14 doctoral students from 6 countries, 3 Professors and 5 days devoted entirely to the presentation and discussion of the PhD projects: The Departmental Graduate Center Sport- and Health Sciences (DGC-SH) hosted its annual Winterschool from March 12th to March 17th, organized by the Managing Director, Dr. Felix Ehrlenspiel. As in previous years, the event took place at Darmstädter Haus of TU Darmstadt in Hirschegg in Kleinwalser Valley (Austria).
"The Winterschool is a wonderful format to support and promote our doctoral students and it was again an absolute highlight!" says Prof. Dr. Joachim Hermsdörfer, one of two Speakers of Departmental Graduate Center DGC-SH. "The aim of the Winterschool is to give guidance to doctoral students and provide feedback on their research design in the early stages of their PhD-projects. This idea was again well received", Dr. Ehrlenspiel reflects.
Presentation and Discussion of PhD-projects
During the Winterschool, doctoral students gave short presentations on their projects and project ideas. These ideas were then discussed with their peers but also with Professors of the Department: Prof. Hermsdörfer, Prof. Dr. Jürgen Beckmann, who initiated the Witnerschool 7 years ago, and Prof. Dr. David Franklin. The presentations reflected the broad interdisciplinary and international spectrum of research at the Department - not only by virtue oft he diverse research questions or methodological approaches but also related to the countries of origin: Eleven students from the Department were joined by 2 guests from the University of Bath, a traditional partner of the Department of Sport- and Health Sciences, as well as a student from Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Moreover, the students came from Brasil, Germany, France, Lithuania, Mexico and Australia.
"To be confronted with such a great variety of scientific approaches and research questions was very enriching for our students. Because they also experienced that they were able to provide insights, give recommendations or make other contributions to these diverse topics ", acknowledges Hermsdörfer, "Students engaged in excellent discussions of the presentations and gave great remarks!" The scientific program of the Winterschool traditionally includes a workshop on "Scientific Misconduct", held by Ehrlenspiel and a key-note lecture. This year Prof. Franklin, chair of Neuromuscular Diagnostics presented his research with a lecture on "Computational Principles of Human Sensorimotor Control".
Workshop "Visual Thinking"
The last day of the Winterschool has been reserved for a more practical workshop. This year, Anton Chung was invited for workshop on "Visual Thinking" who calls himself an Innovation Facilitator. The workshop allowed students to learn the use of simple tools - such as drawings or Post-Its ® - to visually organize ideas, thoughts or plans. Students then were able to immediately apply these tools to organize their own ideas or suggestions and recommendations they had received regarding their PhD-projects.
A visit to the Olympic Training Center
One of the highlights beyond the scientific program was a visit to the Allgäu-branch of Olympic Training Center Munich in Oberstdorf (OTC) . The group was shown the training facilities, the boarding school and the ice rink, where figure skating worldchampion Aljona Savchenkio was practicing. Günther Hartung from the OTC then lead the visitors to the Erdinger Skisprung-Arena and allowed them to sit on the bar in the inrun. Now doctoral students, Johannes Petrat (who had made this visit possible) and Matthias Olvermann had actually pushed themselves from this bar when they were still pursuing their career in Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined, respectively.
"The development of the Winterschool is very positive. The event is well structured and organized, the program nearly optimal. This impression is corroborated by the fact that the Winterschool was fully booked quite early", recaps Hermsdörfer. And Prof. Franklin is enthusiastic: "I am surprised, that there is not a waiting list for next year's Winterschool, already, of students wanting to participate in such a great event!"
The next Winterschool will take place March 11 to 16, 2018. Registration will be open in October 2017.
Homepage of the Department Graduate Center Sport and Health Sciences
Contact:
Dr. Felix Ehrlenspiel
Managing Director Deparment Graduate Center Sport and Health Sciences
Uptown Munich, Campus D
Georg-Brauchle Ring 60/62
80992 Munich
Telephone: 089 289 24545
E-Mail: Felix.Ehrlenspiel(at)tum.de
Text: Fabian Kautz/Dr. Felix Ehrlenspiel
Photos: DGC-SH