First Research Retreat Festival

🔬 TRR 404 Research Retreat in Eisenach — science, strategy & collaboration
What a few days in Eisenach! The TRR404 Research Retreat Festival brought together researchers across sub-projects and career stages for an intensive program combining scientific exchange, strategic discussions, professional development, and teambuilding.
📊 Projects overview sessions provided a great opportunity to share progress across the Collaborative Research Center and identify connections between individual projects.
🖼️ During the poster session, researchers had the chance to dive deeper into ongoing work and exchange ideas in a more informal setting.
🎤 We were also delighted to welcome Alwin Daus for an inspiring keynote on sputtered thin-film devices processed at BEOL-compatible temperatures followed by discussions and new perspectives.
🧠 The workshop on “Unconscious Bias” by Andreas Hartwig encouraged us to reflect on how biases can influence our perceptions, interactions, and decision-making — an important topic for an inclusive research environment.
🌐 We took a step back from individual projects to discuss the competitive landscape and the broader research environment, while the PI strategy meeting focused on future directions and priorities for the Active-3D team.
🤖 For our PhD researchers, the “AI in Research” workshop by Ilona Lipp offered space to explore opportunities, challenges, and implications of AI for scientific work.
🤝 And, of course, a retreat is also about building the team beyond the lab: from golf and a visit to the Bachhaus Eisenach nach to exploring the historic Wartburg, there were plenty of opportunities for conversations and connections outside the formal program.
A big thank you to everyone who contributed to the discussions, presentations, workshops, and activities — and to everyone who made these days in Eisenach such a productive and enjoyable experience.
Science thrives on exchange, collaboration, and curiosity. We’re taking plenty of all three back with us from Eisenach.