After quite some planning, the PhD club was finally able to organise its first writing retreat in October. Scheduled between the terms to avoid teaching duties, nine PhDs spent the week in a cosy holiday home in Noordwijk, walking distance from the beach.
The idea behind the writing retreat was simple: provide a change of scenery and company to help achieve individuals goals for the week, get to know each other a bit better, and learn from each other. Although writing was a core activity throughout the days (and evenings!), everyone set out with different goals in mind. Objectives ranged from drafting book chapters, submitting abstracts to wrapping up entire drafts and analysing datasets and interviews. A big part of the retreat centred on us learning from each other. Informal one-on-one chit-chats on methods and theoretical frameworks turned into lively discussions between participants who could add their own experience and expertise. It was a refreshing change of pace to talk about these topics with peers and discover how much knowledge and experience they had in areas we had not expected.
Peer feedback was another important part of the retreat. PhDs shared their drafts and proposals to open them up to helpful peer feedback and comments. Coming from different academic backgrounds and holding different stances, such opportunities highlighted how diverse our research is and, despite that, the valuable input we can provide to each other.
A large dining table became the perfect shared co-working space, as did the comfortable couch. Everyone focused on their own work throughout mornings, but come lunch time, we were able to eat together and walk to the beach to stretch our legs! ESHCC is quite small and the PhD community is relatively tight-knit, however, brief talks in the hallways and at the coffee machine don't provide the best opportunities for really getting to know each other. These breaks gave us the perfect opportunity to talk to each other about our research and of course, non-work things as well. The evenings featured fun activities, such as playing card games, watching Taskmaster, and cooking and dining together; a welcome relief from a day of focused work.
Beyond the academic work, there was plenty of time and space for a reflection of our personal PhD journeys and experiences. Conversations often moved toward the realities of doing a PhD: topics such as work and teaching pressure, supervision difficulties, uncertainty about the future, and how to stay motivated were recurring for PhDs at every stage of their promotion. Discussing these things openly made it easier to see that one's struggles are not out of place and that it helps to share them with others who are in similar positions. For several participants, these exchanges were just as valuable as the research and writing itself.
The week was a productive mix of focused work and discussions, as well as welcome post-work activities. Abstracts were submitted, data was analysed, and chapters were written. Overall, we would call this first PhD club writing retreat a massive success. Spending time together reminded us that research doesn’t have to be a solitary process. Far from perfect, we look forward to organising future iterations of this type of activity.
**A big thank you to the research office for funding this fruitful retreat for all of us!**
