we are pleased to announce the SIB workshop "Bioinformatics in the 
Chalet", this September:

http://www.isb-sib.ch/education/sib-phd-training-network/phd-bioinformatics-chalet-2013.html

It differs from most other courses or workshops in that the participants 
are isolated with a few faculty members and asked to work in small 
groups with a single aim: to come up with an original research project. 
We have organized this two years ago, inspired by the success of similar 
initiatives in evolutionary biology, and it worked extremely well.

Key aspects:
- the participants have to think about what makes a good project in 
bioinformatics, whereas most models we hear about are from other fields; 
e.g., what makes a good project when you do not generate new data?
- the topics being discussed are absolutely bottom-up, from cancer to 
evolution, and from algorithms to data analysis (or whatever the 
participants come up with this year);
- over the week there is an excellent integration between the 
participants and the faculty, which the students highly appreciated in 
2011; this is thanks to the format of a continuous dialogue, and to the 
limited number of students.

It is open to PhD students, advanced Master students, and postdocs. 
While "unique" is over-used, this is a rather special learning experience.