IRTG 1054 Retreat 2023 at the Söllerhaus in the Kleinwalsertal

Our 2023 IRTG retreat took place from August 9-11 in the Söllerhaus in the Kleinwalsertal (www.soellerhaus.de) on the German/Austrian border in the Allgäu Alps. Fourteen IRTG members participated in a series of intense  scientific and team-building activities.

The goal of our IRTG retreat was to provide opportunity for new and old members to get to know each other, both in the context of the research projects, as well as interpersonally. It is all about building a dynamic and multi-layered network, and "sharing science" in a creative and constructive way.

Our main science topic, spread over all three days, was "Visualizing Projects with Graphical Abstracts", for which hand-sketched posters were created. The first (rather challenging) step was drawing a draft and getting feedback from other group members. Incorporating this feedback, participants completed a final drawing that was hung in the seminar room "poster gallery". In our concluding forum, posters/projects were explained in 5 min presentations, and we gave constructive criticism on visual communication and summaries of projects. Even in this short time, the evolution of the posters was remarkable – not only were the posters visually coherent and informative, but they also had a great graphical aesthetic! The exercise was an excellent way of distilling the essential elements of the given projects for science communication. Importantly, through the informal and critical discussion, we also learned a lot about each other's projects!

On our first evening, Elizabeth gave a short introduction to "Good Scientific Practice" (GSP) – reiterating values in science, formal GSP standards and guidelines, and channels where to turn when you have questions or when things go wrong. Afterwards we played the Dilemma Game, which illustrated some of the grey zones of GSP, and the benefits of and necessity for discussion in many cases. On the second evening we gathered for a pub quiz, played in teams. It was a close competition – the winning group won the bucket of white marshmallow mice by one point!

To counterbalance the brain work, we also made time for an afternoon of challenging outdoor physical activities. A group of 10 participated in an exciting guided canyoning tour in the rushing Schwarzwasserbach. Four hikers climbed to the nearby mountain peak, the Hahnenköpfle (2077 m), which is nestled between the Hoher Ifen and the Gottesackerboden.

Feedback from the participants, which include several new IRTG members, confirms that even though the group was relatively small, we exchanged and learned a lot from each other, and strengthened the SFB/IRTG network.

Many thanks to Marine and Monica for helping with the organization of this retreat! On the (FC Bayern!) bus on the way back to Munich, new PhD representatives were chosen:  Congratulations (and thanks) to Monica Prechtl, Apurva Dhavale and Amina Sayed for accepting the baton for the last IRTG lap as PhD representatives – looking forward to working with you in this function, and to making our last IRTG year a good one!

-Elizabeth Schroeder-Reiter

See Retreat Photo Gallery

See Sketch-Poster Gallery