Why participate?

You are a MSc or BSc student: Why should you attend IK?

If you are interested in cognitive, computer, and / or neuroscience and want to broaden your horizon beyond your field – IK is the perfect spring-school for you. 

If you feel that your regular lectures are not engaging enough – you will love this fast-paced, intense, interactive learning experience. 

If you want to get introduced to state-of-the-art research and methods – at IK, eminent scientists share their expertise.

If you would want your lecturers to have more time for you and your questions – the special atmosphere at Günne fosters direct communication with the lecturers and networking across fields and career stages. 

If you are pondering about your professional future – IK provides diverse career path perspectives.

If you want to get feedback on your own research (e.g. your B.Sc. thesis) – present a poster or a spotlight talk at IK.

If you are up to tackling the grand challenge of understanding, modeling, and engineering cognition with a holistic perspective – join an interdisciplinary, highly motivated community at IK!

And, yes, it is also a lot of fun!

Sounds great, but you can’t afford the full conference fee? Check here for stipends and suggestions for getting financial support.

Some study programs even give you credits for attending or presenting a poster at IK:

ECTS credit points for IK participation

One week of IK participation represents one very intense week of interdisciplinary academic training on a mostly graduate level. Some universities have acknowledged this academic substance by awarding ECTS credit points for attending students. It lies in the discretion of the student’s home university how many credit points are given, and what students are eligible (e.g., graduate and/or undergraduate, or only for students enrolled in academic programs related to the IK themes). As of August 2015, the following institutions grant 2 to 4 ECTS credit points for IK participations:

  • University of Köln
  • University of Osnabrück
  • Constructor University Bremen (ask Prof. Arvid Kappas)
  • University of Vienna
  • University of Tübingen (Graduate Training Centre of Neuroscience)
  • University of Oldenburg (students of the master programs MSc Neurocognitive Psychology and MSc Neuroscience get 3 ECTS)       
  • University College of Freiburg (2 Credit Points; contact person is Simon Büchner)
  • Ruhr-University of Bochum (MSc Cognitive Science)

Note that specific regulations apply at these institutions, e.g. ECTS credits may be acknowledged only for specific study programs or after an application of the student to the institution. Please contact your institution to verify conditions; we only provide a certificate of participation.

The organizers of the IK encourage student participants to approach the academic offices of their home institutions and suggest to them to give ECTS credits for an IK participation. An information package and support in approaching university officials can be requested from Herbert Jaeger.

You are a PhD student or Postdoc: Why should you attend IK?

IK gives you the opportunity to provide a holistic perspective on the interdisciplinary context of your research topic. By presenting your work with a poster or a short oral presentation, you will gain visibility, rich feedback and experience in communicating effectively across disciplinary borders. If you want to present beyond your own project and gain teaching experience, you can apply for a featured lecture of 90 minutes. 

This one-week spring school offers interactive, intense, and fast-paced learning at the frontier of research. Eminent experts provide insights into state-of-the art methods, concepts, and research directions in cognitive, computer, and neuroscience, complementing your expertise. The intense interaction across fields and career stages makes IK a perfect place for networking, establishing new collaborations, and opening up career opportunities. Engaging with other perspectives and understanding contexts will let you grow as independent researcher personalities. If you want to tackle the grand challenge of understanding, modeling, and engineering cognition with a holistic perspective – Ik ist the place to join an interdisciplinary, highly motivated community. And – It is a lot of fun!

You are a supervisor of PhD or M.Sc. students: Why should you send your students to IK?

The goal of this one-week spring school in cognitive, computer, and neuroscience is to enable future researcher personalities to tackle the grand challenge of understanding, modeling, and engineering cognition with a holistic perspective. IK offers interactive, intense, and fast-paced learning at the frontier of research. Eminent experts provide insights into state-of-the art methods and research directions complementing your student’s expertise. By presenting their work with poster, a short oral presentation, or even a contributed lecture, your students will gain rich feedback and experience in communicating effectively across disciplinary borders. Their presentations will also increase the visibility of your group – scientifically, as well as for recruitment of talented IK participants. The intense interaction across fields and career stages makes IK a perfect place for networking and opening up career opportunities. And engaging with other perspectives and understanding contexts will let your students grow as independent researcher personalities.