11th Lower Saxony International Summer Academy at TWINCORE ends

Insight into infection research for participants from 20 nations

Group photo of students in front of the entrance of TWINCORE

Group picture of the LISA students © TWINCORE/Grabowski

Today marks the end of the 11th LISA (Lower Saxony International Summer Academy) at TWINCORE in Hannover. Over the past two weeks, international students of life sciences at Bachelor or Master level gained insights into the current state of infection research in and around Hannover.

 

This year, the 30 participants came from 20 nations, including Armenia, Gambia, India, Italy, Mexico, the USA and Ukraine. 27 lecturers from TWINCORE, Hannover Medical School (MHH), Fraunhofer ITEM and the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research gave numerous lectures and workshops on the main topic "Inflammation, regeneration and immunity - Basic aspects, novel approaches and experimental models". The academic programme was rounded off by several key note lectures by international guest speakers, and each student also gave a poster presentation. In the coming week, participants will also have the opportunity to complete a voluntary short internship in a research laboratory here. 

"Since 2011, we have had over 400 participants from a total of no less than 78 countries," says Susanne Kruse, coordinator of the Hannover Biomedical Research School at MHH. "Many of them were with us for the first time outside their home country and some are laying the foundation for an international career in research." After all, going abroad for the next step in one's career is quite common in science. "Again this year, I have received a lot of positive feedback that the participants perceive the Summer Academy as a huge opportunity for their future careers," says Andrea von Craushaar, research manager at TWINCORE and organiser of LISA. "What's more, they feel extremely comfortable with us." This is certainly also due to the fact that a colourful social programme was offered away from the curriculum. In addition to the obligatory guided tour of Hanover, the visits to the GOP variety theatre and the International Fireworks Competition were real highlights. 

The conclusion of LISA 2022 may also mark the end of an era, as it is unclear whether and how the Summer School can be funded next year and beyond. Until now, the main part of the funding came from the German Academic Exchange Service DAAD. Budget cuts resulting in drastic austerity measures in the German research landscape mean that funding for summer schools will no longer be possible in the future. "We very much regret this," says Prof. Ulrich Kalinke, Scientific Director of LISA and Executive Director of TWINCORE. "We are extremely grateful for the generous and reliable support over the past 12 years. The DAAD has made an enormously valuable contribution to the internationalisation of Hannover as a research location. Quite a few LISA participants have later returned to Hannover as PhD students." 

Future funding is not yet secured at this point. Nevertheless, Kalinke is optimistic: "A smaller share could continue to be covered by various sponsors. In addition, we are already engaged in negotiations with other public and private institutions and are confident that we will be able to continue LISA under new sponsorship in the years to come."