Newsletter “Gedankengang” – a reflective Excursion with the Graduate Academy’s Academic Writing Team

Are you immersed in your research and seeking a moment to step back, gain a fresh perspective, and reconnect with nature, with others, and with your own thinking and writing process?

Join us for a walk through the Via Naturae in the serene woods near the Königsstuhl. Far from the daily demands of your desk, this excursion offers space to breathe, think, and engage in conversation with fellow doctoral candidates. It’s a chance to move through nature while reflecting on the path of your research - its challenges, direction, and place within the larger academic landscape.

Many of the great thinkers - Nietzsche, Darwin, Kant - often walked to think and discuss their ideas with others. This gathering follows in their footsteps, quite literally, encouraging “thinking while moving” as a practice for intellectual clarity and creative exchange. It is also an opportunity to shift focus from the tree to the forest: to zoom out and reframe your work within a broader context.

What to expect:

• Simple guided exercises to encourage interdisciplinarity, clarity and originality in your thought and writing processes.
• A contemplative walk along forest paths (no prior hiking experience needed)
• Space for informal conversation and intellectual exchange with other doctoral candidates
• Time for shared reflection on the research journey and its challenges
• A welcoming, collegial atmosphere designed to foster connection and clarity in your research

Date: Wednesday, July 22, 2026
Meeting point: Königsstuhl (Aussichtspunkt)
Time: 10:00 – 13:00

Participants: 16

Cost: Totally free!

Sign up here to secure a spot and receive further details on the excursion

Please note that you must log into our course database with your Uni ID in order to view courses and to register for them.

Please feel free to contact us if you have questions or suggestions: david.jara@uni-heidelberg.de.