Scientific lectures, the discourse of social topics, leisure activities, team building and time together: from these elements, the students in the Elite Graduate Program “Neuroengineering” met for a four-day retreat in the Allgäu.
In June 2018, students of the Elite Graduate Program “Neuroengineering” organized a retreat in Allgäu/Germany. Beside of about 30 students, three Professors joined the event: Jakob Macke (TUM), Benjamin Grewe (University of Zurich), and Thomas Euler (University of Tübingen). The professors presented exciting results of their research, from computational neuroscience to more experimental work on visual system signals, initiating discussions with students. Some students also presented on their recent research projects. Extending the scope of discussions from research to society, students also debated on societal topics, such as freedom vs. security and more specifically on the Bavarian police task act. An important part of the retreat is recreational group activities such as hiking and teambuilding activities. The retreat turned out to be a good opportunity fostering interaction between the two cohorts in the program. On the last day of the retreat, a workshop on student-initiated projects revealed new and innovative ideas for the study program. Encouraged by professors, students drafted a roadmap and established a team preparing for the Cybathlon challenge at ETH Zurich in May 2020.
Retrospectively, this experience was a unique and valuable opportunity to develop the relationship among students on all levels, much more intensive as this is possible in classroom daily routines. The exchange of ideas with visiting guest professors was a great opportunity to get insights into research outside of TUM, showing mutual interest in further interactions by starting joined projects and theses.
The feedback of students and guests emphasizes the intangible value of events like these, building a unique environment for getting into conversation on trends and state-of-the-art neuroscience. There is no doubt that this retreat increased the creativity and impacts future campus living.
