Testimonials from our doctoral students

Xiongfei Zhan: “I’ve always been very interested in mechanical engineering and earned my master’s degree in Furtwangen in the Advanced Precision Engineering programme. I stumbled upon the doctoral position more by chance; during a conversation, my advisor asked me whether I’d rather work or continue my studies. I told him I’d like to pursue a PhD − and he said there might be a position for me. That’s how I ended up staying at HFU.”

Sajjad Ahmadpoor: “I’ve long been deeply interested in manufacturing technology, production systems and applied engineering − especially in Germany. The PhD gives me the opportunity to combine research with real-world industrial challenges. HFU was particularly attractive to me because of its close ties to industry, its strong practical focus and the chance to work on topics that are not only academically interesting but can also be directly applied in production. Another important reason was the Institute for Advanced Manufacturing (KSF), which I already knew as one of the leading institutes in this field.”

Sabasadat Seyednikkhoo: “I love research and lab work, and I felt that after my master’s degree, I still lacked the experience needed for a good position − or that I would have to perform routine tasks in jobs that I don’t particularly enjoy. For me, a PhD is a bridge between academia and industry; after that, I can either go into industry or stay in academia and perhaps become a professor. I chose Germany because I like the system where you start working right from the beginning instead of spending several more years just studying. Besides, you simply learn so much more in the lab and through your own publications than you do in lectures alone − and I really wanted to deepen my knowledge in my field.”

Fatma Abdelati: “I love knowledge, and I feel that knowledge is the foundation on which we must solve every problem − especially health-related problems. That’s one of the reasons why I stayed in academia. I chose HFU primarily because of the professors; I specifically looked for people working in the same field. I’m very glad I chose HFU − especially because I get to work with Professor Matthias Kohl. He’s very supportive, understanding and knowledgeable. I’m truly grateful that I can continue here, and the research environment with my colleagues is also very motivating and wonderful.”

Xiongfei Zhan: “I’m pursuing a PhD in mechanical engineering. My dissertation topic is ‘Optimierung des kryogenunterstützten Drahtlaserauftragschweißen durch multiskalige Simulation und experimentelle Untersuchung’. I started my PhD in November 2025; the official offer came in March. So, in terms of the actual work, I’ve been at it for a few months now and am still very much at the beginning.”

Sajjad Ahmadpoor: “I’m pursuing a PhD in data-driven manufacturing, with a focus on machining processes, industrial data acquisition, process monitoring, and the application of machine learning in production engineering. In my research, I’m analyzing grinding process data using ML and AI models to better understand process behaviour and predict factors such as surface quality, tool condition, or process anomalies. A central part of this is combining real-time machine signals, sensor data, and data-driven models to support smarter and more adaptive production systems. I started in September 2024 and am currently in an active research and development phase.”

Sabasadat Seyednikkhoo: “I earned my bachelor’s degree in Cell and Molecular Biology and my master’s degree in Precision Medicine and Diagnostics at HFU. I am now pursuing my PhD in Molecular Microbiology under Professor Egert. I am in my second year, having started in August 2024 – one year and eight months ago. “I’ve already written two papers; they’re under review but haven’t been published yet, and my third project will certainly take more time. Overall, I feel like I’m in a good phase for my second year.”

Blanche Schoch: “I’m pursuing my doctorate in educational informatics. I started on 1 April three years ago. Sometimes I feel like I’m still at the beginning because there’s so much left to do − but actually, I’m about halfway through. My goal is to finish my dissertation by the end of this year.”

Fatma Abdelati: “I earned my bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering and my master’s in bioinformatics. Now I’m pursuing my PhD in multi-omics analysis; I integrate different omics levels − transcriptomics, genomics, metabolomics and microbiomics. I think this is very important for understanding complex diseases, especially fatigue-related conditions, which have become very common in recent years. The disease I’m working on is ME/CFS, and I’m also working on Long COVID. I find it very exciting to gain a better understanding of these diseases by bringing together multiple levels of omics data. I’d say I’m still in the middle of my PhD. I think the foundational work takes a very long time in a PhD − I like to compare it to a bamboo tree; you don’t see anything for a long time, but the roots are growing, and then suddenly it happens very quickly.”

Xiongfei Zhan: “There have been a few moments when I suddenly discovered a new method that allowed me to clearly demonstrate that my model was wrong. That’s very exciting because it means I can start over with a new model that’s closer to reality. But research takes time, and I’ve only been at this for a few months, so I haven’t delved into it that deeply yet.”

Sajjad Ahmadpoor: “That happened to me many times during my PhD. My field is relatively new, so I often come across patterns and correlations in grinding data that have hardly been studied so far – that’s very exciting. The most important moment was when I was able to develop high-precision neural networks for the first time to predict surface roughness in the grinding process. That showed me that complex manufacturing results can indeed be reliably predicted from process data, and it really boosted my motivation.”

