The Institute has since its inception laid great emphasis on fostering the next generation of research and scholarship. Thus, junior researchers and the research objectives of doctoral and post-doctoral research projects are to the greatest extent possible integrated into the research activities of the Institute.
Each year the Institute supports the doctoral projects of approximatley 30 doctoral candidates. This support is generally provided in the form of doctoral research postitions, some of which are externally funded. These positions are regularly posted within the Institute and on its website. Many of the doctoral theses written at the Institute are supervised by the directors as well as other eligible academic staff. Furthermore, doctoral projects are routinely thematically linked to the research projects of the Institute or the work performed in the Institute's regional units. Finally, upon their dissertation's having reached an advanced stage of development, doctoral candidates are expected to present their work to their Institute colleagues, particularly at the regularly occurring academic councils (Wissenschaftliche Konzil).
In addition to these efforts, the International Max Planck Research School for Maritime Affairs also sponsors the doctoral projects of candidates from within and without Germany. The Research School supports doctoral candidates with scholarships whose availability is regularly posted on its website. At present the scholarship program is supporting twelve doctoral projects. Alongside financial aid, the program features a "structured curriculum" comprising companion lectures and seminars as well as two group meetings per semester attended by the directors and the scholarship recipients.
Lastly, as a further element of international academic cooperation, the Institute supports foreign doctoral candidates through the Max Planck Scholarship Program, awarding stipends for short research stays at the Institute.
The Institute also supports researchers in the preparation of habilitations (post-doctoral dissertations whose completion is generally required for a university appointment in Germany). The opportunity to prepare and complete a habilitation is typically afforded through research fellow positions but also through positions linked to externally funded projects. Presently, 16 researchers are engaged in habilitation projects at the Institute. Since 1992, 22 individuals have successfully completed a habilitation at the Institute; 5 additional researchers have received university appointments outside of Germany prior to their completion of a habilitation.
In addition to supporting staff research fellows preparing habilitations, the Institute has also become the host of two regular forums at which junior researchers can present and discuss their post-doctoral work: the biennial Habilitandenkolloquium has since its inception become a firmly established academic gathering for researchers working in German speaking countries; the Postdoc Conference on European Private Law, held for the first time in 2006, aims to advance this tradition for the entire European arena.