Good scientific practice, working according to the rules of the profession, is one of the greatest values of academic work. Non-compliance with these rules, such as plagiarism and publications based on falsified or invented data, have received a great degree of public attention.

In addition to such obvious cases, however, there are also areas in which the rules are more complex and there is a grey area between compliance and non-compliance, and not all academic supervisory relationships correspond to the ideal of mutual trust and respect.

As a basis for academic integrity, the University of Rostock has set up a detailed rules and standards that define the framework of good academic practice and help to identify academic misconduct and make the right decisions. The rules can be viewed here.

Ombudspersons are available to scientists as contact persons. Their task is to clarify cases of scientific misconduct. In conflicts, they act as confidential and neutral counsellors or mediators, if desired. There are no fixed rules for selecting an ombudsperson; all ombudspersons are equally available to all those seeking advice.

Please do not hesitate to contact one of our ombudspersons directly if you have a problem or suspect academic misconduct. Your concerns will be treated with the utmost discretion.