State Graduate Funding (HmbNFG)New Scholarship Holder Erik Wendt

15 October 2025

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From 1 October, Erik Wendt will be a doctoral student under Prof. Dr. Martin Spindler at the Chair of Statistics and a new scholarship holder of the State Graduate Funding Programme (HmbNFG). This means he will benefit from financial support initially for one year.

In an interview, he talks about how the scholarship has changed his life, what he is working on in his doctoral studies, and where he sees himself after completing his doctorate.

Mr Wendt, you are a doctoral student under Prof. Dr Spindler. When did you start there and what is your dissertation about?

(Erik Wendt:) I have been working as a doctoral student with Prof. Dr. Spindler since 1 October. My dissertation deals with synthetic control groups, a method of causal inference. The aim of causal inference is to investigate cause-and-effect relationships between measures, treatments or events and a target variable. Synthetic control groups enable such analyses in situations where randomised experiments are not possible. In a randomised experiment, the units to be studied are randomly assigned to a treatment or control group in order to avoid bias and enable causal statements. However, this approach is not possible in many areas, such as economic and financial research. The synthetic control group method offers an alternative here, especially when only one or very few units are affected, such as a single country or company. In my work, I examine how this method can be applied in the financial sector. The dissertation builds on my master's thesis, which I also wrote under Prof. Dr. Spindler and in which I already dealt with this topic.

And what did you do before?

Before my doctorate, I studied for my bachelor's and master's degrees here at the University of Hamburg Business School. I chose finance as my major for my bachelor's degree and business analytics and finance as my majors for my master's degree..

Why did you decide to pursue a doctorate?

During my studies, I was repeatedly fascinated by individual topics that I would have liked to explore in greater depth. However, I often lacked the time to do so, for example because of upcoming exams. I therefore decided to pursue a doctorate in order to further deepen my interests and be able to set my own thematic priorities more independently. Furthermore, a doctorate is a unique opportunity to work on and expand the current state of knowledge. I also believe that the skills you learn during a doctorate are relevant in a holistic sense and contribute to personal development.

When you start your doctorate, you will receive a scholarship from the state graduate funding programme. How does this affect your everyday life – does it give you more freedom to focus on your research because your living expenses are covered?

The state graduate funding certainly helps me to focus more on my doctoral studies. In addition to the basic scholarship, financial assistance for materials and travel expenses of up to €1,023 per year can also be applied for.

Do you already have plans for after your doctorate – would you like to stay in research or pursue a different path?

I can't say yet whether I want to stay in research or pursue a different path. First, I want to settle into my new role here. In any case, I hope to continue doing varied and challenging work after completing my doctorate.

What advice would you give to prospective doctoral students who are looking for a suitable scholarship?

Interested parties should find out about suitable programmes in good time. In addition, it is of course important to get in touch with professors as early as possible to discuss funding options such as scholarships and to get a few tips on the path to a doctorate. I also think it makes sense to apply for several programmes and funding opportunities. Last but not least, you should allow enough time for the applications, as they can sometimes be quite extensive. I wish everyone who decides to apply the best of luck!

Mr Wendt, thank you very much for talking to us and good luck with your PhD.

Further information on state graduate funding can be found on the website.