29 June 2023
The Champalimaud Research (CR) Annual Retreat is a major event that gathers all CR members away from the workplace and allows individual scientists to familiarise with each other’s work while creating a sense of community. It combines scientific events with creative cultural and social activities to foster the culture of cooperation at CR.
The 2023 retreat took place at the Grande Hotel do Luso, in the beautiful Serra do Buçaco, from 29 May to 1 June, with the participation of more than 250 CR members. The theme of this year’s retreat was Embracing Multitudes: a Game of Translation which aimed at building bridges between the diverse research areas of CR, from neuroscience, cancer biology and immunology, to translational clinical research. The focus was on the diversity that shapes our institute and how to create a cohesive and collaborative community.
CR is not a single animal, but a colony of specialised branches that have banded together to explore the unknown.
Memming Park, PI at Champalimaud Foundation.
This year one of the novelties introduced to the scientific programme were the three-minute creative pitch sessions where each team (labs, platforms and support units) shared their mission, goals and strengths, drawing potential new connections across research areas at CR.
The international panel of invited speakers – Pedro Russo (Leiden University), Danai Papageorgiou (University of Bristol), Marcella Noorman (HHMI Janelia) and Joana de Sá (University of Lisbon) – not only brought valuable insights on public engagement with science to the Retreat, but also on how to build effective multidisciplinary teams to tackle complex challenges with shared language and integrated methods.
Right from the start of the retreat, all members embarked in a collaborative and immersive role-playing game, called The Game, where they/we “woke up inside a spaceship at planet Luso” with the mission to explore this undiscovered world. To be successful, they/we had to learn how to cooperate even within the boundaries of limited communication.
CR members also had the opportunity to join social activities tailored by their peers like yoga, pottery, storytelling, salsa, bread-baking workshops and many more.
It was a moment of growth and connection for the participants, which will shape the CR community in the year to come, until the next retreat already scheduled from 21 to 24 May 2024.
A big thank you to the Retreat Committee and to all the volunteers & supporters that helped throughout this unique and community-driven event. We look forward to the next retreat!
Poster Sessions
Pottery Workshop
Themed Party - Above the Sky, Under the Sea
