General Assembly Kick Off Meeting: A Day of Introductions and Collaborative Discovery
Online (left to right): Miriah Meyer (Linköping University, Sweden), Yvonne Zimmermann (Philipps-Universität Marburg, Germany)
Left to right: Matthias Zeppelzauer, Manuela Waldner, Robert Sablatnig, Thomas Aigner (Time Machine Organization), Susana Zapke (Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna, Austria), Michaela Tuscher, Nidham Tekaya, Tingyu Lin, Armin Dadras, Markus Passecker, Silvia Miksch, Wolfgang Aigner
Further participants: Franziska Bruckner, Andreas Maier
On April 5, 2024, the Visual Heritage Joint PhD Program held its first General Assembly at TU Wien, inviting a blend of PhD students, core and associate faculty, and advisory board members from Austria, Germany and Sweden. The full-day event aimed at fostering personal connections, discussing the current status of individual PhD projects, and exploring potential collaboration opportunities.
The assembly, conducted via hybrid participation, focused on allowing participants to get acquainted personally, especially emphasizing the importance of interaction between advisory board members, associate faculty, and the students themselves. The day kicked off with a welcome address and an overview of the program’s research framework, setting the stage for a series of personal introductions and status reports from both the PhD students and the assoc. faculty & advisory board members.
Students presented their research progress and plans, including their motivations, questions, related work, and data considerations, which was followed by invaluable feedback and discussion sessions. These interactions highlighted the program's commitment to an interdisciplinary approach and the critical role of data in their research endeavors.
The event also included multiple 'matchmaking' sessions that were structured to promote direct interactions among participants, aiming to identify collaborative research opportunities and discuss shared interests in data and methodologies. These engagements were vital in underlining the event's objective to build a strong, supportive community among the participants.
Concluding with a wrap-up session, the assembly marked the beginning of a promising journey towards advancing research in visual heritage, with an emphasis on collaboration, interdisciplinary exchange, and a shared vision for the future.
The assembly not only set the groundwork for the participating PhD students’ paths but also embodied the spirit of collaboration and knowledge exchange that the program aims to promote, promising a vibrant future for the field of visual heritage research.