EARA's third summer school took place in April 2006 in Belek,
Turkey
just before the EARA Conference in Antalya. Twentyone Ph.D. students
from all over Europe and also the US enjoyed exciting and inspring
sessions and discussions with Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, B. Bradford Brown,
Luc Goossens, Margaret Kerr, Hakan Stattin, Peter Noack, Judi
Smetana,
and Elizabeth Susman.
Impressions by Ilse
Smits (Belgium), Samantha Dockray (USA), and Vilmante Pakalniskiene
(Lithuania)
...From a European perspective
When I was first asked to apply for the EARA summer school; I
hesitated. I only had started my PhD in January and I thought it might
be too early to attend a summer school. But my advisor Luc Goossens
convinced me to participate, so on Saturday April 29 I flew to Antalya.
And it ended up becoming a great and unforgettable experience!
In the shuttle from the airport to the hotel, I already met
PhD-students from the Netherlands, Portugal and the USA. We were all
really curious about what was going to happen. When we arrived at the
Gloria Verde hotel in Belek, we were welcomed by Figen Cok of Ankara
University and Luc Goossens, the president of the EARA. Because
everybody had passed a strenuous day of travelling, we all just went to
bed in our luxurious rooms in this wonderful resort located directly on
the beautiful Turkish coast.
At 8 o’clock on Sunday morning, H�kan Stattin, who had organized the
summer school, welcomed all the 23 PhD-students, 4 from the United
States and 19 from many different countries in Europe, by singing a
Swedish song. He introduced us to the other senior researchers in the
field of adolescent psychology namely Jeffrey Arnett, Bradford Brown,
Luc Goossens, Margaret Kerr, Peter Noack, Judy Smetana and Elisabeth
Susman.
During the days, the senior scientists gave short presentations of
their research. Following these quick introductions, we were divided
into smaller groups to work on challenging assignments. Under time
pressure, we came up with designs for a new study, discussed
propositions postulated by the senior researchers, formulated new
hypotheses on the topics presented, and made suggestions for overcoming
problems we encountered. Afterwards we presented the results of our
group work to the senior scientists and the other groups. One very
challenging and interesting task was to convince other participants who
functioned as a teacher, a school director, a parent, or a child of the
usefulness of our proposals. This panel asked very critical questions
about the study we designed so that we had to defend ourselves.
It was amazing to find out that we could be very creative in
interacting with each other and this in a really short time period. The
small groups gave the opportunity for everybody to come up with ideas
and to communicate them to the others. Because we all came from
different countries and cultures, the results were very diverse. It was
nice to hear afterwards that our work was also very enriching for the
senior scientists. During these group activities, I learned to think
more critically and I found out more about topics that were not linked
directly to my dissertation topic.
Besides those fantastic and outstanding presentations and tasks, we
PhD-students had the unique chance to present our work to two senior
scientists and some other PhD-students. In my case, Bradford Brown and
Judy Smetana offered me very good advice during my tutoring session.
All the PhD-students agreed afterwards that during these sessions, we
obtained some fresh ideas about the set-up of our study, our
hypotheses, statistical analyses, data collection and many other
issues. These advices were very valuable because of the years of
working and research experience and the different points of view which
the senior scientists contributed to our dissertation projects.
After the hard work at the summer school, we also had relaxing moments!
There were a few swimming pools and a private beach in the beautiful
resort. On free moments, we sneaked out and had some nice moments in
the sun, where we discussed our dissertations in a more informal way.
During the evenings we had some good talks in the bar. The nice thing
about the summer school was that it was so international! We discussed
and exchanged information about our countries, political systems,
religions, and habits. The last evening, of course, was devoted to
partying. There was a party organised for us, where we had the great
opportunity to see a belly dancer and dance together with belly dancing
senior scientists!
The summer school gave me the possibility to learn a lot about diverse
topics in psychology and about life more generally. I met fantastic
people to work with in the future and even met people with whom I was
connected so well that they became friends. In sum, I can only
recommend people to participate in a summer school organised by EARA.