Sabasadat Seyednikkhoo: “In both projects, I had the feeling at the beginning that I might not be able to pull it off well enough. Many of the first attempts didn’t work – sometimes ten experiments in a row. But I’ve learned that you have to stay calm, keep going, and trust that the problem can be solved. I’m in charge of the experiment, not the other way around. I haven’t had a single ‘wow moment’ that changed everything yet −maybe that’s still to come. “But I’ve realised that I can accomplish much more than I initially thought.”

Blanche Schoch: “I haven’t had a clear ‘aha’ moment like that yet. For me, it’s more of a gradual process; some days I write a lot, then there are phases where I’m researching literature or working on my ontology. Because of the limited time I have available – I take care of my child and have a part-time job on the side – it often feels less spectacular, more piecemeal.”

Fatma Abdelati: “Perhaps the most surprising thing for me was the complexity and size of my datasets. I couldn’t have imagined that I’d be working with such a huge amount of data – I need more than 30, maybe 40 or 50 terabytes, especially for the metagenomics data. I didn’t expect that. At the same time, it builds a lot of resilience; you encounter difficulties and then find a way to solve them after all. Professor Kohl found other researchers working with the same type of data, which gave me a lot of guidance. I was very grateful for that.”

Xiongfei Zhan: “The atmosphere in my research group is very relaxed, and all my colleagues are friendly. The work itself, however, is quite demanding and requires a lot of energy. I usually start at 9.00am and work until around 4.00pm, with a one-hour lunch break. In terms of content, I haven’t delved very deeply into the subject yet, so I haven’t encountered many major scientific challenges so far. Personally, the biggest obstacle for me right now is not having a driver’s license – public transportation here isn’t very convenient, and having a license would make everyday life much easier.”

Sajjad Ahmadpoor: “The day-to-day work in my group is very dynamic and exciting. A large part of it involves understanding the connections between physical phenomena in machining processes and the machine data from various projects. At the same time, I’m constantly able to try out new AI tools and methods that are evolving very quickly – and apply them directly to real-world industrial problems. The biggest ongoing challenge for me is the German language; particularly in everyday life, when dealing with government agencies, and in some professional situations, it remains challenging, even though my German skills have improved significantly.”

Sabasadat Seyednikkhoo: “What I really appreciate is the flexibility in my schedule. I can start later and work longer in the evenings or continue working from home – my supervisor is more interested in the results than in strict schedules. This means I can, for example, work out or plan my days in a way that’s most productive for me. In the office, I sit with five other women; the atmosphere is very good, and my colleagues help me a lot, especially with German emails. My biggest professional challenges lie in the field of bioinformatics – I’m often the only one at the institute working on this exact topic, so I have to figure a lot of things out on my own.”

Blanche Schoch: “I hardly have a ‘normal daily routine.’ I work on my dissertation in the mornings, and two days a week I also work at my job. That means a lot of self-organisation—my dissertation has to fit in alongside family, work, household chores and exercise. You can’t write creatively or do research every day. The biggest challenge is balancing it all.”

Fatma Abdelati: “I really enjoy my daily work – I love learning new things and sharing knowledge with others. At the same time, I’m constantly switching between different responsibilities; research, coding, writing, teaching and family. What’s very important to me is that I never underestimate the value of time. Even if I only have five or ten minutes to spare, I try to be very organised and make the most of that time – for example, to read something that might just solve a problem in my research. For me, the morning is a dedicated block of time during which I get as much work done as possible for my dissertation. The biggest challenges in my daily life are that I have a very young child, my husband works full-time, and we don’t have any family support nearby. On top of that, there’s the language barrier and the computationally intensive analyses; I work with massive datasets, use supercomputers at HFU, and have even purchased additional hardware and hard drives to process the data.”

Xiongfei Zhan: “For me, the biggest difference was clearly the language. I studied German for several years and improved little by little, but it was very difficult at first. It’s easier now, but that was definitely the biggest hurdle.”

Sajjad Ahmadpoor: “The biggest differences concern academic culture, work structures, communication style, and administration. I was particularly surprised by the extent of bureaucracy and the slowness of some administrative processes – decisions often take a long time and many things are very formal. That was a clear difference for me compared to my home country.”

Sabasadat Seyednikkhoo: “For me, the biggest difference is economic and in the resources available at universities. In Germany, you can live relatively well on a doctoral student’s salary – in my home country, even a full salary is often not enough to cover rent. Here, the universities have excellent equipment, and you can easily order materials, even from Japan or America. In Iran, many things aren’t available at all due to sanctions, or only after months. Because I know both, I really appreciate the opportunities I have here, and I consciously try to make the most of this opportunity.

