Impressions from the MOSAICS Fresher’s Week (II)

The second half of the MOSAICS Fresher’s Week on July 9-10th 2020, at the Cochlear Technology Centre in Mechelen, Belgium.

The first day saw talks from several members of the ESR PhD supervision team, who are experts in both the clinical and research world of CI, from cochlea to cortex. Wendy Huinck and Emmanuel Mylanus (Radboudumc) shared on outcome variability in CI in adults, the clinical foundation for the MOSAICS project. Andy Beynon (Radboudumc) gave an insightful introduction to Auditory Evoked Potentials along the auditory pathway, before delving in to measurements and interpretations. The morning was rounded up with insights from objective measures expert Marc van Wanrooij (Donders Institute), who shared on objective measurements of the auditory system in action, including psychophysical, electrophysiological and brain imaging techniques.

After a progress update session between all ESRs and supervisors, the day closed with a Critical Question Mapping session, led by Bas van Dijk (Cochlear), where the ESRs and their supervisors zoomed in on the most critical questions of the MOSAICS project and how to address them.

The Critical Question Mapping session continued on the second day, followed by a virtual project management session by the accelopment team, Emily Rose Ciscato and Marco Cavallaro. Here the focus was on project planning, tracking and monitoring progress, risk management and dissemination of project results. Katherine Lukaszewski (Director, Dendritic Ltd.) then gave an inspiring virtual session on how to present research with impact, touching on presentation skills, body language and audience management. This proved to be incredibly beneficial for both novice and experienced presenters and has provided the ESRs with invaluable tips and tricks for all upcoming conferences, symposiums and other presentation opportunities.

With Fresher’s Week officially having drawn to a close, the ESRs would like to thank all experts involved, for their valuable time, positive energy and extensive input over the past few weeks. The next MOSAICS event is provisionally scheduled for the final quarter of this year, when the first official meetings between all MOSAICS members, including the Supervisory Board and External Advisory Board, will take place.

For more information on the Fresher’s Week sessions and to keep updated on research updates from MOSAICS, follow our Twitter account @MOSAICS_2020.