It’s fun and a great experience!
… from a US Perspective
(by Samantha Dockray, Penn State University, USA)
The 2006 EARA Summer School in Belek, Turkey, was one of the most
rewarding opportunities I have had as a graduate student. I
attended the EARA Summer School as a US-Based graduate student, but am
originally from Australia. I am completing doctoral studies
in Biobehavioral Health at the Pennsylvania State University.
My research interests are centred on how interactions between
biological and psychological aspects of the self influence trajectories
of health and well-being across the lifespan. I feel
fortunate to have had the opportunity at the EARA Summer School to
spend time working with Senior Researchers and other graduate students
who share the common goal of developing knowledge of adolescent
development.
One of the most beneficial aspects of the Summer School was the mix of
activities, with a combination of presentations from Senior Researchers
and graduate students, discussion sessions and opportunities for
informal conversations. The individual mentoring sessions
were particularly helpful, with time designated for presentations of
the student’s individual research work, and feedback from Senior
Researchers. This was so productive, and made us all to
consider our own research from different methodological perspectives,
encouraging us to extend our thinking to encompass the many domains of
adolescent research. The Summer School was a unique and
productive academic environment, and encouraged us to consider how
culture, experience and intellectual paradigms inform our own research,
and how we must be thoughtful of these influences when conducting
research into the experiences of adolescents.
Access to some of the world's finest scientists in the field of
adolescent research was a huge draw of the Summer School. The
group of Senior Researchers and students was diverse, with many fields
of inquiry represented, and this served to make our discussions rich
and energetic. It was so exciting to hear different
perspectives – not only from people from several countries, but also
from different theoretical and methodological
positions. Working closely with others at the
Summer School encouraged me to challenge the paradigms I am familiar
with in my research area. I am sure this
opportunity to have extended discussions about different perspectives
with other students and researchers will serve to broaden my thinking
and enrich my future work.
The professional development activities were relaxed and sociable – in
such a perfect location as Belek, how could it not be! We had
great times at the Summer School - I think one of the
advantages to the location was that it encouraged us all to socialize
together. Teaching sessions were followed by time on the
beach, or a fabulous meal together, and allowed us to really get to
know more about others in the group. Working with other
students so closely also helped forge ties that will remain
strong. Future collaborations and professional networks have
been founded at the Summer School that would not usually be possible,
and I feel this will be of direct benefit to me, but also to the wider
adolescent research community as the network grows. I thank
EARA again for organizing the Summer School and encourage other
students to seek out this professional development opportunity.
I am thankful to EARA for organising the 2006 Summer School, and the
generosity of the sponsors who made the Summer School in Belek
possible. I would also like to acknowledge the support of the
Society for Research on Adolescence (SRA) which allowed me to attend
the School, as the incoming Student Representative to SRA Executive
Council. Attending the Summer School, allowed myself and the
other North American students an opportunity to enhance and strengthen
the connection and relationships between the continents, and I know the
European students benefited from spending time with one
another. These opportunities for students and new
professionals are invaluable, as they not only contribute to our
educational experience and professional development, but also form the
foundation for future collaborative efforts.
Coming together
is beginning
Keeping together is
progress
Working together is
success
Henry Ford
Impressions summarized by Vilmante Pakalniskiene
I guess these Henry Ford’s words could say what we have experienced during this Summer School. Twenty three PhD students from different countries had a possibility to participate at the 3rd EARA Summer School. We all had wonderful, unique, even we could say magic experiences at Gloria Verde resort in Belek, Turkey from 29 of April to 2 of May. PhD students from all over Europe and USA spent few days together working, socializing and enjoying time together.
