BARC Retreat 2025 to Rømø
The BARC team visited Rømø on the west coast of Denmark for this year’s retreat.
Rømø is a cute island about 10 km off Denmark’s west coast in the Northern Sea. It currently has 559 inhabitants but for a week in September, that number rose to 589!
At BARC we alternate between going on our annual retreats somewhere in Denmark and to destinations abroad. This year we had our hearts set on one of Denmark’s 406 named islands.
Situated in the Wadden Sea National Park, Rømø was the perfect destination for this year’s retreat, to break away from the normal hustle and bustle on campus and dwell on the long sandy beaches with big thoughts and deep discussions. Oh, and to watch birds!
Yes, at BARC we have some enthusiastic bird watchers and for birds, the Wadden Sea is famous! So already on the second evening, a Black Sun Excursion by bus was planned, to see millions of starlings swarm in front of the setting sun before roosting for the night. A spectacular sight only to be seen in this part of the world at this time of year.
Arriving to Rømø on Monday, September 22nd, all 30 of us nestled into the spacious holiday houses we had rented near the town of Havneby. Here we enjoyed a sunny week with in-depth meta discussions, technical talks, presentations by senior members on job opportunities both in and outside academia and a workshop on how to manoeuvre in the wake of the large scale admin reform at UCPH as well as our recent move to other offices and the adaptation to our new open-plan work space. But inward maintenance and time to reflect are not the only items on the agenda for our retreats. Team building and welcoming new members are also very high on the list, so all of the contemplating was sprinkled with generous amounts of hiking, swimming in the sea, lounging in the adjacent spa facilities, golfing, bird spotting, a lasagne cooking contest, bowling, a trip to the local historic museum, board games, a boat trip to watch seals and no fewer than three birthday celebrations!
Who ever said that academia is dusty and lonely never visited BARC!
Stay tuned to see what else we are up to or come visit us for one of our public talks announced on our website!
The BARC Retreat 2026 to Rømø, Denmark.