New Year's Eve is over and a whole new year lies ahead. What do you do? Some immediately return to their studies or work to realize their New Year's resolutions. The FChO welcomes the new year much more elegantly with the annual workshop which usually takes place on the second weekend of January. Broadening your horizons is inevitable and almost autocatalytically motivating during this event.
Why? The FChO-Workshop does not only offer a composition of scientific and cultural events (talks by members and guests, sometimes experimental lectures, guided city tours, evenings at the theatre etc.) and the possibility of making new contacts, but gets a special quality through the reunion with lots of old friends. Having taken part in multiple rounds of the IChO and / or related competitions, be it as participant or as advisor, many members of the FChO share a bit of their past. Nevertheless, everybody who is interested is welcome to take part in the workshop. The resulting questions, such as “What are you doing?” or “What has changed in your life?” are therefore an important part of the workshop and, at the same time, an interesting way of gaining an insight in new topics in science. The common roots of “rookies” and “old hands” are a good basis for a very relaxed and rather familial atmosphere, which enables students to quickly get in contact with established scientists for both scientific discussions and organisation of for example research internships.

So how does it work? Every year, there is a different team of ambitious FChO members who organize the workshop, which normally lasts from Thursday to Sunday, in one of the many university cities. Regarding the participants, everything is taken care of: a restaurant for the first get-together on the evening of the day of arrival, a variety of lectures and excursions on Friday and Saturday, food and of course propositions of affordable accommodation close to the event locations (youth hostel, budget hotel). Everybody is welcome to actively contribute to the program (for example with a short scientific talk or a report on the recent International Chemistry-Olympiad). Registration for participants and people interested in lecture-slots is in autumn before the upcoming workshop and therefore also ideal for the more spontaneous among us.

See you in January!