Achievement

We implemented our IGERT seminar and the winter retreat for the third full year. Each year we have used the same basic model for both but have adapted them to address new issues and the needs and interests across four cohorts. Two new issues that were addressed this year were 1) expansion of students' contacts outside the Chinese Academy of Sciences; and 2) consolidation of our buddy system and medical evacuation plans. The first issue was discussed due to the trainees' diverse research interests and the need to find appropriate counterparts for those interests, often at provincial level institutions such as the Southwest Forestry University and Yunnan University. For the latter, a couple of accidents had left students wanting to formalize our telephone tree and buddy system so that all the students in the field could quickly contact a colleague in case of emergency.