PhD organized summer school, Vienna 2024

“There are many people outside of science that can appreciate what we do” - Helmut Leder

Within the framework of the 20th anniversary celebrations of the EVALabs (September 2024), PhD students from the VDS CoBeNe helped to organise a summer school for a group of international early career researchers. Amidst the festivities, this opened up the empirical aesthetics research field for the upcoming generation. Stretching over two days, the summer school included talks by 12 established experts in the field, a hands-on eye tracking workshop, and a social dinner at Badeschiff Wien. The programme provided the perfect balance of focused work and relaxed conversation, offering a unique opportunity to connect with other like-minded early-career researchers and expand one's professional network in a comfortable setting. 

Young inspiring researchers met luminaries of the field and had the opportunity to share their new ideas and perspectives with the speakers in a more informal atmosphere. Fruitful discussions were had by all, and the groundwork was laid for future cross-generational collaborations!

As aptly stated by prominent researcher, Chris McManus, “careers only make sense in retrospect.” Looking back at the events in retrospect, it was hugely rewarding for everyone involved and we thank CoBeNe for providing the additional funding that contributed to this success.

To also put it in the words of the participants: “This was a truly fantastic weekend, so well-thought-out, and such a great networking and learning experience. I'm so grateful for your hospitality and generosity with us. Thank you so, so much for putting this on.”

“Thank you from all my heart for this inspiring, informational and fun event and the chance to meet so many so powerful, creative and interesting people!”

To find out more about how the summer school and the EVAlabs 20-year celebrations went and other cool events, also visit the EVALabs’ website.

 Project team: PhD candidates & faculty from Psychology CoBeNe discipline

The festivities were hosted by Univ.-Prof. Dipl.-Psych. Dr. Helmut Leder and by Ass.-Prof. Matthew Pelowski, PhD. The accompanying events to the summer school were organised by the following students with the VDS CoBeNe PhD-Organised Event Grant:

  • Kirren Chana
  • Margot Dehove
  • Theresa Demmer
  • Anna Lena Knoll
  • Stephanie Miller