We all could say that we spent three fantastic days at the Turkish coast and the experience of the Summer School was great for a lot of reasons! I think students’ words and thoughts could say much more then just a summary of them. Monique Faulk from US: “My EARA Summer School experience surpassed all of my expectations!” Heather Lord from US: “In short, the Summer School was an amazing opportunity to learn about the latest thinking on the theoretical and methodological issues in the area of adolescent development. Connecting with a group of students with a diverse area of interests within adolescent development was an incredible experience.” Fatih Bayraktar from Turkey: “It was an excellent experience to be with high motivated PhD students and high talented scholars in Summer School.” Maarten Selfhout from the Netherlands: “The EARA summer school 2006 was an excellently organized, interesting and entertaining event for me.” Loes Keijsers from the Netherlands: “It was a great experience: luxurious environment, great friends (formerly called colleagues), and off course meeting the seniors was not only a great learning experience, but most of all – fun.” Nejra Besic from Sweden: “Seeing as I am new to this trade, the 2006 summer school was a completely novel experience for me.” Samantha Dockray from US: “The 2006 EARA Summer School was one of the most rewarding opportunities I have had as a graduate student.” Poldi Kuhl from Germany: “The EARA summer school was a great success. We learned a lot about research on adolescence, but also had the chance to get to know students and faculty from all over the world.” Ilse Smits from Belgium: “The summer school gave me the possibility to learn a lot about diverse topics in psychology and about life more generally. I met fantastic people to work with in the future and even met people with whom I was connected so well that they became friends.” Elisabetta Crocetti from Italy: “During the summer school I got awareness we belong not only to the small research group we work together daily but also to an important international community. It was really true what Luc Goossen said starting the EARA conference: EARA is like a big family!” Zornitza Ganeva from Bulgaria: “It was a great pleasure for me to participate in the 2006 EARA Summer School hold in the beautiful Turkish resort Antalya, to experience the famous Turkish hospitality and to enjoy traditional Turkish delights.” Irene De Goede from the Netherlands: “The Summer School was very special in many ways.
We got a broad overview of the field of adolescent research by the interesting presentations and assignments of the senior researchers, and we had the opportunity to present and discuss our own project within a small group of people with the same research interest. The international atmosphere and the beautiful hotel made this a unique experience.” Stefan Persson from Sweden: “The day I left for Turkey I felt a bit worn down. But during the stay I gradually felt stronger and stronger and more and more happy and satisfied. What caused this change? I think it's a good example of what happens when people have the opportunity to be in environments they perceive as stimulating.” Paulo Jorge Santos from Portugal: “The EARA Summer School was a magnificent experience for me at all levels. Having the possibility of sharing experiences and knowledge with senior researchers and doctoral students was an amazing opportunity for personal and professional growth. We worked hard in those days and, at same time we had the opportunity of having a nice quality time.
Our time together
Even though we had only few days together, but as Elisabetta Crocetti from Italy said: “I really enjoyed the fact we spent all the day together, from breakfast to the night. So, we did not meet with other students and with seniors just to follow the lessons but we also could spend time together the free time and so we could know each other much better.” And Fatih Bayraktar from Turkey agreed that “it was not all science. Many friendships were formed in a short time; many "unique" experiences were shared.” We all enjoyed our time together, our evenings, conversations, dancing and dinners. “Another crucial part of the whole Summer School was of course the social part. Getting to know people, and not only through their research but also on a personal level was what made the whole experience more rich. Especially the last night when everybody danced was an event in itself. It really felt like there were no boundaries between the senior researchers and the doctoral students.” (Nejra Besic from Sweden) Maarten Selfhout from the Netherlands expressed: “The social events I think were the greatest, the dancing night and several dinners were just unforgettable.” Muriel Van Doorn form the Netherlands agreed: “It was really 'gezellig' as we say that in Dutch: wine, dine and be inspired by a great presentation about why the summer school will be held in Sweden next year (hope we can go again!).” And Ilse Smits from Belgium mentioned: “…after the hard work at the summer school, I enjoyed the relaxing moments at the beach and the good talks in the bar!”
