24 Oct 2023

How was Cutting Gardens '23 at the ESI?

Affordable, sustainable, and inclusive are the attributes of this new conference format. Did it fulfill the expectations? We asked the participants.


From October 16-19, 2023, the newly launched and novel “Cutting Gardens” conference took place, a global EEG and MEG methods multihub meeting. What makes this conference so special? It is affordable, sustainable, and inclusive. Proximity reduces travel costs for speakers and participants (sometimes to zero). Shorter distances mean less CO2-intensive travel (e.g., by air). Global broadcasting and local venues overcome distance and language barriers.

Accordingly, the Frankfurt Garden was an in-person event with the additional live broadcast of the global program. Experts in their field presented methods in invasive and non-invasive electrophysiology. In the morning, they reported on exciting new research results, after which the participants had to become active themselves and improve their practical skills in data analysis. In the afternoon, everyone participated in the joint sessions of the global events. Two of the globally broadcasted speakers were guests in Frankfurt, Elena Cesnaite from the University of Münster and Radoslav Martin Cichy from the Free University of Berlin.

A multi-institutional organization team put together the local program and ensured that everything ran smoothly on site. In addition to ESI researchers, scientists from the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig and the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics in Frankfurt were involved.


Anna Katten, Master’s student, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin

“I really liked the decentralized approach of this conference: The exchanges and speakers were international, and the different venues around the world made it possible to attend the conference from the geographically nearest hub. And because Cutting Gardens 2023 was also a hybrid event, I listened to the first talks while still on the train (which was running late).”







Walter Cañedo Riedel, PhD student, Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim

“Cutting Gardens 2023 is my first conference ever. I looked forward to learning to clean my data. And I did. I also learned about one specific tool in one of the workshops, which I will eventually start to work with. The fact that this world wide event is so decentralized makes this specific event in Frankfurt too small, in my opinion. Instead of three venues in Germany I would have preferred one, but bigger.”





Maria Ermolova, PhD student, Eberhard Karls University Tübingen

“I also attended the Cutting EEG in 2020, but it was completely online. This time it was more about the people, which was really nice, too. I really liked the decentralized factor of the conference and the aspect of the ecologically conscious way, that goes along with it.”









Anna, PhD student, Osnabrück University

“The childcare offered here is really good - I would not have expected that, and I am very grateful for it! My husband and I are both researchers in the same field. Without support only one of us would have been able to come at all or to attend some of the talks and workshops. Having kids around also sets an example for others who might not have dared to do so: I don’t have to give up doing science and actively communicating just because I’m a mom or dad. Thanks to the childcare offered, we got the chance to exchange ideas with other researchers while our children, who are one and five years old, also had a good time - a win-win for everyone!”


Ege Kingir, PhD student, University Medical Center Göttingen

“I really like the idea of gardens all over the place. The reduced carbon imprint by shortening travelling distances is a good approach and fits well with current necessities. Some talks are not my field but I still learn something new. Normally I wouldn’t have travelled so far in this case. On the other hand I get the chance to listen to global talks, either held here or streamed, for which I would have traveled anywhere. All in all, it’s a good mix!”





Yi Zhuo, PhD student, Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim

“Hologram stickers, water bottles, notepads looking like old EEG paper, canvas totes, seed paper for planting - there are so many creative giveaways here that I couldn’t decide and took one of each. I’ll be enjoying these for a long time to come! The organizers did a great job, and I especially appreciate that this conference is not too big. It gives me the opportunity to talk to many people, see almost all the posters and even have the chance to meet and chat with the speakers over lunch or a coffee.”