Graduate students of every department choose yearly two (or three) departmental representatives. These spokespersons are regularly asked to distribute or gather information and they are responsible for organizing a Get Together (normally every department organizes this event once per twelve to eighteen months).

All departmental spokespersons meet a few times a year to discuss important issues. At the end of every year, they redistribute the organization of the different activities and they elect two new institute’s spokespersons.

The institute’s spokespersons (in 2012 Nikolas Schrod and Sneha Kumar) meet with the managing board and the administration on a regular basis to keep involved in issues that are important for graduate students. Whenever problems occur between PhDs and their supervisors, these spokespersons can mediate (or refer to the Betriebsrat). And of course the spokespersons inform all graduate students about upcoming events and important regulations.

All students that volunteer to take part in the organization of certain events are members of the Graduate Committee. The Graduate Committee currently exists of 17 active students and organizes all activities - except the Get Togethers.