The first CAIMed Retreat took place in Bad Lauterberg on July 2 and 3, 2025. The aim of the event was to bring all members together in person, promote interdisciplinary exchange, initiate new joint research projects and support the translation of advanced AI methods into healthcare. The aim is to enable better, personalized and human-centric medical care.

A central point of the program were the parallel sessions, which covered a wide range of topics: from biomedical foundation models to (distributed) data infrastructures and long-covid research. The Moonshot Lab in particular, which offered space for visionary and long-term project ideas, was met with great interest. The sessions enabled participants to engage intensively with current issues and develop new approaches in interdisciplinary teams.

In the proposal writing workshop, concrete project ideas were also transferred into small working groups and initial approaches for joint research proposals were developed. This practical work helped to deepen cooperation directly on site and define concrete next steps.

The retreat was accompanied by a hike in the Harz Mountains at a summery 36 °C, during which the spontaneous drinks break on the Kummelberg was particularly welcome. There was plenty of opportunity to have relaxed conversations and make new contacts.

The first CAIMed Retreat showed how important personal meetings are for networking and the further development of common scientific goals.