Beautiful resort
Our Summer School was in a beautiful resort. I guess we all loved that place, our rooms, swimming pools, beach, food… Stefan Lita from Romania was impressed by this place: “First of all, the place where the summer school took place was indeed marvellous, and I would like, with this occasion, to congratulate the local organizers for their decision.” Loes Keijsers from the Netherlands mentioned several things: “The white beach, swimming pool, food and belly dancers made our time even better.” Elisabetta Crocetti from Italy: “We were in an amazing place and every moment was well organized.” Someone from us was very lucky to have the best room in this resort. Andreas Persson from Sweden got that room, so, he was impressed by his bathroom. He said: “the jacuzzi was nice too.” The rest of us could only imagine that jacuzzi. Stefan Persson from Sweden expressed his feelings: “The stay at Gloria Verde covered many aspects of what I would put into the concept of "stimulating environment": meeting creative and fun people, working together with others, having a lot of interesting discussions, having a couple of good laughs and one should not underestimate the importance of good food and beautiful surroundings. To start the day with a really good breakfast and hearing birds singing when one gets up in the morning can actually change how one will perceive the rest of the day. In sum, thank you all for making my stay in Turkey into such a positive experience.” Nejra Besic from Sweden mentioned: “My first impression of the beautiful Belek was the exciting feeling that something cool is about to happen. And it did, indeed.” Samantha Dockray from US also mentioned several things about this resort and how this resort environment helped us to socialize: “The professional development activities were relaxed and sociable – in such a perfect location as Belek, how could it not be? We had great times at the Summer School, I think one of the advantages to the location was that it encouraged us to socialize together, and teaching sessions were followed by time on the beach, or a fabulous meal together, and allowed us to really get to know more about others in the group”.
Our presentations
During this summer school we all have presented our research or research ideas and we had a possibility to get a feedback from seniors. I think we all would agree that it was very useful. Sometimes we do not have so many people around us with whom we could talk and discuss our ideas, but during this summer school we had a time for that. Everyone found that making a presentation and getting some new idea from seniors was important. Many students mentioned that importance. Stefan Lita from Romania: “It was very useful to receive feedback about our PhD project, even if we didn't like the comments and even if I personally have to start thinking to change my project design or theme.” Ilse Smits from Belgium mentioned: “It was a great opportunity that we could give a presentation about our dissertation to two senior scientists and some other PhD-students. The advice I got was very valuable because of the years of working and research experience and the different points of view which the senior scientists contributed to our dissertation projects.” Heather Lord from US: “The critical feedback on my dissertation analyses from students and faculty provided new insights and has been invaluable as I continue this line of work.” Andreas Persson from Sweden: “It was a great opportunity to get feedback on your own research from really dedicated seniors and students.” Loes Keijsers from the Netherlands: “I learned a lot by the feedback the seniors gave on my project, and it made me change my presentation for the conference in the next week.” Elisabetta Crocetti from Italy: “It was really good to have the possibility to present our research to seniors and other students. I used feedbacks I received to improve the paper I was working on.” Maarten Selfhout from the Netherlands: “The tutoring sessions allowed you to open up your eyes more to your own project, and reevaluate and discuss it in depth, so that you have a more detailed and elaborate picture in your mind of your project. I have gotten many ideas that I can implement because of this experience, that are especially due to being out of your every day context and discussing it with strangers, who happen to know a lot about research.” Nejra Besic from Sweden: “My favorite part of the whole summer school was the feedback I got from Brad Brown and Peter Noack – getting insightful comments from someone other than my supervisors or the people I work with was something we definitely should do more. And I guess it didn’t hurt at all the Brad is the expert on my area, either…” Poldi Kuhl from Germany: “Most importantly, the EARA summer school also allowed us to receive feedback from prestigious faculty from both Europe and the USA. In tutoring sessions we presented our dissertation research to senior researchers and students who work on related topics. During this session, I received very helpful advice and many important suggestions. The tutoring sessions were a very valuable part of the Summer School since they were a good starting point for discussions which also continued during the EARA conference in Antalya a few days later.” Monique Faulk from US: “The feedback I received from senior researchers and fellow students has helped make my dissertation project stronger. It was also interesting to learn about other students’ research.”
