On the 2nd and 3rd of November 2023, the annual AR&D Retreat took place. After last year's successful edition themed Show Time, we welcomed participants this year on a 2-day journey themed All AboAR&D, focusing on inclusion & diversity.
The 2023 Retreat took place in the Soesterberg venue which provided with an excellent ambiance. The first day kicked off with three inspiring keynotes by dr. Bahar Goodarzi (Midwife at Amsterdam UMC), dr. Bernadette de Bakker (Assistant Professor in Human Embryology & Fetal Imaging at Amsterdam UMC) and dr. Dries Budding (Microbiologist & CEO at InBiome).
After lunch, it was time for the PhD candidates to present pitches they prepared. Distributed over multiple rooms, the students were judged by pairs of principle investigators, who selected the best pitch per room. In a subsequent plenary session, the three finalists competed together to win a final prize of €250! Congratulations to Krista van Rest for the Best Pitch prize! The 1stday of the Retreat was closed by a networking opportunity and a joyful social event.
The second day kicked off with a spiritual rave dance. Others may have chosen to get some more rest before breakfast and rounds of workshops. This year, attendees could choose to keep themselves on board by doing workshops like Law of Attraction by FirmaVitaliteit and Managing stress by Saskia Beijer on personal skills and development. Alternatively, there was the option to keep your research on board through workshops like Cultural communication by Pharos and Valorization & impact by Peggy van den Biggelaar (IXA).
Ultimately, a final plenary session was hosted, involving a panel discussion on Diversity & Inclusion. Moderated by Ilja Swets (Amsterdam UMC D&I advisor), we witnessed an intriguing exchange of viewpoints and opinions from dr. Wessel Ganzevoort (associate prof. obstetrician-gynecologist/perinatologist at Amsterdam UMC), Sarai Keestra (MD/PhD student Epidemiology & Data science), dr.Jordi Cabanas-Danés (PhD advisor at Doctoral school Amsterdam UMC) and prof. dr. Rashmi Kusurkar (full professor in Inclusion & motivation in health professionals). Topics varied from “I communicate identically to my international and Dutch colleagues” to “A project can be too multidisciplinary” and a conclusive statement “More diversity in my working environment is a necessity”. And just like that, two days were over and we look back on a very successful retreat!
We are pleased to see the social interactivity both PhD and PI attendees displayed, as well as the insightful keynotes, workshops and shared panel discussion opinions on diversity and inclusion, raising awareness and conscience on topics sometimes overlooked. We are very much looking forward to next year’s edition!
The 2023 AR&D was a great success due to each member of the Retreat Commitee 2023: Arda Arduç, Wieke Beumer, Annelotte van Haaps, Hannah Juncker, Danah Kamphuis, Kavish Kohabir, Jacqueline Muts & Eva Vermeer. The hard work of the committee made it possible for the AR&D members to enjoy yet another amazing edition.
We also give our special thanks to Wencke de Jager and Wendy de la Rambeljé for
supporting the committee in the planning and organizing process.