The Collaborative Research Centre 1557 ‘Functional plasticity encoded by cellular membrane networks’ includes an Integrated Research Training Group (IRTG) for doctoral students. Every year, the members of the IRTG meet outside Osnabrück for a multi-day event - this time the youth hostel in Dortmund was chosen. Around 60 doctoral students, postdocs and research group leaders came together to discuss their current research. The individual projects were presented in 15-minute presentations and discussed intensively both immediately afterwards and during the breaks, over lunch or in the evening. Catering and accommodation were provided by the youth hostel, allowing all participants to concentrate on the scientific discourse.
Retreats, as these 2-4 day conferences are called, are very important in order to maintain networking between the research groups of the Collaborative Research Centre and to receive constant critical feedback on one's work. In this way, future experiments can be better planned and carried out in a more targeted manner. As in previous years, this year's retreat was enriched by presentations from renowned researchers. These talks, known as keynote lectures, provide new impetus and ideas. The IRTG PhD students were then able to talk to the guests about research and career paths. As in previous years, top researchers from the area surrounding the conference venue were invited: Prof. Dr. Stefan Raunser and Prof. Dr. Peter Bieling from the MPI Dortmund, Prof. Dr. Ralf Erdmann from the Ruhr University Bochum, Junior-Prof. Dr. Marianne Grognot from the RWTH Aachen, Prof. Dr. Kathrin Thedieck from the University of Duisburg Essen and Prof. Dr. Thomas Klein from the Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf.
