For the 9th edition of the Annual Meeting was held in Erlangen, Germany. The meeting was expanded to three days, and the uOttawa delegation totaled 30 researchers. In addition, researchers were invited to extend their stay beyond the three days to implement research collaborations. A more relaxed schedule with extended breaks allowed for more informal interactions between our researchers. In total, 56 posters were presented and 23 research talks were delivered. An additional 81 person-days of research collaborations were carried out beyond the meeting dates. This model was very well received by our meeting attendees.