In the project, four graduates of HTWK Leipzig are working on their doctoral projects with the aim of successfully completing these projects within the project. The projects are located in engineering, profile-building areas of the HTWK Leipzig and are intended to strengthen the university’s research competence in concrete construction, mechanical engineering and medical technology in addition to the individual qualification of young scientists. The projects are highly practice-oriented and are located in the STEM area. The doctoral candidates develop important solutions to problems of science and Saxon economy, which can contribute to the improvement of technological processes and products. Specifically, the investigations relate to the § validation of a new, continuous fiber-optic measurement method for improved strain measurement in the construction industry, § investigation of the behavior of pressure-loaded nickel-titanium form-memory metals (FGM) with the aim of an extended field of application of FGM in the actuators at higher force exposure, § development and validation of a system for continuous, automated pain evaluation in newborns and § research and development of a new digital method for the non-invasive ultrasound duration difference measurement of volume flows. The cooperative doctorates are carried out in cooperation with the universities of Dresden, Freiberg and Leipzig.