ICO Graduate Spring School 2026: 133 participants, packed sessions and many new connections
With 133 participants, including no fewer than 80 PhD students presenting their work, the ICO Graduate Spring School 2026 (GSS2026) was a highly successful edition. The mix of paper and poster presentations, interactive sessions and workshops led to packed rooms, lively discussions, and a wealth of new connections within the ICO community.
Networking as a central theme
We opened the Spring School with a lively panel session on networking. Rather than presenting “networking” as something large and formal, the panellists emphasised that it often starts small and close to home. Some key take-aways were:
- Do not make it too big – networking is already part of almost every conversation and interaction you have.
- Find the group/people with similar interests, where you feel a sense of belonging – look for people with whom you connect both intellectually and personally.
- Just send out that email to that professor (or peer!) – do not be afraid to reach out; a short email can set a lot in motion.
- And drink (lots of) coffee! – informal moments are at least as important as formal sessions.
During the panel session, more questions were submitted via the app than we could address on the spot. We therefore asked our panellists to answer the remaining questions afterwards. You can find their answers here:
https://gss2026.ico-education.nl/panel-session-networking/
Presentations that sparked thinking and further conversation
The presentation sessions formed the heart of the Spring School. The 80 PhD students who presented their work offered a rich variety of topics and perspectives. In the discussions that followed, participants not only explored the content in depth but also established new connections: they found each other around shared research themes, methodological challenges, and potential collaborations.
Many participants indicated that this particular combination – presenting their own work, receiving feedback, and then continuing the conversation informally – helped them to sharpen their ideas and expand their ICO network.
Successful Friday morning workshops
The Friday morning workshops were also well attended and very well received. The formats offered space for exchange, hands-on practice and reflection, and aligned nicely with both the scholarly and professional development of PhD students.
We have added the slides for workshop C and D on the website: https://gss2026.ico-education.nl/workshops/
Thank you to all participants
GSS2026 was a success thanks to the active contributions of everyone involved: PhD students who shared their work, senior researchers who took time for feedback and mentoring, panellists, workshop leaders, and all those who asked questions, contributed ideas and joined the discussions.
On behalf of the organising team: many thanks for your engagement and enthusiasm. We look forward to seeing you at a future ICO activity – and of course at the next edition of the Graduate Spring School.