Doctoral School Information and Management System (KISS)

About KISS

KISS maps all processes related to member enrollment as well as the individual stages of doctoral programs at the Doctoral School NRW. Personal, research, and process-related data of applicants, members, and affiliates of the Doctoral School NRW are securely collected, stored, and managed. In addition, the system enables professors and doctoral candidates to submit membership- and doctoral-related applications. The associated decision-making processes are also mapped and organized within KISS.

Through personalized accounts, professors and doctoral candidates can independently document and manage their academic activities and achievements. Professors primarily record and store information on research, publications, and supervisory experience that are relevant to their involvement at the Doctoral School NRW. Doctoral candidates enter achievements from the doctoral process, access study-related documents (such as transcripts, enrollment certificates, or official notices) via KISS, and create and submit doctoral-related applications through the system.

KISS thus provides a secure and structured way to store personal data as well as documents generated in the context of membership and doctoral processes, keeping them accessible throughout the administration of members and doctoral programs. The workflows and procedures at the Doctoral School NRW are implemented digitally and documented in a transparent manner. The introduction of KISS represents an important step in digitalizing administrative processes at the Doctoral School NRW. The system has been under development since spring 2023 and has been used by various user groups since October 2023.

Access, Registration, and Login

You can access KISS at https://kiss.pknrw.de/. Alongside the login area, the page also provides a link for registration.

A two-factor authentication (2FA) has been implemented for login. This method enhances security and reduces the risk of unauthorized access to your KISS user account. For 2FA, you use your established KISS password plus a one-time code generated by a smartphone app. If 2FA is already in use at your university, you can use the recommended app for KISS as well. If you do not yet have a 2FA app, we recommend Microsoft Authenticator. A guide to 2FA in KISS is available for download on this page.

If you are already a member or affiliate of the Doctoral School NRW, you will have received a username, usually in the format ‘FirstName.LastName’.

A password can be reset on the login page.

User Guidance

KISS supports different processes for doctoral candidates and professors. Depending on your role at the Doctoral School NRW (e.g., department director or doctoral candidate), different functions and processes within the system are relevant to you. By assigning specific rights and roles, the system provides you with a personalized view of the information and functions you can access.

Guides to the processes relevant to your user group are available:

Role-specific guides for professors

• Professorial Member/Associate Professor/Applicant
• Member of the Recommendation Committee
• Member of the Doctoral Examining Committee
• Chair of the Doctoral Examining Committee
• Directors/Deputy Directors

Role-specific guides for doctoral candidates enrolled in a doctoral program

• Enrollment and Admission
• Re-enrollment
• Initiation of the Doctoral Procedure

Role-specific guides for cooperative doctoral candidates

• Cooperative Doctoral Candidates