Location
Konrad-Martin-Haus
Am Rechenberg 3-5
06628 Bad Kösen
You will stay in single or double rooms. As Bad Kösen is well accessible with public transport, we are going to travel by train. As always, all costs of accommodation and travel are taken over by yDiv.
Dates
21–23 May 2025
Credit points
1.0 CP
Programme
This year, the workshops at the PhD retreat are all about your creativity:
In our Botanical Watercolor workshop, you’ll dive into the art of scientific illustration, capturing the beauty of plants with watercolors while sharpening your observational skills. In the Theatre & Communication workshop, interactive theatre exercises will help you refine your presentation and communication skills—because research is more than just data; it’s about how you share your ideas!
Beyond the workshops, this retreat is about connection: meeting other yDiv doctoral researchers, sharing ideas, and simply enjoying time together. Step away from the screen, spark new inspiration, and return to your PhD with fresh energy!
Programme as pdf
| Wednesday, 21 May 2025 | |
| 10:30 | Arrival
Train from Leipzig at 9:09 am (arrival at 10:09 am) Train from Halle 9:27 am (arrival at 10:14 am) Train from Jena at 9:19 am (arrival at 9:46) |
| 11:00 – 12:00 | Get-to-know each other
Moderated by Emily & Ioannis |
| 12:00 – 1:00 | Lunch |
| 1:00 – 1:30 | Welcome & introduction to the programme
Moderated by yDiv & PhD organization team |
| 1:30 – 4:00 | PhD Symposium
Give a 5min presentation (optional!) on your research with some slides, followed by 10min for questions. Moderated by Emily & Ioannis |
| 4:00 – 4:30 | Coffee break |
| 4:30 – 5:00 | Shared challenges circle (optional)
After learning about other PhD projects, we now have a chance to come together and discuss challenges we face. Participants can simply share and listen, or ask for and give advice, if desired. Moderated by Emily & Ioannis |
| 5:00 – 5:30 | Break |
| 5:30 – 6:30 | Mentor and Mentee session (optional)
Participants can choose to be a mentor, and give advice, or a mentee, and ask for advice. Moderated by Emily & Ioannis |
| 6:30 – 7:00 | Break |
| from 7:00 | BBQ & games
PhD Karaoke (optional) |
| Thursday, 22 May 2025 | |
| 8:00 – 9:00 | Breakfast |
| 9:15 – 4:00
(including lunch & coffee break) |
Parallel Workshops
Botanical Watercolor During this workshop we will create botanical watercolor illustrations of plant specimens collected in the field. Mira will guide the group step by step through the process of watercolor painting. Drawing from observation will sharpen our visual perception while fostering relationships with our specimens. We will discover botanical watercolor artists and the historical context within which they worked, and how this approach is relevant today. Research on Cue: Mastering Communication Through Theatre This interactive, theatre-based workshop is designed to empower researchers and academics with essential communication and presentation skills. In the workshop, we’ll use interactive, hands-on theatre exercises to develop both verbal and non-verbal communication skills. By engaging with your voice, body, and imagination, you’ll uncover new ways to present yourself and your work effectively and discover how much fun it can be in the process. |
| 4:00 – 4:30 | Break |
| 4:30 – 7:00 | Hiking – Pitch your granola
Everyone brings one ingredient (e.g., dried fruits, seeds, nuts, chocolate pieces, gummy candies). We then pick and choose which ingredients we want and build a custom trail mix! Finally, we get to enjoy our custom snacks together on a hike. Moderated by Emily & Ioannis |
| from 7:00 | Dinner & camp fire & games |
| Friday, 23 May 2025 | |
| 8:00 – 9:00 | Breakfast and vacate rooms |
| 9:30 – 10:30 | Presentations by the workshop groups
Workshop participants Moderated by Emily & Ioannis |
| 10:30 – 11:30 | PhD Meeting
With PhD representatives |
| 11:30 – 12.30 | Feedback session
Moderated by yDiv |
| 12:30 – 1:00 | Lunch |
| from 1:00 | Departure
To Leipzig at 1:50 pm (arrival at 2:52) To Halle at 1:46 pm (arrival at 2:37) To Jena at 1:14 or 2:14 pm (arrival at 1:41 or 2:41 pm) |
Lecturers
Mira O’Brien’s artistic research into topics such as the figure of the Naturalist and the conceptions of landscape and nature find expression not only through her paintings and installations but also through her teaching practice. Mira is an internationally exhibited artist and the founder of the Berlin Drawing Room. She studied art and philosophy at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and went on to received an MFA in Painting from Yale University School of Art.
Her work has been exhibited internationally, notably in New York, Los Angeles, Spain, Berlin, and Kassel as an auxiliary project of Documenta (13). Solo-exhibitions have taken place at DD55 Galerie (Köln) and General Public (Berlin), to name a few.
Josiane Segar studied at the University of Oxford and completed her PhD at iDiv in 2023. She now works at the intersection of science, culture and theatre, where she manages and facilitates projects and workshops, such as the science-theater project “AnthropoScene,”, the community-based creative space “Playhouse” and a Cultural Bridge exchange program with a UK theatre. Additionally, she is the vice-chair of English Theatre Leipzig where she also oversees development and workshops, and is currently studying acting at the Central School of Speech and Drama. For her interdisciplinary work, she was awarded an arts-science residency by the Oak Spring Garden Foundation in the USA for 2025.
Letizia Rivera studied Philology, Literature, and History at the universities of Turin, Italy, and Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, earning her master’s degree in 2018. Currently, she is pursuing a PhD in Theatre Studies at Leipzig University. Since 2011, she has gained extensive experience as a theatre maker, taking part in over 30 projects across Italy and Germany as a performer, director, and dramaturg. In Leipzig, she has been involved at English Theatre Leipzig for six years, serving as chairperson and producing director since 2022.