What happens if you combine 13 Doctoral Candidates (DCs) with 12 Researchers in a secluded Italian village, and let the mixture stir for six days, while constantly changing the environmental conditions? The results of this unique “reaction” are revealed below.
During the first in-person meet-up of the full MIPrecise network, we had to face the elements while taking part in team-building activities and got to know each other through a mix of scientific and survival tasks. This six-day experience was full of challenges and learning opportunities, from cooperating to win prizes for scientific posters to performing magic tricks with paper clips, an activity that Peter Cormack, Professor at the University of Strathclyde, creatively renamed “CLIP-chemistry”.
The days in Ossana were packed with lectures and work package meetings, which helped everyone gain a better understanding of the project as a whole. “I gained an overview of the projects in our consortium. Usually, you are very focused on your own project. The presentations and training helped to see the bigger picture”, says Caroline Poremba, DC4 in Jenny Persson’s group in Umeå.
Besides the scientific insights, the event also gave everyone a chance to see how to better work as a team: “I learned that you can make the most of yourself and your capabilities when you start to trust your team, whether you are working together on project-related tasks, hiking up a mountain, or rafting down a river”, says Natascia De Cicco, DC11 in Peter Cormack’s group in Glasgow.
The outdoor activities in Ossana were among the highlights for both DCs and PIs. They included a hike followed by an overnight stay at a mountain refuge near Cima Presanella, the highest peak in Trentino, and a river-rafting trip. “My favourite activity was rafting, because it was the end of the two team-building days. We could overcome our limits together, especially when we had to swim in the river.
Everyone was smiling and having fun, no matter whether we were DCs or PIs”, says Ingrid Lourme, DC8 in Ole N. Jensen’s group in Odense. Ersilia De Lorenzi, the organiser of the whole event and Professor at the University of Pavia, preferred the hike: “I enjoyed trekking to the Rifugio Denza because it revealed a great deal about each participant’s personality.”
The meeting in Ossana shaped the participants’ view of the MIPrecise project. Everyone agreed that the training and team-building event created a strong foundation for a collaborative environment within and between the work packages. Trust was built among the DCs and between DCs and PIs. This helped break down communication barriers and created good conditions to work together and achieve the goals of the MIPrecise project.
Börje Sellergren, Professor at Malmö University and coordinator of the Doctoral Network, reflects on the experience: “Meeting the whole network in Ossana strengthened my view that the MSCA-DNs are super important and a funding initiative the EU can be really proud of.” He also considers the team-building event a real success: “My main learning experience was my observation of an exceptional group of DCs that really connected during the workshop both overall and within the WP teams. No one was left aside and friends were made.”
Although the team-building activities were an integral part of the week, they eventually gave way to science. The following days were dedicated to presentations of the DCs’ work, lectures by the PIs on topics directly relevant to each DC’s research, and important meetings to discuss the future directions of each project. With rain pouring outside, the weather in Ossana helped us to focus on science: the perfect way to conclude the team-building activities and get back to research!
As the first training event has come to an end, we can say for sure that a strong network, built on collaboration and mutual trust, has been established between DCs and PIs. This is the perfect product of this first “reaction”: a positive and productive environment bringing together young and experienced scientists to build, step by step, the identity of the MIPrecise project.
This “reaction” wouldn’t have been possible without the organisers who worked hard, day and night, to make the event a success . A warm thank you to Ersilia De Lorenzi, Massimo Serra and Isha Prabhu.
What comes next? We will all meet again soon for next training events at Malmö University in March 2027, followed in April 2027, at the BAM in Berlin.
This “reaction” wouldn’t have been possible without the organisers who worked hard, day and night, to make the event a success . A warm thank you to Ersilia De Lorenzi, Massimo Serra and Isha Prabhu.
What comes next? We will all meet again soon for next training events at Malmö University in March 2027, followed in April 2027, at the BAM in Berlin.
