In the difficult conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic, we managed to successfully organize and conduct NERKA school in Kotor. The School was organized within the biannual series of Schools in Biophysics “Radoslav K. Andjus”, founded by the Biophysics Society of Serbia. It was organized by the Faculty of Biology University of Belgrade within the NENS School PhD program on Neurobiology. This school covered the topic of Ion Channels and Neuronal Excitability – techniques, modeling, physiology & pathology. The local organizer (also providing the venue) was the Institute for Marine Biology in Kotor, Montenegro.

We had 27 students from Serbia, N. Macedonia, Romania, Hungary, Turkey, Italy, Greece, Germany and Russia. Participants presented posters during the School. We made sure that students had enough time during breaks to get to know each other better and discuss with the lecturers the topics they covered in their lectures. The School Course was supported by FENS-IBRO, ESN, CAIRN and LabEx ICST. Most of the participants received fellowships of different kinds.

There were 13 lectures by experts from France, Hungary, N. Macedonia, Italy, Serbia, UK and USA. Lectures were intertwined with time dedicated to discussion, however students were encouraged to interrupt the speakers at any time when they had questions. The final panel discussion treated some relevant questions of career development and stimulated a fruitful interaction of the participants and faculty.

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Letter to the organizers by Dr Srdjan Antić, University of Connecticut Health:

Dear Marco and Pavle,

It has been less than 30 days since we met at the Montenegro’s Marine Biology Institute. I have been planning to write to you since I came back to US, but found myself busy with lab work. The NERKA8 was a phenomenal experience for me. I enjoyed enormously time spent with two of you, the speakers and students of the course. In my opinion, the workshop was a great scientific and educational success, despite some substantial global health threats. All potential logistic glitches were skillfully navigated and deflected by the course organizers. ? After almost 2 years of social isolation, I discovered that meeting and interacting with smart people was a true lifesaver. In addition, I learned exciting new information about channels and tools for studying them. With this letter, I wish to express my deepest gratitude to you two for including me in the event.

Best,
Srdjan

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