Organizing a Masterclass

Everyone has his heroes. As a kid I’d have loved to play in a soccer game with Van Basten or Platini. As PhD students, I think, we all have our scientific heroes; be it this woman in your field with 10 Science papers on her resume, or this guy who wrote the one benchmark paper you are referring to all the time. My childhood heroes were unreachable, infallible and on the highest pedestals. The scientific heroes are more reachable, more fallible, and not as high profile. Which is great, because you can just go and talk to them at a conference or meeting, and most of them will be glad to exchange ideas with enthusiastic young scientists. Or even better, BCN may get them to give master classes in Groningen. Then they really have time to discuss their work and share experiences with you and a couple of other PhD Students.

However, from the BCN office it is very hard to determine who you would like see giving a master class. So to get the schedule to fit your needs, you can take some initiative and suggest ‘Masters’ in your field. To help you a FAQ (worthy of a bad customer service department):

What is a Master Class?

A master class can be seen as an extended lecture, or a very short course. It is given by a specialist on specific topic to specialists in a similar field or would-be specialists in the same field. The focus during a master class is mostly on interaction and the exchange of ideas rather than one-way teaching –or preaching- of knowledge. The level of specialization of the audience is expected to be much higher than e.g. during a lecture.

How many people take part?

That, of course, varies. But anywhere from 5 to 15 participants could be considered a good group size to keep the discussion going, and ensuring the personal contact with the ‘master’.

Who are suitable ‘masters’?

Anybody really, as long as they are real specialists in their field, and their audience finds them interesting enough to interact with for a couple of hours. That’s the point: they may be the most obscure scientists in the weirdest field, but if they can help you develop your research ideas, they may be suitable.

I know someone, but I’m not sure he/she is suited to give a master class.

It may be a good idea to discuss it with your supervisor or another staff scientist. Or maybe poll the interest among the people in you hallway. That should give you an idea.

Can I just suggest anyone, then?

Yes, you can. However, there are travel-budget restrictions on the BCN side, and probably schedule restrictions on the master’s side. So, the most likely scenario for success is to suggest a master class if someone travels ‘near-by’, e.g. for a conference or a lab-visit, or a thesis defense.

There’s someone I’d like to see giving a master class. Now what?

You get in touch with Diana Koopmans (d.h.koopmans med.umcg.nl) and you can discuss how to go about it. Including your supervisor in the process could help with convincing people to accept the invitation (unless he/she has some type of feud with the proposed master, of course).

Don’t hesitate! Be on the look out for your scientific heroes and get them invited. It’s a very efficient way to learn about the research in your field, build your network and last but not least: it’s fun.