The annual EC2/BIG-NSE retreat was held on June 12 and 13, 2025, once again at the scenic Hotel Döllnsee-Schorfheide, located about two hours from Berlin. The retreat featured excellent scientific presentations from students of the WS22 and WS23 batches, sparking lively discussions across disciplines. Nearly all PhD students and several supervisors attended, with only a few students unable to join in person. Thanks to hybrid participation options, two students currently abroad - in the USA and China - were still able to present their research virtually.
In addition to the presentations, the third edition of the “PhD Accelerator” workshop series took place, this time with a focus on “Writing.” The sessions were led by Dr. Adam Belsom and Dr. Ana Perez, postdoctoral researchers in the Rappsilber Lab, and were held at the end of each retreat day. Participants greatly appreciated the engaging and practical format. While the workshop was underway on Thursday, the attending PIs came together for a dedicated internal meeting to discuss the future direction of the BIG-NSE program.
The Einstein Center of Catalysis (EC²)/ BIG-NSE is an international doctoral program with a close connection to UniSysCat. It supports PhD education by recruiting and supporting excellent PhD students from all over the world. The mission of the graduate school is to overcome the frontiers of classical disciplines in catalysis.
If you are interested in viewing more photos of the retreat, please visit the media gallery of EC²/BIG-NSE.