Programme features

Lecturers/organizers (all serving also as tutors and discussion leaders) and students (early career researchers: Ph.D. students, post-docs) will daily interact with each other in different organized activities as specified below. Since theyall stay together in the Spetses Hotel, they will have excellent opportunities for informal discussions and conversations at breakfast, lunch and breaks and at the beach.

Lectures: All lecturers will divide their talk into two parts: a more general part introducing the topic and technology, a more specific part focusing on the most recent research. The total presentation time shall not exceed 20 min, leaving up to 15 min for discussions. Questions from the students will be actively encouraged by the session chairs, thereby avoiding that lecturers would dominate discussions. Prior to the course, student groups will be assigned to each lecturer with the task to prepare questions. Lecturer-student groups will individually continue to discuss specific topics related to the lecture.

Self-presentations: Each participant will introduce her/his research at the opening session at day 1 (‘Elevator pitch’: 1 minute, 1 slide).

Short talks by students: 18 students will be selected (based on abstract quality and country of origin to have amixed presentation) for short talks (6 min presentation + 4 min discussion) in two morning sessions. Two ‘best short talk awards’ will be granted upon voting by all participants (award 1) and by lecturers only (award 2).

Poster sessions: Session 1: 10 Groups a’ 7 students and 1-2 lecturers will be assembled; each student will present the poster to the group followed by discussions (total 10 min each). Session 2 and 3: odd and even numbered posters, respectively, will be presented by the students. Snacks, fruits and refreshments will contribute to a relaxed and stimulating atmosphere during this intense session. All posters will be viewed during three consecutive days to allow individual discussions. Two “Best Poster Awards” will be selected by a poster committee (4 lecturers/organizers) and granted at the last meeting day.

Tutorials: Each lecturer will discuss the specific lecture topic with interested students during the day of presentation,e.g. over lunch (‘lecturer table’). Students will be invited for one tutorial dinner with focus on discussing science and career development with the lecturers. 8 groups a’ 8-9 students and 2 lecturers. 

Round table discussion: We will discuss the topics: How to publish in leading journals? How to choose a postdocposition in academia vs. pharma? How to translate basic research findings into the clinics? The discussions will be moderated by Susanne Mandrup and Nicolas Venteclef.

Workshops: Students will choose 2 out of several topics, which will be discussed during one afternoon session. Toprepare students to the workshops, we will prior to the course publish the final workshop topics at the website, thereby helping students to identify issues to discuss and to prepare questions. Specifically, each student will be asked to prepare at least two questions for the workshops.