International connections
The international students were able to get to know each other the day before the summer school. A dinner and a tour through Bochum as well as a visit to the planetarium were organized to make the start easier for the students. They could start the week full of scientific exchange with networking. Sharat SA, Undergraduate Student, IISER-Mohali (India) says about his experience: “The RESOLV Summer School was an absolute delight for me as an undergraduate exchange student! I got to explore cutting-edge research across diverse fields and gained valuable insights from the career-oriented talks which are bound to help me in the future. I got to befriend people from diverse cultures and backgrounds and thoroughly enjoyed every moment of the fun-filled week. It was truly unforgettable!”
Current topics and latest techniques
The Summer School is organized annually by a committee of students from the RESOLV Graduate School iGSS. This includes both the implementation and the selection of topics and invited speakers. This year's topics include Biomolecular Systems, Lasers, Spectroscopy and Instrumentation for the Study of Solvation, Nanomaterials and Solvation Structure and Dynamics (macroscopic to nanoscale). The selection of topics is in line with the scientific zeitgeist and the participants learn from the top researchers in their field. In addition to lectures by internationally renowned speakers, students can learn about and to perform the latest lab techniques in hands-on modules by the RESOLV researchers.
Career advice
An important part of the Summer School is always the Career Event where experts from various fields present possible career paths for young scientists. In addition to the more typical jobs in the chemical industry, career paths were presented that may not be immediately obvious. In a round of talks, the participants were able to ask the experts their own questions about working after graduation. Everything was covered, from tips on the application process to the possibility of presenting one's own projects to the employer. What the experts agreed on: Well-trained Solvation Scientists are valued in all industries, whether they want to contribute their scientific expertise or their soft skills and work ethics to other topics.