Summer schools offer students unique opportunities to broaden their horizons, learn something new and meet someone new. In July, our doctoral student Zuzana Gregušková (Institute of Materials Chemistry), participated in a summer school in Latvia.
Even though the current measures do not allow to organize mass events, Riga Technical University decided to organize several online summer schools. I applied for the one focused on bioeconomics, quite a new discipline worthy of attention. Firstly, I need to mention something that had really impressed me: the people of Latvia are very proud of their country and traditions, and they are genuinely enthusiastic about them. This was something we all became aware of throughout the summer school. The first day of the programme was devoted not only to the presentation of the university; we also saw presentations about the capital city of Riga and Latvia itself. We could get a glimpse of the most treasured Latvian heritage: nature. Bioeconomics and the related topics were presented during lectures by RTU’s academics. Especially the first week was packed with lectures followed by brainstorming and work in groups. Each day the members of groups switched, so all international participants could get to know each other better. During the second week, we had formed the final teams and I spent most of my time with my colleagues from Poland, Germany, Ukraine and Indonesia. We also had the opportunity to visit four labs. We got familiar with their equipment as well as with the ongoing projects of the respective research groups. We were offered the opportunity to contribute with our knowledge and experience. Personally, what I consider invaluable, is that we were able to exchange contacts with researchers for the purpose of future cooperation. The fondest memories from the summer school are those of our discussions with other international participants. During many brainstorming sessions, some took place on the beach, we were able to get to know each other and our projects back home. Moreover, we got a chance to collaborate on the European project Bioeast. This collaboration included “a role-play”: we had to develop ideological, economic, political, and environmental strategies, and during the final presentation of our ideas, we “fought” for fictional funding. For me, the summer school was an unbelievable opportunity. Not only that I brought back home new knowledge, but I also met new people and gained invaluable contacts. My language skills benefited from hours of brainstorming sessions. Thanks to the work I did on the final presentation, I realized how important is to believe in your ideas and to be able to present them to others.
