From April 10 to 12, 2024, our doctoral students gathered at Burg Rothenfels for their annual doctoral retreat. In a relaxed atmosphere, they discussed their research and ideas for collaborations.
The doctoral retreat this year was held from April 10 to 12 at Burg Rothenfels: a castle in the quiet village of Rothenfels that lays between Frankfurt and Würzburg.
The first day was spent traveling to the location. All attendees arrived in the late afternoon. We spent the remainder of the day getting to know each other over dinner and board games.
We started the next day with a social event. We met with Jan, an expert archer, who taught us about the history of archery. Of course, we also got a practical introduction to the art. All members got a chance to practice shooting arrows at a target. With guidance from Jan, all of us improved our accuracy throughout the event.
In the afternoon, we started with a round of presentations. Each doctoral researcher presented their work as part of their assigned project thus far and plans for the rest of funding period three. There was plenty of time for Q&A after each presentation during which we discussed potential collaborations. After the presentations we discussed issues we encountered during our PhD, how we approached them and how we plan our work. Overall, it was a productive day that benefitted those who attended.
On the last day we started off by sharing final thoughts with each other and wrapping up our discussions from the day before. After a coffee break, we decided on a short hike to discuss collaborations and projects in a less formal setting. We concluded the day with lunch, after which we traveled back home.
We had a great time during our doctoral retreat at Burg Rothenfels and we would like to thank the staff for a great stay and lovely food.