Blanche Schoch: “I’m from Düsseldorf and have been living in the Black Forest for thirteen years. The biggest difference is less professional than cultural; this region is more rural, less hectic and nature is very much present. At the same time, I find people in the south to be a bit more reserved overall than in the Rhineland − in Düsseldorf, people become ‘best friends’ very quickly, but here it takes longer for people to open up.”

Fatma Abdelati: “There are many differences and many positive things I could mention. The work environment here is very encouraging, and I get a lot of support – for example, when applying for special datasets or accessing high-performance computers and cloud services. That’s much easier compared to my home country. The international atmosphere is also a big difference; you have colleagues from many different countries. At the same time, it was very challenging for me when I lost my first job and urgently needed a new one because of my residency status. With my German skills, which were still weak at the time, it was extremely difficult to find a suitable position – I applied for maybe 100 to 200 jobs, and often the language was the main reason why it didn’t work out. That was a difficult phase.”

Xiongfei Zhan: “I work on the Tuttlingen campus, but I live in Villingen. The commute takes about an hour to an hour and a quarter each way by train and bus, so almost three hours a day in total. Still, I don’t find it very burdensome: When I finish work at 4.00pm, I’m home by around 5.30pm and have the whole afternoon and evening ahead of me. For me, the pace of life in Germany is very relaxed overall.”

Sabasadat Seyednikkhoo: “I live in Schwenningen and used to live in Freiburg as well. For me, it’s less important whether a city is big or small – what matters more are the people I have there. In Germany, I find that the differences between cities aren’t as extreme as in Iran, where every city feels completely different.”

Blanche Schoch: “I live in Mönchweiler and am only in Furtwangen one morning a week; the rest of the time I work from home. Everyday life is strongly shaped by the region; lots of nature, not as much hustle and bustle as in a big city.”

Fatma Abdelati: “I live in Schwenningen and work there as well. I love the Black Forest, nature and life here – I even like the weather, even though many people would prefer the Egyptian weather. My daily life is strongly shaped by my surroundings; I spend a lot of time indoors at the computer, but I think it’s very important to go outside regularly, take walks and spend time outdoors, especially when you work with data so much.”

Xiongfei Zhan: “My family doesn’t live in Germany; I came here on my own. But I live with my girlfriend, who is also from China. We’re both active in various clubs and groups, like soccer.  I used to box, and I play musical instruments. Overall, my life here is very interesting and doesn’t feel all that different from life in my home country.”

Sajjad Ahmadpoor: “My connection to Tuttlingen is mainly work-related because I don’t live there, so my social life there is limited. Overall, though, I’m well integrated. As my German skills have improved, everyday life has also become much easier.”

Sabasadat Seyednikkhoo: “My closest people are here; my twin sister, who also studied at HFU, and my boyfriend. We’re well integrated both professionally and personally; I have colleagues I get along with well and people who help me with language and paperwork. I’m not the type to have a lot of friends right at work, but I have a stable environment and feel very comfortable overall.”

Blanche Schoch: “My husband, my daughter, many friends and my husband’s adult children live nearby; my younger brother is in Düsseldorf. We’re active in sports and clubs and have a well-organised social life in Mönchweiler. “What’s especially important to me is connecting with other mothers − we’ve built a very supportive network here.”

Fatma Abdelati: “Yes, I have a social life here. I have some German friends and I also go out with friends and their children. I really like the people here and feel that it’s important − especially for people who work a lot on the computer − to get out every now and then, get some exercise and meet others. That really helps clear your head and stay motivated.”

Xiongfei Zhan: “The exchange student buddy programme helped me the most. I had a German buddy who spoke English with me when I didn’t know any German yet. He explained life in Germany to me − what you can do, what you should avoid, and how to behave here. That was incredibly helpful, and to this day he’s one of my closest German friends.”

Sajjad Ahmadpoor: “Especially in the beginning, the support from HFU and KSF, as well as the German courses, were very important. The staff not only helped me with enrollment and administrative steps, but also with practical matters like finding an apartment and settling into daily life. That made the transition much easier for me.”

Sabasadat Seyednikkhoo: “For me, the people who shared information with me were especially crucial: my advisor, who explained the opportunities within the doctoral association to me; my friend, who is in the doctoral association himself; and colleagues who pointed out important emails in German to me. Without this support, much of the system would have been very confusing for me.”

Fatma Abdelati: “My husband helped me the most because he already spoke German when we arrived here − I was a complete beginner at the start. I also had very helpful colleagues on my first project; they’ve helped me with so many things, like finding a family doctor, navigating the system and figuring out practical everyday issues. These supportive friendships and connections made my start in Schwenningen and in Germany so much easier.”

