Every two years, the Bayreuth Polymer Symposium takes place, where renowned scientists in the field of polymer sciences present their current research. The Elite Study Program Macromolecular Science provides its students a different view on such an event. Among insights into the organization, the students had the opportunity to exchange ideas with internationally renowned professors in a special setting.
The Bayreuth Polymer Symposium (BPS) is a biennial, internationally renowned conference, which is mainly dedicated to current topics in polymer science, presented by a multitude of renowned researchers. The BPS also offers a dedicated lecture series on a highly topical subject. This year, for example, the BPS included a session on microplastics, an area in which scientists from the University of Bayreuth are also actively performing research in a collaborative research center. Another major task of this conference is also to bring scientists in these fields into a dialogue.
In this context, the Elite Graduate Program „Macromolecular Science" offers the module Future Trends in Polymer Science. This module is designed in a uncommon way, as the students have to deal intensively with the conference and its speakers in advance. This approach allows for a deeper insight into the aims and topics of this multi-day conference. Prof. Hans-Werner Schmidt, speaker of the Elite Study Programme and also one of the organizers of the conference, discusses in his lecture "Behind the scenes of BPS" a multitude of aspects that have to be considered and taken into account during the organization of a conference. Within the framework of the module, the students also present in detail the development and research areas of selected international conference participants in a seminar series.
A highlight of the module is that the students had the opportunity to meet exclusively with the researchers they had previously presented in the seminar in a separate setting. The students were certainly enthusiastic about the concept of the module.
In the aftermath, for example, one could hear: "I found the meeting very good. My speaker had taken the time to talk to me. That was great!" Obviously, the speakers themselves were also pleased with the open-minded willingness of the students of the Elite Study Program to engage in discussion.
