For the internal project exchange, the Saxony5 project participants were welcomed in the auditorium of the "Bluebox" on the campus in Görlitz on November 5, 2024 in beautiful autumn weather and with a direct view of the Neisse. After a relaxed start to the day, Prof. Kollmorgen officially opened the event. The new project manager, Sophie Tietze, then gave an overview of the current status of the project. This was followed by three parallel sessions for peer-to-peer consultation, which gave participants the opportunity to engage in dialog, discuss specific challenges in everyday project work and learn from each other. In one of the rooms, Maria Fabisch from the HSZG presented questions and solutions for discussion on how to make the AAL Lab even better known to the regional target groups.

The collegial consultations were framed by the use of a new, interactive evaluation tool, which was conceived and designed by Prof. Diana Simon's team from the "Multimedia Communication" transfer mode at the HTW Dresden. The tool was designed to gather feedback on the method of peer counseling. The evaluation tool also proved in this application that it can make a change of perspective of event participants measurable and visible.

At lunchtime, there was room for lively exchanges between the sub-projects and everyone had sufficient time to make new contacts. After the joint lunch break, the workshop "Good photos for social media" took place under the expert guidance of Thomas Helbig, which turned out to be one of the highlights of the day. Here, the participants learned how to create appealing photos for social media that stand out from the crowd using a cell phone and simple tools - a topic that many participants found particularly valuable and enthusiastically embraced. In small teams, the November sun was used to implement the many tips directly and then discuss the results in the large group

After the workshop, all participants took a short walk to Postplatz to visit the German Center for Astrophysics (DZA)—which was still under construction. Prof. Besold’s team warmly welcomed us with a DZA LEGO set. Prof. Besold then introduced the DZA’s Center for Innovation and Transfer (ZIT). In turn, overall project manager Prof. Gunter Göbel from HTW Dresden provided insights into the Saxony⁵ Transfer Network. The floor was then passed around to all the universities, which each gave a brief and concise presentation on research topics with potential for collaboration.

Finally, Founding Director Prof. Hasinger spoke about the grand vision behind the DZA—a wonderful opportunity to learn about the visionary projects and technological innovations being pursued by the new Lausitz Large-Scale Research Center. During a subsequent exchange at the executive level, Prorectors and representatives of the DZA were able to further discuss future research topics, while the rest of the attendees took the opportunity to network.

We would like to thank everyone involved who made the trip to the easternmost tip of Germany and helped make this day an inspiring and productive experience, and we look forward to the project’s future developments!