Summer Schools take place annually, alternately focusing on technical and non-technical topics. For the technically oriented summer schools, the Ph.D. candidates themselves choose the emphasis out of the range of the SFB 986 disciplines. Moreover, they invite internationally well-respected scientists to present lectures and workshops in their area of expertise. For the non-technically oriented Summer Schools, the workshops focus on key competences. In this case, the Ph.D. candidates also choose the respective topics.