Successful Welcome Days Workshop for Doctoral Researchers in the SMART Integrated Research Training Group

On November 9th and 10th, 2023, we hosted the inaugural ‘Welcome Days’ workshop for the newly established SmallData Integrated Research Training Group SMART for all doctoral researchers within our CRC. The two-day workshop was designed to familiarize doctoral researchers with SMART’s mission, stimulate group activities, and to initiate networking.

Key highlights of the Welcome Days included:

• A Scavenger Hunt Across the Natural Science Campus: An activity created specifically for the doctoral researchers that showcased the scientific disciplines of SmallData. The scavenger hunt included missions and quizzes and provided a fun and interactive way to learn about the different research areas and facilities.
• PowerPoint Karaoke: A unique and entertaining session where the doctoral researchers presented on random, unseen slides, fostering improvisation skills and boosting confidence in public speaking.
• First lecture in our newly designed CRC Lecture Series: The CRC Speaker Harald Binder provided introductory insight into the underlying methods of his research project A03 in an interactive lecture on “Longitudinal Data with Clinical Cohorts”.
• SMART’s vision and sharing expectations: A session outlining the vision of SMART, where doctoral researchers shared their expectations and wishes, facilitating a mutual understanding and creating a supportive community.

The event ended with very positive feedback from all participants and marked a great start for collaborative science.

Marc Schumacher

Institute of Medical Biometry and Statistics,
Faculty of Medicine and Medical Center –
University of Freiburg