],"class_list":["post-8232","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","cv-tag-imprs-is","news-category-10-years-cyber-valley","user-group-researcher","user-group-phd-student"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>2017: Training outstanding doctoral students at IMPRS-IS \u2013 Interview with Leila Masri - Cyber Valley<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cyber-valley.de\/de\/news\/2017-training-outstanding-doctoral-students-at-imprs-is-interview-with-leila-masri\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"de_DE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"2017: Training outstanding doctoral students at IMPRS-IS \u2013 Interview with Leila Masri - Cyber Valley\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In 2016, important actors from science, industry, and politics founded the Cyber\u00a0Valley Consortium, which became the first Innovation Campus in Baden-W\u00fcrttemberg. 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