One important task of the GC-I³ is the coordinated education and promotion of scientific and medical young talents in the fields of immunology and inflammation medicine. The pillar of education supports the recruiting and education of early career doctors and scientists. These educational opportunities include lectures, seminars and internships for medical students. Furthermore, the GC-I³ offers teachings in other disciplines (biosystems engineering, computational visualistics, medical technology, integrated neuroscience and sports medicine).

In order to improve education in the field of molecular inflammation research, the medical faculty also offers a new master’s degree: Immunology. This program is unique in Germany and is designed for students who are interested in the interdisciplinary issues between basic research and translational medicine. These students develop expertise in the fields of molecular, cellular and clinical immunology.

With coordinated postgraduate programs like the Graduate School of the SFB 854 (MGK 854), which is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), the GC-I³ supports the development of scientifically talented people in the fields of natural sciences and medicine. The MGK 854 prepares more than 20 doctoral students in the SFB for their long-term scientific careers. In addition to involvement in the research projects of the SFB, the MGK 854 also makes it possible for the doctoral students to take part in seminars, retreats and soft skills workshops.

In May 2018, the GC-I³-associated RTG 2408 “Maladaptive processes for physiological boundaries in chronic diseases” was approved.  Through this, ten positions for doctoral candidates in the natural sciences, six for doctoral candidates in medicine, and two rotational positions for clinician scientists were created. In addition, four of these positions were implemented as part of the SFB 854 through the DFG and the Medical Faculty. These ‘Gerok positions’ allow young doctors to be free of clinical responsibilities for 6 or 12 months in order to devote their time to research tasks in the field of clinical inflammation research.

Through the Else Kröner Fresenius Foundation, the Else Kröner Research College of Magdeburg was established in 2014, as an interdisciplinary research and development program for future ‘clinician scientists.’ In 2018, this successful initiative was renewed for three more years (until 2021). Through this program, eleven young doctors conduct interdisciplinary research on the role of inflammation on the molecular pathogenesis of cancer.

In 2017, the ESF-funded Graduate School “Analysis, image generation and modeling of neuronal and inflammation processes” (ABINEP) was created. In four modules, the themes of both research focal points for the faculty were combined, and 21 young scientists are working on their doctoral thesis as part of this school. A large portion of these scientists came to Magdeburg from abroad. Scientists from the GC-I³ are taking part in 10 of the 21 projects. 

Long-term, the training programs of the Health Campus will be combined to form a GC-I³ Graduate School.