PhD candidate Luwen Zhang and Leif Bretschneider from the Chair of Additive Manufacturing at TU Bergakademie Freiberg participated from December 24 to 28, 2025, together with a total of 13 PhD candidates from the European EURECA-PRO network, in the 3rd EURECA-PRO PhD Journey at the Universidad de León, Spain. They took the opportunity to network internationally and gain new scientific insights.
During the five-day program, participants completed a comprehensive schedule designed specifically to enhance the scientific skills of early-career researchers. The workshops included:
- Boost Your Research & Maximize Your Impact: Tailoring Scientific Communications
- Open Science and Responsible Research: FAIR Principles and the Social Dimensions of Scientific Practice
- AI and the New Era of Scientific Information Searching
- From Vine to Bottle: A Journey Towards Sustainable Local Wine
A special highlight was the recording of a joint podcast, where PhD candidates shared their research interests, motivation, and international experiences. For us, this was a new and exciting experience, demonstrating the importance of modern communication formats in science.
The workshops also explored the role of social media in scientific communication today – both for sharing research results and for promoting international collaboration and public visibility of scientific work.
For the PhD candidate and the PhD student from the Chair of Additive Manufacturing, participation was particularly rewarding. In addition to gaining valuable scientific insights, they established numerous new contacts and engaged in intensive discussions with colleagues from various European countries, particularly on topics related to sustainable production and SDG 12.
The Chair sincerely thanks EURECA-PRO and the Universidad de León for the excellent organization and kind support on site.
Special thanks also go to Erasmus+ through the BIP program, whose financial support made this trip possible.
The insights, experiences, and contacts gained will be integrated into ongoing research at Freiberg and will strengthen international collaboration within the EURECA-PROnetwork.
