IRTG 1064 Retreat 2023 at the Söllerhaus in Kleinwalsertal

Our IRTG 1064 2023 retreat took place from August 7-9 in the Söllerhaus in the Kleinwalsertal (www.soellerhaus.de) on the German/Austrian border in the Allgäu Alps. 39 IRTG members participated. Many thanks to this year's orga team, Claudia, Fotios, Prateek for helping with the concepts and organization.

Every retreat is different, with different scientific and non-scientific activities; this year's goals were (of course) developing our IRTG network, participating as a group in an intercultural communication workshop (by the Student Initiative for Intercultural Competence, SINIK), as well as delving into a creative discussion on scientific values. Our non-scientific program was a guided (rope-oriented) "Mountain Adventure." Retreat program 2023 (PDF)

Dealing with uncertainty can be a superpower!

The whole group participated in an Intercultural Competence Workshop on the first day. Three trainers from SINIK joined us at the Söllerhaus and led an immersion exercise in intercultural competence, as well as a short after-dinner seminar and discussion on hurdles for successful intercultural communication. Openmindedness (in particular not jumping to pre-conceived conclusions), resilience in situations of uncertainty, willingness to venture out of our own comfort zones, good listening tactics were all discussed in the course of the workshop and discussion.

Our science session, divided over two days, was "creative discussion groups" in which we discussed in separate groups 1) scientific values, 2) our motivations to do science and 3) pitfalls of the scientific arena, focussing both on the "current" vs. "ideal" science world, and trying to visualize our discussions with simple materials available. In the forum on our last day, we presented the results, and discussed how they are interconnected, as well as how we can be a positive influence.  Creative Discussion Groups (PDF)

For an outdoor activity, we had planned to divide into canyoning groups and a hiking group. Due to the heavy rains before our arrival, canyoning was not possible, but we ended up with a very good alternative – a "Mountain Adventure" in which we were all able to participate as one group in some way or another (respecting personal limits – some of us were spectators and cheerleaders :-). It was really fun for all, challenging for many, enabling participants to try something new and – fitting for this retreat! – venture outside of personal comfort zones. After a full day of both discussion and outdoor activity, we rounded off the day with an evening pub quiz (thanks to Prateek!) and a get-together in the Söllerhaus basement bar.

On the bus on the way back to Munich, new student reps were elected. Congratulations (and thanks) to Prateek and Ana for accepting the baton for the last IRTG lap as PhD representatives – looking forward to working with you in this function!