OptiVisT TRAINING EVENT 2 - GRONINGEN, THE NETHERLANDS
The first in-person OptiVisT workshop was a great success!
The second, but first in-person, training event was held from Monday 20th - Friday 25th of June, 2022 in Groningen, the Netherlands.
Monday 20/06
This afternoon was dedicated to the first part of the Mid-Term Check meeting. We met our EU Project Officer, presented the coordinators reports, and all ESRs presented themselves and their training and scientific progress. We closed the day by a dinner in the rooftop terrace of 'Forum', the cultural hotspot on Groningen. Here we also made the consortium picture on the right, with most PIs and ESRs in it and the Martini Tower in the background!
Tuesday 21/06
The morning was dedicated to the second part of the Mid-Term Check meeting. The Project Officer had one restricted session with the ESRs and one with the Project Coordinator. By the end of the morning, the meeting was closed with a general feedback session. In parallel, the PIs of the project participated in a second "Intervision for Supervisors" session led by our training partner Hertz, where the PIs shared challenging situations and experiences with the ultimate goal of advising and inspring each other.
In the afternoon, the Supervisory and Junior Board Meetings took place and the ESRs participated in the "Project and Time Management course I" again organised by our training partner Hertz (top left picture). During this course, the ESRs were guided in making a 3-year planning of their PhD projects, and were taught on how to management their time in order to stick to the plan.
In the later afternoon, a "secondment speed-dating" session was organised (bottom left picture) in the restaurant/bar 't Pakhuis. During this session, the ESRs speed-dated with beneficiaries or partners of their choice to establish a first contact and to see whether there was a potential match between the secondment wishes of the ESRs and what the secondment hosts could offer.
The day was closed with a dinner at the same location.
Wednesday 22/06
In the morning, the first part of the Advanced Training Symposium "From Insights to Solutions" took place. During this symposium, experts talked about how they combined insights in basic (vision/neural) mechanisms with technology (such as VR/AR or AI) to come up with solutions that are potentially useful in ophthalmology, optometry, and rehabilitation, for assessing, training or restoring functional vision. Click here for the full program and abstracts of the talk!
In the afternoon, the group visited the premises of our beneficiary Royal Dutch Visio (Haren). Here they were introduced to Visio's rehabilitation and research program and participated in demos on eye-tracking and VR, the light laboratory, the driving simulator and a visual impairment self-experience (top right picture).
To get from Visio to the dinner location, the group walked to lake Paterswoldsemeer and continued their journey by electric sloop (bottom right picture). The perfect activity for a sunny day! The day was closed with a buffet dinner at Meerwold, with a lake view.
Thursday 23/06
In the morning, the second part of the Advanced Training Symposium "From Insights to Solutions" took place. After this, the participants finally had some spear time. In the late afternoon, the group explored the beauty of Groningen by participating in the City Escape game, a AR implemented tour troughout the city (picture on the left). Congratulations to those who have escaped successfully!
For dinner, the group was introduced to a typical Dutch treat: unlimited pancakes at 't Pannenkoekschip.
Friday 22/06
This whole day was dedicated to the Skills Course "Scientific Communication and Outreach part 2", at the Stadslab (Suikerunie Terrein). This course was given by our consortium partner Nuver (former DAT collectief) and focussed on the importance of marketing and dissemination in science. Through a series of practical, the fellows gained experience in graphic design (by making a promo flyer for their study), copywriting (by writing a layman piece on their study) and videographics (by shooting and editing a video). All was done by basic and freely available tools.
With drinks and a dinner, the second OptiVisT workshop came to an end.
OPTIVIST
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 955590
STARTING DATE: 01/03/2021
COMPLETION DATE: 28/02/2025