The 2^nd Interreg – 7^th TERMIS Winterschool took place January 13 till 16 under the headline “Musculoskeletal Tissue Regeneration: From Mechanobiology to in Vitro/in Vivo Models and Advanced Imaging”. Experts and students met in Radstadt, Austria, to exchange knowledge and expand their professional network.

The first day started with an innovative take on recycling, when Susanne Wolbank described how medical waste products can be used as valuable source for human tissues and cells. Out of the box thinking was also offered by Veronika Hruschka, who talked about Open Innovation in Science.

But not only the experts contributed to the program. Among the numerous international participants, many students brought posters and presented their research in course of two poster sessions which were marked by lively discussions.

On the second day, talks on neuroregeneration and tendon & ligament tissue engineering gave intriguing insights, while there was not much in sight on the slope. Yet, the scientists defied the harsh weather conditions during lunch break. The afternoon featured the highlight mechanobiology, with numerous international speakers presenting their newest findings originating from their Interreg cooperation and beyond.

Talks in the fields of cartilage, bone and muscle regeneration preceded the highly anticipated social event on the third day: an evening sledge ride. In an unofficial race among the first starters, Dan Kytyr made third place, while David Hercher beat Patrick Heimel in a photo finish.

Imaging was also what concluded the conference, as the last session was all about histology, microscopy and microCT. Speakers from different regions within the Interreg collaboration gave practical advice on how to obtain and evaluate visual data.

Due to the great interest, the date for the next Winterschool is already set: January 12 till 15, 2020, again in Radstadt.