“Next generation leaders in biology of ageing” - Summer School on Biogerontology
From June 2-14 2014, 6 PhD and Master students from our Institute (Sebastian Klepsch, Magdalena Schimke, Carina Miggitsch, Christina Metzger, Theresa Pritz and Luca Pangrazzi) attended the EU-financed Intensive Programme “Next generation leaders in biology of ageing” in Rimini (Italy). This summer school was organized by the University of Bologna (http://bioageing.unibo.it) in collaboration with many other institutions, amongst them also the University of Innsbruck.
Günter Lepperdinger of IBA (Head of the ECMR group) participated as an expert and lecturer. The students were selected by the organization board and were granted a fellowship of the EU which covered the expenses of the program, travel and boarding. In total, 35 students from Italy, Austria, Netherlands, Romania, United Kingdom, Spain, Denmark and Germany participated. The students earned ETCS credits that were accountable for their PhD curriculum. Two students (Sebastian Klepsch and Theresa Pritz) also presented their PhD project giving a 30 minutes talk.
During the program, known experts in ageing research gave lectures and seminars. A special interactive seminar on leadership was conducted and shaped by Dr. J.J. Hans Maij. Besides that dedicated to group work was performed on specifically relevant question concerning future ageing research. The outcome of the students' work was eventually presented during a final plenary session.
The Intensive Program allowed the students to accomplish a profound background in ageing biology and medicine. Further, medical, psychological and sociological aspects of anti-aging, healthy aging and potential immortality were intensively discussed.