Funding for International Research: Clara Fockenberg Receives IRB

M.Sc. Clara Fockenberg is a PhD candidate at the Institute of Geosciences and has been at RUB since completing her bachelor's degree. In her doctoral research, she studies earthquake swarms in northwest Bohemia. These consist of numerous small earthquakes that occur closely clustered in both time and space. The aim of her research is to reconstruct these earthquake swarms using a 3D model and to gain a better understanding of the underlying processes that lead to their formation.

Through the Research School of Ruhr University Bochum, Clara Fockenberg has been funded with the International Realization Budget (IRB). The program supports doctoral researchers in internationalizing their research projects, gaining early international experience, and building an international scientific network for their future careers.

With the support of the IRB, Clara Fockenberg plans to meet with international project partners and discuss her research on site. In addition, a research stay is planned to incorporate external expertise and further develop unresolved questions within her project. In the long term, she hopes this will lead to new collaborations and follow-up projects beyond her doctorate.

Her advice to others considering applying for a scholarship is clear: Do it. Even the application process itself helps to sharpen one’s goals and critically reflect on the project. For Clara Fockenberg, international funding offers not only substantial academic benefits, but also valuable impulses for her future scientific path.