Out of the daily grind, off to the retreat

10 June 2024, by Miriam Frieß

Photo: Miriam Frieß

From May 27 to 29, the Center for Earth System Research and Sustainability (CEN) graduate school SICSS’s annual retreat took place in Asendorf. Roughly 40 doctoral candidates in the field of climate research met to exchange notes on their latest work – and plenty more.

Three days of scientific exchanges, networking and simply spending time together, between old oaks and tall pines, in Germany’s Nordheide (North Heath), far away from the daily grind: that was the idea behind the graduate school’s 16th annual retreat. The participants were doctoral candidates from Universität Hamburg, the HafenCity Universität Hamburg and the Helmholtz Centre Hereon, whom the SICSS graduate school offers opportunities for interdisciplinary networking and continuing education.

This year, there was a special focus on the topic of biodiversity. Accordingly, there were presentations and a panel discussion with biodiversity researcher Dominik Begerow; the Head of the Nature Conservation Department at Hamburg’s Office of Urban Development and the Environment, Bernd Ulrich Netz; and the Interim Head of the WWF’s Marine Programme, Julika Tribukait. In subsequent group work, the participants concentrated on whether, and if so, how, they could integrate the topic into their day-to-day work. Moreover, on each day doctoral candidates in their last year gave short talks on their own research. At the end of the retreat, the three best presentations – based on jointly agreed-upon criteria like storytelling, audience participation, and quality of the slides – were selected and rewarded with a prize.

Berit Hachfeld, coordinator of the Ph.D. program, has been at all 16 SICSS retreats to date. “I’m very pleased that I finally had the chance to host a retreat in my home region, the Nordheide,” she says. Accordingly, one of the highlights for her was the field trip to the nearby woods and fields, during which she introduced the participants to the heath’s cultural landscape. Ph.D. candidate Leam Martes was another “returning customer”: in 2022, he was elected as the Ph.D. student representative, and took part in this role in 2023. “The retreats give me the chance to meet and chat with colleagues that I otherwise hardly ever see. That’s an aspect I truly enjoy,” he says. In the evenings, the participants had time for ping-pong tournaments, swimming and miniature golf – because meeting new people and having fun together is also an important part of the retreats.

Photo: Miriam Frieß