Ph.D. Retreat 2026

This year’s PhD Retreat took place from 30 June to 2 July at the LMU Akademie on Fraueninsel/Chiemsee, providing an inspiring setting for both scientific exchange and personal interaction. Surrounded by the beautiful landscape, 33 doctoral candidates benefited from a peaceful environment that encouraged reflection, collaboration, and meaningful discussions beyond the formal agenda.

After an initial icebreaker session, we kicked off the scientific program with a session on Science Communication held by the PhD candidate Claire Slesinski. During her interactive presentation, she focused on key communication skills essential for success in a non-academic environment.

The speakers of the PhD program Prof. Eva Grill and Prof. Heidi Stöckl together with supervisors of our program, namely PD Dr. Verena Hoffmann, Prof. Peter von Philipsborn and Prof. Markus Pfirrmann offered honest insights in challenging steps of their careers.
This was rounded up by a personal note by the doctoral candidate Mairi McClean.

Day two started with a workshop on core competencies in Epidemiology and Global Health. After a general introduction by the PhD candidate Nicole Holliday who moderated the entire session, groups of 5 – 6 participants developed an ideal curriculum covering key skills and competencies necessary for professional epidemiologists and global health researchers.

Next was a Career Development session that addressed highly relevant topics for early-career researchers. Dr. Kerstin Bleuel from the Graduate Center^LMU gave an overview of different pathways in her presentation and offered numerous suggestions for support.
PD Dr. Verena Hoffmann gave a short talk on time management and Prof. Eva Grill held a presentation on funding opportunities with a focus on the DFG. Three alumni of our program, Dr. Nuha Shugaa Addin (Helmholtz Munich), Dr. Anna-Janina Stephan (TUM), and Dr. Benedict Katzenberger (Ipsos) shared personal insights in their different career ways.

After lunch, Prof. Eva Grill talked about Scientific Writing and AI. In her interactive session, she focused on questions such as ‘What should AI help us learn’ and talked about strategies to align the use of AI. This resulted in a critical assessment of the use of AI and how the usage can improve the writing process.

During a guided tour in the afternoon, everyone could learn more about the island’s history and cultural sites.

The last day started with a session held by the PhD representatives Ganling Ding, Joanna Krajewska, and Yanding Wang. During their presentation they summarized their work of the past 12 months and encouraged everybody to discuss different aspects related to the PhD program. In the end, the new PhD representatives, Ali Albeer, Lena Lagally, Ba-Linh Le and Dinesh Timalsena were elected.

We concluded our PhD Retreat with a workshop on Mishaps and Flaws in Data Analysis held by PD Dr. Ursula Berger. The doctoral candidates learned about traps and challenges while applying statistical methods and exchanged experiences during interactive group sessions.

Overall, the PhD Retreat successfully combined scientific learning with networking, team-building, and personal development. All participants left with valuable skills and knowledge for their future careers.