The integrated research training group (IRTG) will facilitate integrative training and collaboration of PhD students bridging the highly interdisciplinary scientific fields of ecological and molecular life sciences. The aim is to qualify PhD students to develop into internationally well connected academics capable of linking molecular knowledge with ecological and evolutionary concepts. To reach this aim, the IRTG will provide a framework specifically tailored to the particular scientific needs of the Collaborative Research Centre programme. An essential key element of the IRTG is a curriculum tightly unifying teaching of molecular biology/biochemistry and ecology.