The internationally renowned TERMIS Winter School was particularly popular this year. The maximum number of participants was reached even before the registration deadline. By limiting the group size, we were able to ensure that the hands-on character of the winter school was able to take center stage. Not only was there always room for all interested students at the workshops, but there were also numerous opportunities for them to get directly involved in the events.

The Winterschool got off to a splendid start with two surgeons presenting their experiences and open questions from the bedside. Scientific support was sought from cell biology, mechanobiology and imaging. The session was completed with a talk on the (sometimes irrational) workings of our healthcare system and a workshop on translation into the clinic.

On the second day, impulse lectures on Advanced Strategies in Biomedical Research followed, which provided the foundation for the subsequent group work: Designing a project using the newly acquired strategies. During the subsequent three-minute pitches, the winning team “Tendon Patch” was able to convince the jury as well as the audience. The topic of extracellular vesicles, which was presented in the evening by ASEV President Wolfgang Holnthoner and Andreas Traweger from PMU Salzburg, was also not to be missed at the Winter School. The second evening ended with the students presenting their research during a very special poster session combined with wine tasting.

A Senescence session, hosted by Mikolaj Ogrodnik from the LBG SHoW group and Florian Gruber from the Medical University Vienna, opened the third day of the Winterschool. The afternoon brought a lecture on Imaging in Regenerative Medicine with Chair Patrick Heimel. After the day had gone by as quickly as the other two, the evening culminated with the social event ninepins – and a happy winning team was selected.

A Best Question Award has not yet been introduced at the 10th Winter School. But if it had, it would have gone to Karyna Trasova (PhD student at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna). Her substantive questions on nearly every lecture showed a real understanding of the subject matter – a true all-rounder.

We from LBI Trauma are honoured to have organized this event 10 times already and we are delighted about all the positive feedback.

“One of the very best scientific gatherings I have ever attended in 20 years. The format is brutally interactive and the participants were open to discuss in depth at a very amical level. Collaborations emerged and were offered at all times. One can only congratulate the organizers for this achievement and for the unique experience they provide through this Workshop.”