Students and seniors
Students and seniors were working together all the time or better to say, were working and spending time together. Time which we spent together was really good. We all experienced how nice and supportive seniors could be. It was very inspiring to meet and talk to all the students and senior researchers from many different areas of research. As Monique Faulk from US said, that “senior researchers were supportive and held open minds while students’ held friendly attitudes, sincere interests in each others’ work, and a drive to expand their own knowledge and research skills. Together, these positive attitudes created an atmosphere where senior researchers and students felt welcome and comfortable sharing personal experiences, critiques, and ideas. The Summer School itinerary was very intense and allowed for many great experiences. Senior researchers’ sessions were enjoyable because students were able to better understand topics after hearing researchers’ presentations and participating in group projects.” Elisabetta Crocetti from Italy had “the impression that we were a community of people really interested in the improvement in the scientific knowledge.” Nejra Besic from Sweden was thinking in crowds’ terms: “It felt like most of the things progressed smoothly, without any complications. It wasn’t difficult to make friends with the rest of the doctoral crew, since all of the people were very sweet and kind and open-minded. The seniors were an impressive crowd.” Poldi Kuhl from Germany has mentioned cooperation among students and seniors: “The carefully planned structure of the summer school not only allowed time for cooperation among students and senior researchers, but fostered it. Besides the lectures, evening activities and lunch breaks were also great opportunities to discover common interests between participants. A great deal of mutual respect for our individual research projects and capabilities developed as a result of these exchanges, not to mention friendships.” Zornitza Ganeva from Bulgaria was impressed by long evenings: “It is quite impressive how young researchers are ready to invest themselves in work and hot discussions – even at 11 or 12 pm the participants were still having enthusiastic discussions about research topics, academic programmes, past and future scientific plans and papers.”
Did we learn something?
Did we learn something or just we had a good time? We all could say that we did have a good time together, but we also could say that we have learned a lot. Stefan Lita from Romania said: “It was an event where we learn something about the state of the art in adolescence research. It was important for me because I have little access to journal papers or recent research in this field.” Samantha Dockray from US: “Working closely with other students and Senior Researchers encouraged me to challenge the values and models I am familiar with in my research area. I am sure this opportunity to have extended discussions about different approaches and perspectives with other students and researchers will serve to broaden my perspective and enrich my future work.” Zornitza Ganeva from Bulgaria mentioned: “The stimulating, positive, and accepting atmosphere at the 2006 EARA Summer School was especially enriching and extended my both personal and theoretic and professional horizons. All the participants obtained support for the different stages of their research work because some studies were still at a conceptual stage, while others could already present their research results. I received and exchanged useful comments and a piece of advice that will help me in writing and elaborating my dissertation. On the whole, the learning effect in the 2006 EARA Summer School was not only to focus on similarities, but also to understand the many perspectives in adolescent research driven by different academic backgrounds.”
