-original message by Philippe Fraisse–
Dear Colleague,
It is our pleasure to announce the first European Computational Motor Control Summer School, which will take place at the Mas des Violettes, a pleasant southern French countryside setting near Montpellier, from Sunday June 15th to Saturday June 21st, 2014.
The overall organization will be a morning lecture and an afternoon Matlab-tutorial, each taught by internationally acclaimed researchers in the field:
- Monday: Introduction to human motor control and learning . Jeroen Smeets (AM) and David Franklin (PM)
- Tuesday: Neuro-mechanics. Francisco Valero-Cuevas (AM) and James Finley (PM)
- Wednesday: Motor Control. Etienne Burdet (AM) and Nathanael Jarrassé, Emmanuel Guigon (PM)
- Thursday: Lectures by PM faculty, LIRMM and M2H Euromov researchers (AM); outdoor activities (PM)
- Friday: Motor Learning. Stefan Schaal (AM) and Michael Mistry (PM)
We will also have student presentations, outdoors activities (canoe, hiking in the Garrigue…), “aperitifs”, visit of Saint Guilhem-le-Desert, wine cave visits, banquet, etc. So we expect this summer school to be instructive, fun, as well as a good networking opportunity. The long-term goal of this summer school, which is made possible in large part by a grant from the multidisciplinary large–scale NUMEV initiative in Montpellier, is to promote the field of Computational Motor Control in Europe in general, and in France in particular, as the field is not as developed as it is in the US. Other sponsors include the Division of Physical Therapy and Biokinesiology at USC, and the M2H Euromov laboratory in Montpellier.
The prime target applicants are PhD students and post-doctoral fellows, but applications from junior researchers will be considered. No knowledge of computational motor control, or motor control, is necessary to attend. However, students are expected to know Matlab and have a good level in mathematics, in particular basics in linear algebra and differential equations. Some knowledge in systems neuroscience would be preferable. Each student will need to bring his/her laptop with Matlab pre-installed. To apply for participation, please email a CV and a brief statement of purpose to Nicolas Schweighofer (please use “Summer school: your name” as title). Note that place is very limited and application is therefore likely to be competitive. The first 15 accepted students will have reduced fees of 450 Euros (others 500 Euros). This fee will cover the course, accommodation, complete full room and board, all activities, and transportation to and from downtown Montpellier (France) on Sunday 15th PM and Saturday 21st AM. The payment will have to be made by May 9th via bank transfer.
And finally, for those of you ready to relax and party after this week of intense work, Saturday 21st evening is “la Fête de la Musique” in France, and Montpellier is party-town all night long – no need for a hotel room (this is of course out of the summer school program)!
We hope to see you in June at the Mas des Violettes!
Nicolas Schweighofer
Denis Mottet
Phillipe Fraisse
David Guiraud
andreacollo 