Bericht und Fotos
15-17 July 2019, Spital am Pyhrn
In this year’s summerschool, organized by the ÖGP-JuWis representatives, participants could participate in keynotes and a workshop, get dissertation mentoring, had secluded writing opportunities, and there was lots of time for networking and fun! The summerschool took place in a former monastery in Spital am Pyhrn, surrounded by mountains and national parks. In this peaceful environment, we learned about and discussed writing skills and career planning in keynote lectures by Prof. Kerstin Hödlmoser (University of Salzburg), Prof. Katja Corcoran (University of Graz), and Prof. Stephan Vogel (University of Graz) and worked on our Open Science skills in a workshop led by Hilmar Brohmer (University of Graz).
In between those open-to-all sessions, early career PhD students were mentored on how to advance in their dissertation and their scientific career, while advanced PhD students and postdocs were invited to work on their projects individually in a writing retreat. The latter included not only a quiet working environment, but also a collection of writing books and info walls on how to structure the writing process and steer motivation.
Having meals and coffee breaks together and spending the evenings on joint activities gave all participants plenty of opportunities to get to know each other and the keynote speakers. On the last day, everyone had the opportunity to enjoy the surrounding nature on an extended hike. Some even made it all the way up to the summit! Of course, we (the ÖGP-JuWis representatives) asked this year’s participants how they liked it and we received overwhelmingly positive feedback! People loved the location, the flexibility to tailor the program to the group’s wishes, the mix of PhD students and postdoc researchers, the writing retreat, the mentoring, and the food. Only one major criticism was voiced: just like all great things, the summerschool was too short. Next time (summer 2021), we will try to address this and prolong our stay!
We are looking forward to meeting you at our next summerschool in 2021!
The ÖGP-JuWis representatives