Working in small groups
We had many activities that forced us to work in small groups. No-one knew how things would work out, but it seems we liked those activities and we liked to work together. It is good that we had a chance to work with all the students. Seniors were putting us all the time in different groups. So, we had a good opportunity to work with different people from different countries. Stefan Lita from Romania said: “What I liked the most in the summer school was the working groups. Even if my English was not so good and my specific knowledge was not so deep, like others', I feel that experience was very useful for me. I confess that sometimes I felt in inferiority when others talked about book and theories I never heard, or when others found very fast answers and solutions to the problems we deal with.” Nejra Besic from Sweden enjoyed those activities as many of us: “I also very much enjoyed the workshops that they made us go through; it was a good way to get our brains working and for us to get to know each other a little better.” Nikita Tolani from US was happy about opportunity to have such activities: “Senior researchers required students to work in small groups on a variety of assignments designed to measure our understanding of the material and to stimulate critical thinking about study designs. This collaborative environment is one of the best ways to learn about theory and research methods in adolescent development. The combination of lecture, student group work and presentations, group discussion and informal communication with students and senior researchers was great. This was definitely an experience that I will treasure because students in the United States do not often have the chance to receive feedback from some of the world's best adolescent researchers.” Ilse Smits from Belgium: “During the group works it was amazing to find out that we could be very creative in interacting with each other and this in a really short time period. The small groups gave the opportunity for everybody to come up with ideas and to communicate them to the others. Because we all came from different countries and cultures, the results were very diverse. It was nice to hear afterwards that our work was very enriching even for the senior scientists. During these group works, I learned to think more critically and I found out more about topics that were not linked directly to my dissertation topic.” Monique Faulk form US mentioned: “I especially enjoyed the group projects because they allowed me to gain insight into norms related to adolescent development across nationalities by participating in hands-on activities. The tutoring sessions were also incredible.” Samantha Dockray from US was also exited about different activities: “One of the most beneficial aspects of the Summer School was the mix of activities, with time devoted to student’s discussions of the material presented by the Senior Researchers. It was so exciting to hear different perspectives – not only from people from several countries, but also from different theoretical and methodological positions.” Zornitza Ganeva from Bulgaria: “I agreed that the Summer School met my expectations in providing a forum for discussing approaches and research ideas, and a mutually stimulating exchange of ideas. The small work-groups allowed informal and detailed discussions. Moreover, the mixed group of participants not only facilitated knowledge transfer, but also allowed single members to establish potential networks for future research.”
Seniors’ presentations
We enjoyed seniors’ presentations. They were interesting, well done, structured… We could find a lot of synonymous to describe them. Here are only few of many comments from students about seniors’ work. Nejra Besic from Sweden said that “the presentations were interesting. I felt like I gained a whole lot of knowledge just by preparing myself for the presentations and attending them.” Nikita Tolani from US mentioned many things: “Over the course of three days, senior researchers presented their work on areas such as identity development, risk and prevention of substance abuse, and psychosocial conditions associated with puberty and adjustment. The presentations of the senior researchers offered both an overview of theoretical trends in the field of adolescence, as well as a critical review of methodological techniques typically utilized to answer key research questions in this field. While most of the research presented by senior researchers was not within my realm of expertise or directly relevant to my research on educational achievement, collaborating with other advanced doctoral candidates to tackle the assignments put forth by the researchers was quite rewarding. This type of event is very useful since it familiarizes students with different lines of inquiry and highlights how different scholarly approaches are in fact complementary.” Maarten Selfhout from the Netherlands enjoyed the presentation, as well: “I enjoyed the presentations of our very own famous researchers about totally different but very interesting topics very much, and the discussions with the other students about these presentations I learned so much.” Loes Keijsers from the Netherlands was short but specific: “Furthermore, the more general insight into adolescence research, by the lectures from the seniors, was very inspiring.” Zornitza Ganeva from Bulgaria broadly described her feelings: “The unforgettable group atmosphere created by organizers and participants of the Summer School surely encouraged everyone to express ideas and to take active part in discussions which deepened the adolescent issues problems. I extended my knowledge of various theories. I was able to get to know and discuss a wide range of quantitative and qualitative research methods used by the participants. The diversity of the research presented, which was shown by different methodological notions, the level of analysis preferred and the disciplines represented led to reflection upon adolescent research as a process itself. The schedule of the conference, the whole organization, the variety of presentations in different interesting areas by key-note speakers and PhD students and working-group sessions made it possible to bring up new useful ideas, to enrich in this way each other’s work and to make progress with my PhD project. The summer school succeeded to create a space where I felt challenged by new ideas.” Poldi Kuhl from Germany: “During the summer school, we had the possibility to listen to lectures given by outstanding researchers in the field of the study on adolescence. In each of these sessions, one of the senior researchers gave a short overview of his work, followed by discussions and small group tasks. These tasks were great; we had to come up with research designs and suggestions for further studies. Thus, we were encouraged to receive the existing literature more critically and learned a lot about scientific working. These sessions, moderated by the seniors were diverse, informative, and very current in the field of research on adolescence, and they were a lot of fun.”
