Ms Wäsch, as the IPK’s PhD-Student-Board spokesperson, you organised a PSSC for the first time - and it was also the event’s 20th edition. How would you sum it up?

Christina Wäsch: Everything went very well, but I was pretty emotional when I gave my closing speech. After months of preparation, it was a relief when it was all over. We were very grateful that Anja Kaczmarczyk contacted us in the run-up to the anniversary edition. She organised the first PSSC in 2005 and now works at KWS.

You announced in advance that you would specifically approach partner institutions in other European countries. What was the response like, and which institutions ultimately accepted the invitation to the IPK?

Interest and response were huge. We had 104 participants from 19 institutions. As well as Germany, they came from Hungary, Italy, Austria, France and the UK. Naturally, many of the participants were students from the IPK. However, the majority of participants came from other institutions. We were very pleased about the great interest in the PSSC.

What feedback did you receive from the participants?

We received a lot of praise for the organisation of the event and the quality of the presentations. Some of this praise came from speakers of a very high calibre...

We are excited!

For example, Ralph Bock. He is the managing director of the Max Planck Institute of Plant Physiology in Potsdam-Golm and is one of the world’s leading experts in organelle biology. We received appreciative words from him, and he was also present on site for all three days. He listened to all the presentations and engaged in lively discussions, showing a keen interest in everything we said. This made us happy and proud.

Ms Apel, the IPK was responsible for organising this year’s event. What was your experience of the PSSC as a participant?

Carolin Apel: It was a great event for me, too. The atmosphere at the IPK was pleasant. It was easy to exchange ideas, and the wide range of topics inspired me with ideas from other fields of plant research.

You also won this year’s poster competition! What are you currently working on? How did you score points?

Generally speaking, I’m researching how plants perceive the availability of phosphate in the soil. More specifically, I am focusing on an enzyme that plays a central role in iron-dependent phosphate detection. Ultimately, I want to understand the role this enzyme played in the evolution of the first land plants.

I was delighted to win the poster prize at the PSSC. As well as my topic, perhaps the title of my poster, ‘The iron lady of the rhizosphere’, helped me to score points. People probably remember something like that better than a dry title.

Ms Wäsch, as well as the keynote speakers and workshops, there were also student talk sessions. What is behind this format?

Christina Wäsch: At the student talk sessions, students could to present their work and, above all, gain experience of presenting on stage in front of a new audience. When I took part in a PSSC for the first time two years ago, it was beneficial. This time, the quality of the presentations was very high. It was also easier to cope with the time frame - a twelve-minute presentation followed by a three-minute discussion - was occasionally not adhered to.

Many sponsors also supported the event. How did these contacts come about? What did you use the financial support for?

Getting sponsors on board was a complete success, more so than in the past. Some sponsors were approached by my three colleagues, Sai Thejas Babanna, Kalyan Pinninti, and Huma Majeed. Others approached us shortly before the event, wanting to get involved. In total, we had 19 sponsors who raised more than €15,000. This money enabled us to finance the participation of ten Master’s students, among others.

The IPB will take responsibility for the PSSC next year. What would you like to take over, and what would you like to change?

Carolin Apel: We definitely want to take up the idea of sponsors and expand on it. Gaining partners from industry is important not only for financing the PSSC, but also for offering participants the opportunity to find out about career opportunities with companies. Apart from that, Halle affords us other advantages as a venue, such as its proximity to the university. However, we have not yet agreed on further details.

When will you start preparing? Do you have any topics in mind yet?

The new doctoral student representatives at the IPB will not be elected until November. I assume the initial planning will begin straight afterwards.

Over the years, the cooperation between IPK and IPB at the PSSC has developed. How could the relationship between the two institutes be strengthened?

Christina Wäsch: As far as we are concerned, we will continue to expand our contacts with the IPB. We still have some funds remaining from the PSSC, which we are planning to use to organise a joint workshop in Jena or Weimar in the autumn.

Carolin Apel: Regarding scientific cooperation: The IPK strongly focuses on genetics, while the IPB specialises in metabolomics. I can see potential for further collaboration on joint projects, in addition to the existing partnerships. These could be projects in which doctoral students from both institutes work together and have the opportunity to experience the other institute.

What are your hopes for the next PSSC?

Christina Wäsch: We would like the PSSC to be widely recognised at our two institutes and at Martin Luther University in Halle. We will discuss achieving this at the workshop for IPK and IPB doctoral students.