First iDiv Summer School focused on „Biodiversity Synthesis“

The first iDiv summer school took place from 23 to 29 August 2015 with the help of the DAAD. With its theme “Biodiversity Synthesis” the summer school provided the opportunity to learn from and interact with the various biodiversity working groups at iDiv. The participants were able to get an understanding on iDiv's approach to integrative biodiversity science, learn to understand why and when synthesis is important, and how the central idea of iDiv, promoting theory-driven synthesis and data-driven theory in biodiversity sciences, is implemented in practice. After a nice get-together and a barbecue at the riverside on the arrival day, the summer school proceeded with an opening symposium on Monday morning where the summer school participants held flash presentations about their research to better get to know each other. After that, on each day, the participants were introduced to one of iDiv's biodiversity research groups. These were "scaled up", starting from research groups working on the molecular level and building up to populations, communities, interactions and ecosystems. For the day of ecosystems a field visit to the Jena Experiment was organized, where the participants learned about a synthetic experimental approach. “Overall a very well organized course with amazing lectures in a very friendly atmosphere.”“Very interesting and broad program. It was nice to have also talks about data management and funding opportunities.”“The program was very clear and well organized! All teachers were very enthusiastic and there were a lot of opportunities to ask questions.”