Xiongfei Zhan: “If possible, I’d like to continue as a postdoc in the field of laser additive manufacturing. For example, there is an institute in Aachen, the Fraunhofer Institute, that is very active in this field – working there would be very appealing to me, even though it is highly competitive. If that doesn’t work out, staying on as a researcher at the KSF would be a very good option for me. The KSF has become like a family to me here in Germany.”

Sajjad Ahmadpoor: “After my doctorate, I plan to go into industry – ideally the machine tool and machining industry. Here in Baden-Württemberg, we are at the heart of this sector, one of the most important regions worldwide for this field. That’s why this path seems natural and very attractive to me, and I can well imagine staying in the Black Forest region for a few more years.”

Sabasadat Seyednikkhoo: “First, I’d like to work in industry for a few years, partly because that’s important for a professorship. In the long term, I’d very much like to teach at a university – and if possible, HFU would be my first choice, because I’ve had very good experiences here during my master’s and doctoral studies. I realise that the path to a professorship is difficult, especially as a foreigner, but I want to give it a try. And even if it doesn’t work out, I can imagine a good career in industry.”

Blanche Schoch: “I’m not entirely sure yet, but a professorship at a university of applied sciences would be very appealing to me − which is why I’m participating in the HAW Career programme and talent pool initiatives. At the same time, I have experience in the private sector, so a return to that field would also be possible. My PhD is primarily intended to open the door to a professorship, because without a doctorate, that’s hardly realistic anymore.”

Fatma Abdelati: “There are many opportunities in pharmaceutical research in my field. I hope that my knowledge of various omics – transcriptomics, genetics, and the microbiome – will help me find something that truly makes a difference, for example in the development of medications for chronic fatigue syndrome and related conditions. I can’t imagine stopping my research. Even if I were to work outside the traditional academic career path at some point, one thing is clear to me − my connection to research is something that is essential for my future.”

Xiongfei Zhan: “In my view, the most important document is the doctoral proposal − you should set aside enough time for it. You generally need a supervisor who is willing to work with you; for me, writing the proposal took about three months, and the entire process took nearly six months. I would recommend reaching out to professors early on. If you’re still in your bachelor’s programme, you can apply for a master’s at the HFU – the university is relatively small, so you have a better chance of professors getting to know you and considering you for a PhD later on. It’s also worth checking the websites of the doctoral association, which lists faculty advisors at universities. And generally speaking – the better your German is, the easier everything becomes – language is the key.”

Sajjad Ahmadpoor: “I would advise international applicants to learn as much as possible about the university, the research group and ongoing projects before applying. It’s important to know whether the research focus truly aligns with your own background and interests. You should also carefully check whether your previous academic achievements and degrees meet the formal requirements of the HFU – this will help avoid many time-consuming issues later on. “And I would strongly recommend building up your German language skills early on, because it makes a big difference in everyday life and in your professional career.”

Sabasadat Seyednikkhoo: “I think the biggest hurdles for many international applicants are, on the one hand, the language, and on the other, a well-structured resume and cover letter. Many don’t know how to structure their CV, what’s important, and what they can leave out. Yet the very things you might consider unimportant can actually be very helpful for an application. I’d also advise thinking carefully in advance about what to expect from a PhD programme − some people are disappointed because they imagined something completely different. It’s a good idea to talk to potential advisors early on, look at the group’s previous work, and, if possible, speak with current doctoral students to get a realistic picture.”

Blanche Schoch: “My most important advice would be to just give it a try. The hardest part is often the mental barrier − the question of whether you can do it at all or are ‘good enough’ for it. Formally, the process isn’t that complicated; what’s more important is being well-organised, staying aware of your motivation and constantly reminding yourself why you’re pursuing this PhD. You can’t plan much anyway, because life keeps throwing a wrench into even the best plans − so you should stay flexible while still working consistently toward your goal.”

Fatma Abdelati: “I think the most important thing is to truly love what you do – a PhD is a very long journey involving a lot of reading, writing, troubleshooting, and coding. You need patience and should trust the process. I would advise international applicants to reach out early to professors who truly align with your field of study and to stay in regular contact with your advisor and the team – even when you feel like you’ve only made small progress. It’s precisely these conversations that can help you adjust your course and provide new motivation. And for anyone in a similar situation to me, mothers with young children, I would say − don’t let anyone take your dreams away. You can balance family life and a PhD if you structure your time well, take small pockets of free time seriously, and develop a system that works for you. Even five minutes can make a difference – a paragraph, a few lines of code, an article. These small steps add up over time to something big.”