IMPRS Retreat 2016
 

Place:	Jugendherberge Windischleuba near Altenburg
Date:	February 23-24, 2016
Tentative start:	8:30 a.m. at the Inselplatz, Jena (Link to map) - Bus transfer
Directions:	https://goo.gl/maps/oSzwkbbYKQT2

1.  Learn from each other

It is an important aim of the PhD program to facilitate the exchange among the doctoral researchers and with experienced scientists. This targeted support is important since PhD researchers, advisors and course facilitators are spread across several institutes. Through scientific discussions after presentations of doctoral researchers or during poster sessions, but also through informal conversations during the breaks, the retreat organized under the umbrella of the IMPRS contribute significantly to an team spirit and also the development of personal career networks.

The retreat is our networking event for a lively exchange between all members of the IMPRS. This means there will be opportunity

• to present your work
• to get to know other PhD researchers and advisors
• learn about overarching research questions in Earth System Science
• ask about (for example)
  • techniques used in other fields of science
  • science in general

All PhD researchers should join. All IMPRS-faculty members and other advisors of IMPRS stipend holders are also strongly encouraged to participate.

2.  Agenda

The preliminary agenda is available here.
For more information see the detailed agenda.

2.1  3-min talks & related poster sessions

Presentations during the retreat should help other IMPRS members to understand what you are doing. That is why every PhD researcher should present his/her work in a short talk and a poster. From this page you can download templates for both slides and poster presentations.

3-min talk

Your talk should be understandable for everybody in the audience (microbiologists and physicists alike). Everything that is too long or to complex for this short talk should go into the poster.

So rather present some key concepts. Perhaps select one key result. Make sure to explain what is new and important about your work. What are overarching/ related questions in biogeochemistry and Earth system science?

From your talk, people should be able to take home

• Why is your research important? (Context)
• What is your main research question?
• How do you address the question? (Methods you use… this also helps others to see in which areas you are/are becoming an expert and how to connect with you)
• Perhaps one key result

Discuss with your advisor(s) in advance to identify these key issues.

Every doctoral researcher will give a 3-min-talk + 2 min discussion (urgent questions). Thereafter everybody moves to the ‘Kleiner Kaisersaal’ and a poster session will take place.

Take advantage of the attention and advertise your poster during the 3-min-talk!

Poster session

Every PhD researcher should bring a poster (Poster template) to the retreat. Use it to show interesting aspects of your work that do not fit into the 3-min talk. This could be

• your results
• details about your project background / setup
• questions you have
• etc.

You might also bring a recent existing poster.

Criteria of an effective poster:

• Scientific content
• Structure and formatting
• Language and images
• Amount of information
• General impression

2.2  Parallel session

The following issues will be discussed during the parallel session of the junior group leaders and faculty members:

• admission of new faculty members
• voting of a representative of the junior group leaders
• timing of the PAC meetings

…

Topics which can be addressed by the doctoral researchers are:

• rights & duties of doctoral researchers
• popular & missing courses
• external PhD representative
• ...