Today, successful scientific research takes place in an international and interdisciplinary environment. To be internationally competitive, it is essential for doctoral students not only to specialize in their particular research topic but also to obtain broad scientific knowledge in related disciplines and exchange their ideas in an international setting. To this end, the multidisciplinary research topic of this IRTG ranging from chemistry, biochemistry and physics to pharmacology in combination with the international consortium of researchers from Freie Universität Berlin, McGill University, and the University of British Columbia is an ideal setting to accomplish this goal.

 The IRTG offers a broad range of web-based lectures and courses that will be uploaded on the IRTG’s web portal. The lectures will be complemented by web-based seminars and presentations that fit to the need of the respective levels of the students. Virtual lectures and web-based efforts will greatly reduce the problems caused by the time shifts between Vancouver, Montreal, and Berlin and therefore promote the efficiency of the teaching.

 In order to generate an interdisciplinary environment, candidates with different scientific background will be recruited for the IRTG. To reach a common level of knowledge on the core topics of the IRTG, all students will undergo a short pre-training. Central for this is a course on the Fundamentals and Applications of Polyelectrolytes which will be given by the PIs of the IRTG. This is followed by the actual research project during which further qualification will be gained by 1) interaction at IRTG meetings, colloquia, and a mandatory six-month research visit at one of the partner institutions, 2) training courses on project related topics and key skills as well as 3) presentation of the results via key deliverables such as annual reports, publications and presentations at scientific conferences.