The two-day retreat provided a platform for around 70 participants to come together for networking and sharing knowledge. The meeting opened with the plenary talk, delivered by Rafal Ciosk, professor at the Department of Biosciences within the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at the University of Oslo, and NCMBM associate investigator. His talk explored the use of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans to study gene expression during the hibernation process. His talk was followed by a lively session based on the 3-minute thesis concept with presentations from PhD students, postdoctoral fellows and research technicians.
Further scientific sessions were organised around three of the Life Science Building themes, namely The Machinery of Life, Personalized Medicine, and Data Science for NCMBM scientists to present their latest research findings.
Parallel sessions for the research and administrative support team, looked into improving the employee’s journey at NCMBM, throughout their stay at the Centre, from onboarding onwards. The project, led by Elizabeth Smethurst, NCMBM Head of Research Strategy, Communications and Internationalisation, will become a pillar of the overall staff experience at the Centre.
The poster session completed the programme on Day 1. Instead of the standard research poster judging undertaken at most scientific conference, participants had to solve a puzzle, set by Tatiana Belova, researcher in the Kuijjer group, by engaging with each of the poster presenters. Delegates had to answer a set of 12 questions to gather letters to spell “Curious Minds”. Prizes were awarded to Damla Övek Baydar (Mathelier group) and Biswa Sahu who were the quickest to find the correct answer!
On Day 2, the last session was dedicated to NCMBM’s relocation to the Life Science Building. Attendees were asked to share their thoughts on two specific aspects, first, on the best way(s) to share information at the Centre about the move and, secondly, on the new working environment in the open plan office. This session highlighted the need for more opportunities to share thoughts, answer queries, and address concerns. It resulted in a lot of feedback to take back to NCMBM to continue to foster the Centre’s sense of community.
Team work in action!
The social committee, Sandra Kristine Bryne (Boccara group), Liangru Fei (Sahu group), Frida Høsøien Haugen (Haapaniemi group), Eirik Høye (Mathelier group), Sanne Iversen Lurås (Saarela group), Nolan Newman (Kuijjer group), Alejandro Pastor Remiro (Esguerra team), and Rasma Gutsmite and Carlos Rodriguez (both in technical or administrative roles at NCMBM), organised a set of challenges (from dodge-ball to golf-frisbee and solving riddles) for participants to compete against each other. The team of seven, led by Biswa Sahu, won this friendly competition!
Left to right: Sissel Eikvar (HSE Coordinator), Biswa Sahu (Group leader), Jiahao Guo (PhD student, Sahu group), Nina Modhal (HR Adviser), Dalila Hedhili (principal engineer, Haapaniemi group), Florian Dapsance (PhD student, Boccara group), Anna-Lisa von Bachmann (visiting student, Mathelier group), and Luis Quintero (NCMBM research technician).