If you suspect that your supervisor or colleagues are not behaving in accordance with the principles of good scientific practice, you can contact the designated ombudsperson. The University of Cologne has appointed this person to hear allegations of academic misconduct. You can discuss and examine your allegations with this person. If the ombudsperson finds concrete evidence of misconduct, they will involve the University's internal Committee on Safeguarding Good Scientific Practice. The committee will examine the matter and hear the persons concerned. If academic misconduct is proven, it will be reported to the Rector.

Please also note our workshop offers on the topic of good scientific practice.

Contact details of the ombudsperson in cases of scientific misconduct
Committee on Safeguarding Good Scientific Practice
Guidelines on Safeguarding Good Scientific Practice at the University of Cologne
DFG Code of Conduct 'Guidelines for Safeguarding Good Scientific Practice

At the University of Cologne, scientific integrity is considered as a decisive prerequisite for excellent research. It describes a necessary basic ethical attitude and overarching culture of honesty, the anchoring of which in everyday academic life is a central concern of the university. In order to promote this, a university-wide Research Code of Conduct  formulates principles according to which research projects are carried out at the University of Cologne. This describes the guiding values of research, sets out the responsibility that researchers bear in their academic work and provides guidance in dealing with research collaborations.

The University of Cologne aims to be a safe, non-discriminatory and non-violent place to study, teach and work. To this end, it promotes a culture of recognizing and naming discrimination and calls on all members of the UoC to take responsibility for themselves and others.

Discrimination of any kind is not tolerated at the University of Cologne and in business contexts outside the university and members of the UoC are made aware of this accordingly. All important information can be found on the anti-discrimination page of the University of Cologne.

If you have any questions or difficulties with cases of discrimination or sexual violence, you can contact the relevant counselling and contact points. In addition, each Faculty at the University of Cologne has appointed a liaison lecturers to whom you can turn in cases of racism and discrimination based on gender, sexual orientation, religion or age. There is also a spokesperson of persons with special needs, as well as the open telephone consultation hours of the Service Center Inclusion.

Information on sexualised discrimination
Counselling and contact points

The doctoral phase can entail challenges, personal stress and problems that make you feel overwhelmed. If you are facing psychological problems and stressful situations, you can turn to the Kölner Studierendenwerk for counselling and social services.
 
Employees of the University of Cologne can also receive coaching and psychological counselling from the Employee and Manager Counselling Service.

You can also take a look at the qualification programmes offered by the University of Cologne. Participation in special workshops and courses can, for example, help you to improve your own time management or your teaching or give you tips on how to appear confident when giving presentations.

If you have any questions or require further assistance or offers, please do not hesitate to contact us.

We will also be happy to put you in touch with the appropriate organisation.

Do you feel threatened in any way or have you observed a threatening situation? The University of Cologne has established a threat management system that assesses threatening behaviour and can initiate measures to defuse situations or contain them before they can arise.

The Threat Management Team has established a specific procedure. The team is also available to you if other internal organizations, such as an ombudsperson, or external organizations, such as the police or fire brigade, are already involved.

If you notice the following behaviour, please inform the Threat Management Team at the University of Cologne.

• In the event of any form of physical violence
• In the event of any kind of threats of violence, whether written, verbal, by telephone or online
• When visibly carrying or displaying weapons
• When expressing violent fantasies
• When expressing suicidal thoughts
• In the event of sexual assault
• In the event of stalking and bullying

Get in touch with the treat management team. Discretion, fairness and the protection of the privacy of all parties involved are just as important as the safety of all members of the UoC.

If there is an imminent danger, please call the police immediately on 110 and the internal emergency number 0221 470-2200.