OOA retreat 2026

433 Reviews

October 28 - 30
2.0 ECTS
Hotel 'de Zeeuwse Stromen' Renesse
Deadline Registration: august 31
OOA@nki.nl

We are happy to announce the OOA retreat in Renesse
October 28th – 30th 2026

Each year the OOA organizes a three-day retreat for all PhD candidates participating in the OOA (NKI-AVL and Amsterdam UMC).

The retreat focuses entirely on research conducted by you and your fellow PhD candidates, either presented in a poster (juniors) or in a 12-minute oral presentation (seniors) in parallel sessions chaired by senior PhD students. The retreat is an unique opportunity to get in touch with all aspects of oncological research, from basic molecular biology and applied physics to clinical trials and quality of life research. Furthermore, the retreat trains important skills in presentation, moderating sessions and discussions as well as extending your scientific and social network. The OOA retreat greatly contributes to the interaction between PhD students, both within and between the different participating institutes. An abstract book outlining the research activities of all participating students will be distributed.

The retreat is not only about science: it’s also a great chance to connect with your fellow PhD candidates during social activities, shared dinners, and evening events!

The OOA retreat is always highly appreciated by all participants. Do not miss this opportunity to extend your network!

See you in Renesse!!

Meet the organizers

Heinz Jacobs

OOA dean NKI-AvL

Learn more

Sara Stolk

OOA support

OOA PhD Council

From left to right: Debra van Asten, Charlotte Smith, Ines Avenel, Emily Evans, Ben Ooms and Klaudia Majszczyk. Not on picture: Marike Geurts.

Testimonials

The OOA retreat was a nice opportunity to meet new PhD students, which I find really valuable. It also helped a lot to have a better mental map of research groups and projects being done in the institutes. Definitely recommend joining and connecting with new people!

I find it most valuable that my work gets access to so many different kinds of scientific audience. The feedback I get for my work is great, because they come from new perspectives and that helps me tackle problems better. I also found it extremely valuable that we can interact with cancer researchers also from different institutes, who we would normaly not meet. It is a great place to start collaborations and sometimes even good friendships!

The OOA retreat is a superb way to connect with PhD colleagues and get acquainted with their research. Great to share my own study and to learn from each others questions and discussions.

The OOA retreat is the annual opportunity to swap insights, share challenges, and build connections with other oncology PhD students from Amsterdam UMC and NKI-AvL. Escaping from the hustle of Amsterdam for 3 days in rural Zeeland adds a unique vibe, making space to learn, recharge, and get inspired together!

Last October, I went to the OOA Retreat for the first time and I presented a poster. The event was organized very well, and I really enjoyed these days in Renesse (great hotel next to the beach). I liked that you could choose several topics of interest for the presentation sessions. I would recommend the retreat to others because it is a nice event where you can meet other PhD students (during the poster presentations or dinners for example).

Onderzoekschool Oncologie Amsterdam

Oncology Graduate School Amsterdam