NCCR SPIN Annual Meeting 2026

Accommodation & Travel

The conference takes place in Pontresina at the Kongresszentrum Rondo . We are staying at Hotel Saratz.

We recommend to use public transportation to get to Pontresina. Information on train departures and arrivals is given by the SBB online timetable.

Please purchase your ticket from your place to Pontresina and arrange for re​imbursement with your research group.

The hotels are reachable with a 10-15 minute / 750 m walk from the Pontresina train station.

Please check in at the hotel reception. All participants are registered at the hotel.

Train connections

From Lausanne

• Departure 7h17 - Arrival 12h55

• Departure 7h34 or 7h40 - Arrival 13h25

From Basel

• Departure 8h14 - Arrival 12h55

• Departure 8h48 - Arrival 13h25

From Zürich

• Departure 9h38 - Arrival 12h55

• Departure 10h07 - Arrival 13h25

For those connections, a shuttle will be available at the Pontresina train station to drive to the hotel. The participants who specifically asked in the registration form to have a transportation from the station have a seat reserved in the shuttle. As the shuttles have only a very limited number of seats, we will ask the rest of the participants to walk to the hotels. However, they can ask that their luggage is transported in the shuttle.

Meals and drinks

Quick lunch (Wednesday) and lunch bags (Thursday-Friday) can be picked up at the Congress Center. Dinners take place at the Hotel Saratz.

Bottles of water will be available for all participants during the meeting. However, we would like to participate in reducing plastic waste caused by the consumption of individual bottles of water, therefore we strongly encourage you to bring your own reusable bottle. There will be possibility to refill it at the bar of the Congress Center.

Program

List of posters

Hike

The hike starts at 2:00 PM. The meeting point is the main entrance of Hotel Saratz. Please find the hike route below.

Participants are required to bring appropriate equipment, including:

• sturdy hiking shoes with good grip (snow and ice may still be present),

• weather-appropriate outdoor clothing,

• a waterproof jacket,

• warm layers,

• sunscreen,

• sunglasses,

• and a hat or cap for sun protection.

• sufficient water and any personal medication required.

Participants who do not have the required equipment will not be permitted to join the hike. In addition, each participant is responsible for assessing their own fitness level and ensuring their personal safety throughout the activity.

NCCR SPIN Excellent Paper Award

Outstanding papers are recognized with a SPIN excellent paper award. The award consists of a certificate, listing on the SPIN page, and a monetary prize of CHF 700 for the first author(s) of the paper to be used on a team event. The winners will be announced at the Annual Meeting and will be listed on the dedicated page.

NCCR SPIN Image Contest

We are excited to launch the NCCR SPIN Art and Science Contest again this year: the competition is open to all researchers working on projects that are part of NCCR SPIN. The competition is open until May 19th 2026.

The goal of the contest is to highlight the role of images in scientific research as well as to give a face to the researchers conducting it and to encourage researchers to document the environment in which they work.

Voting system for the public prize

All the image entries will be displayed in the Sela Arabella of the Congress Center Rondo. The public awards a Public Prize at the NCCR SPIN Image Contest. To do so, you will be asked to scan a QRCode that will take you to a form where you can vote for your favorite picture, or via the link below.

Declaration of Consent