Scientist Retreat 2025 in Eisenach Data, Dialogue, and the Wartburg

Our annual Scientist Retreat took place in Eisenach from the 3rd to the 5th of December 2025. Once again, this event brought together our network’s researchers, promoting meaningful exchange and discussion of ideas, as well as providing hands-on training.

The Program

Teams from each consortium exhibited their research aims and progress to the participants through presentations and poster sessions. This year, Prof. Dr. Andreas Raue from the University of Augsburg’s Department of Computer Science, Modeling and Simulation of Biological Processes gave an insightful talk on navigating the transition from academia to industry and back to academia, offering valuable career-development insights from his personal experience.

Visit to the Wartburg – A UNESCO World Heritage Site

The participants also enjoyed an outing to the Wartburg, a castle in Eisenach which was originally built in the Middle Ages. Not only is the Wartburg of architectural interest, but also historical. It was once the home of Saint Elisabeth of Hungary, the place where Augustinian monk Martin Luther translated the New Testament into German in 1521-1522 and also served as inspiration for many artists in literature, painting, and music, including Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Franz Liszt, and Richard Wagner, among others.

Workshop on Visualizing Scientific Data

Elisabeth Werner from punktweiss held a two-day workshop on data-visualization aiming to improve our scientists’ scientific communication skills. Using their own posters, the participants analyzed their work from a design perspective and identified points for potential improvement. The workshop provided attendees with many useful and practical techniques to enhance the clarity and impact of their presentations, posters, and publications.

Conclusion

The 2025 Scientist Retreat in Eisenach continued to support and encourage the exchange of ideas and cross-collaboration within the LiSyM-Cancer network. A mixture of talks, presentations and workshops created a dynamic environment, wherein one could enhance their skills and increase their visibility as a researcher, as well as be given live feedback.