BIGSSS Summer Retreat 2017 › view all

Cross-Disciplinary Discussions and Team-Bonding with our Partners from the University of Edinburgh

The second semester of the newest cohort of BIGSSS PhD fellows is marked by the Summer Retreat, a two-day event where fellows present their dissertation projects to a cross-disciplinary audience. The BIGSSS Summer Retreat traditionally takes place at Gut Ankelohe, a historic farmstead between Cuxhaven and Bremerhaven, where BIGSSS fellows, postdocs and faculty enjoy productive scientific discussions and team-bonding and leasure time activities.

This year, we were very excited to host some faculty members and PhD fellows from the School of Social and Political Science at the University of Edinburgh - an excellent opportunity for inter-institutional exchange of academic work!

The Summer Retreat included a panel discussion on "The rise of populism and the contest of truths –  A call for the social sciences" with Daniel Clegg (University of Edinburgh), Pontus Odmalm (University of Edinburgh), Klaus Boehnke (BIGSSS), and Sonja Drobnič (BIGSSS).

Additional highlights of this year's retreat were the soft skill seminar “Oral Presentation of Scientific Information” by Mandy Boehnke and BIGSSS fellow Alexandra Mittelstädt as well as the annual soccer match of faculty vs. fellows. After a very tight match, faculty won 1:0 in overtime. Jakob Fruchtmann, who entered the game only minutes before the final whistle, scored the match-winning goal. Good hustle, everyone!