There was great excitement this spring when Rosanne Reitsema and Olof Elvstam learned that they had been selected to travel to the small town in southern Germany, beautifully situated on an island in Lake Constance, for this summer’s meeting.

Rosanne says that her expectations only continued to grow as she read about which Nobel Laureates would be attending this year, what the programme would include and what previous participants had said about their experiences. She is now in Lindau, and when we speak to her and Olof on Tuesday, they have already gathered many impressions from the first few days.

A unique meeting place

“It has been more inspiring, more exciting and even more enjoyable than I could have imagined. The Nobel Laureates have given so many fascinating lectures, and the programme has also provided opportunities to interact with them. We have discussed important topics such as diversity in science, the use of GMOs in Europe and the role that new technologies such as AI and ChatGPT might play, for example,” says Rosanne, a researcher at Örebro University.

 

For many years, Lindau has been transformed for one week each summer into a unique meeting place where early-career researchers have the opportunity to meet and listen to Nobel Laureates. This year’s meeting focuses on physiology and medicine, and eleven of the participants are from Sweden. The Nobel Laureates taking part include Emmanuelle Charpentier, Frances H. Arnold, Morten Meldal, Charles M. Rice and Edvard I. Moser.

 

Ideas for new research

Olof Elvstam, a resident physician at the Department of Infectious Diseases in Växjö and a researcher at Lund University, is currently carrying out a postdoctoral research project at the University of Copenhagen. He too is more than satisfied with the first part of the week.

 

“It has been intense and full of experiences. We have been given many different examples of what a life in science can look like and the circumstances in which major discoveries can be made. One of the most enjoyable and inspiring aspects has been meeting and talking to other early-career researchers from all over the world and discussing projects and ideas.”

 

Olof Elvstam says that he hopes to leave the meeting with some promising ideas for new research, and perhaps also to have laid the foundations for future collaborations. The same applies to Rosanne Reitsema, who has particularly appreciated the welcoming atmosphere in Lindau.

 

“All the early-career researchers and Nobel Laureates are so approachable and easy to meet and get to know. Together, they have created an atmosphere in which important topics can be addressed while giving us early-career researchers the opportunity to learn about groundbreaking research.”

 

The other Swedish participants this year are Aida Collado, Jelena Misic and Emelie Braun from Karolinska Institutet; Lotta Velin and Damon Frampton from Linköping University; Michno Woijech, Elke Mutjewerff and Greta Zaborskyte from Uppsala University; and Nunya Chotiwan from Umeå University.