A New Phase, A New Team? The First Annual Retreat of the Second Funding Phase

The retreat was about more than an opportunity for academic discussion. With the beginning of the second funding phase, the composition of the CRC has also changed: New colleagues have joined the research center, many of them early-career researchers who have only been part of the CRC for a few weeks. At the same time, many members have already been working together within the CRC for several years, bringing with them shared experiences, established routines, and forms of collaboration that have developed over time.

One of the central questions was therefore how a shared team can emerge from this new constellation. How do colleagues grow together when some already know each other well, while others are just beginning to find their place within the research center? And how can collaborative research be shaped in ways that allow different perspectives and experiences not merely to coexist, but to be productively connected?

A World Café on collaborative research provided an opportunity to explore these questions. In rotating discussion groups, participants reflected on how collaboration within the CRC can be shaped, which forms of exchange are important, and what opportunities the second funding phase might offer. The discussions highlighted that collaborative research depends not only on shared projects and structures, but also on the relationships, conversations, and chance encounters that develop between them.

Beyond the intensive discussions, the retreat also created space for exchange and shared experiences. A group hike along the Much Poetry Trail offered an opportunity for conversations in a different setting and in changing constellations. A Fireside Chat on “Academic Publishing, Open Access, and Scholar-Led Models” also opened up a space to reflect on academic publishing cultures and on the conditions under which research can be made visible, accessible, and collectively shaped.

In this way, the Annual Retreat brought together different forms of academic and personal exchange: structured discussions and open conversations, focused scholarly debate and shared activities. This combination made it possible to get to know one another better, build new connections, and further develop the shared questions that will guide the second funding phase.