People from different countries
Sometimes having people from very different countries could be a trouble. They all could have different views, attitudes, habits, ideas or way of life. We all came from different countries and we all were very different. But we all had one thing in common – psychology and adolescents research. That gave us the starting point. Stefan Lita from Romania mentioned that “it was a very good opportunity to meet PhD students from other countries and to see their interests and to evaluate their work. I stress this point because I didn't have this chance until now, so I saw how useful is to establish such contacts with foreign people who share the same interests. We discussed many things and we all had good ideas.” Ilse Smits from Belgium: “The nice thing about the summer school was that it was so international! We discussed and exchanged information about our countries, political systems, religions, habits,…” Elisabetta Crocetti from Italy mentioned differences and similarities: “It was really interesting to compare our experiences with that of PhD students from other European and American countries. It was nice to look at differences and similarities.” Zornitza Ganeva from Bulgaria mentioned few important things for her: “What was also fascinating and very important for me was the warm group atmosphere. This was the starting point for research projects between different participants, but also a great experience as a person: to have the chance to know young researchers from other countries, talk with them not only about work, but about their context and background of their life as a PhD students, too. 2006 EARA Summer School gave me the opportunity to get in touch with people from all over the world and thus enabled me to build networks for future cross-cultural co-operation and knowledge sharing. I had the chance to know young researchers from my field of interest and to get interesting insights from them.” Maarten Selfhout from the Netherlands said the reason why students should use opportunities to go to summer schools: “But the primary reason I would say that people should do experience the summer school is because of your colleagues from all around the world, with their refreshing ideas and opinions about everything, not only your specific research area.”
What about future?
Before leaving Gloria Verde Stefan Persson from Sweden started to talk about possibilities to meet each other again. It was quite sad that the Summer School is over. All of us thought about the future. We all had this question if we would meet each other again, if we would work together in the future or not… Stefan Lita from Romania expressed hope that “in the future, we will have the opportunity and ability to implement multimethod-multitraits-multilevel-multicontinents-multispecialists projects.” Fatih Bayraktar from Turkey agreed: “It was an honor for me to meet you all but I think that was not an end. We'll meet again (maybe not in same conditions) somewhere somehow.” Paulo Jorge Santos from Portugal was very open about his feelings: “I returned to my country with a sensation of pride to have been included in the EARA doctoral students group, a wonderful set of people that share the passion of research, adolescence, and psychology… I consider myself now an ambassador of the EARA summer school and I already had the opportunity of describing my experience to several doctoral students. So I guess the members of the selection committee of the next EARA summer school will face a difficult task because I sense that a lot of Portuguese will apply to be in Sweden in two years time.” Zornitza Ganeva from Bulgaria mentioned that the Summer School gave to her a lot of energy, support and positivism and new inspirations for her future work. Heather Lord from US also mentioned inspiration for her work: “Most importantly, the energy and excitement about research emanating from students and senior researchers was contagious and reaffirmed my commitment to this line of research!” Samantha Dockray from US was positive about future collaboration: “Working with other students so closely also helped forge ties that will remain strong. Future collaborations and professional networks have been jumpstarted by the Summer School that would not usually be possible, and I feel this will be of direct benefit to me, but also to the wider adolescent research community as the network grows.” Monique Faulk from US: “My Summer School experiences allowed me to spend time at a beautiful resort in a new setting, meet researchers who were supportive of my ideas and concerned about my learning, and make friends with peers and colleagues from different countries— many of whom I’m sure I will continue to build relationships with.” Poldi Kuhl from Germany was looking forward “to meet all people again, maybe in Turin in 2008?” We all could hope that one day we would meet each other again and remember our good time in Turkey…