-------------- 3rd ESTRELA WORSKHOP -------------------------
  ----------- MPIfR, Bonn, Germany - April 7-11 ---------------
  --------------- FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT --------------------------

Dear ESTRELA student,

The network ESTRELA organises workshops as part of the overall scheme
of the programme.  After the meetings in Dwingeloo and Manchester in
January and October last year, respectively, the next one will take
place at the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (MPIfR) in Bonn from
April 7th to 11th 2008.  Attendance of the ESTRELA fellows at ESTRELA
workshops is part of the contract we have with the European Union.

Notice that on April 14th-18th the MPIfR will host the Scientific 
Workshop "Astronomy in the Next Decade: Synergies with the Square 
Kilometre Array", funded by the EU Programme Marie Curie Conferences and 
Training Courses on the Square Kilometre Array Design Studies 
(MCCT SKADS).  If you plan to attend to both meetings, please 
communicate this to E. Ros and to the LOC of the other meeting, just to 
coordinate accommodation, visa, etc.

Here the first details on the ESTRELA meeting.

--- Accommodation

We have pre-booked rooms in two hotels at the Bonn City Centre
(Stern Hotel http://www.sternhotel-bonn.de and Mozart Hotel 
http://www.hotel-mozart-bonn.de) and in our guest rooms next 
to the MPIfR.  Please let us know which are your preferences to 
stay and your dates of arrival and departure as soon as possible.

--- Preliminary Program

Monday, April 7th

0900-1015 Welcome Remarks & Lecture
          Coffee Break
1045-1200 Lecture(s)

1330-1400 Student talk
1400-1500 Lecture(s)
          Coffee Break
1530-1630 Guided Visit to Electronic Labs and VLBI Correlator
1630-1730 Lecture
          Social Programme

Tuesday, April 8th

0900-1800 Scientific Presentation & Moderation
          Soft Skills Seminar - Sabine Hatzl

Wednesday, April 9th

0900-1030 Lecture(s)
          Coffee Break
1100-1240 Student talks
          Lunch break
1400-     Guided visit to the 100-m Radio Telescope Effelsberg, followed
          by social programme

Thursday, April 10th

0900-1030 Lecture(s)
          Coffee Break
1100-1215 Student talks
          Lunch break
1330-1500 Lecture(s)
          Coffee Break
1530-1700 Lecture(s)
          Social programme & Conference Dinner

Friday, April 11th

0900-1030 Lecture(s)
          Coffee Break
1100-1215 Student talks
          Lunch break
1330-1500 Lecture(s)
          Coffee Break
1530-1700 Lecture(s)
1700-1715 Concluding Remarks - Adjourn
        
Possible (not all confirmed) lectures include topics and speakers such as:
"The 100-m Radio Telescope Effelsberg" - A. Kraus 
"The Art and Science of VLBI" - A. Roy
"The LOw Frequency ARray" - R. Beck
"Relativistic Outflows and Jet MHD Numeric Simulations" - M. Perucho
"Communicating Science - How to Produce a Press Release" - E. Ros
"Simulating the Square Kilometre Array" - D. Vir Lal
"Correlators" - W. Alef
"Millimetre VLBI" - T. Krichbaum

--- Visiting Germany

For the students with a non-EU passport and living outside of the
Schengen area, you are likely to need a visa to enter Germany, 
which you should start to apply as soon as possible.  Please contact 
E. Ros for arranging any needed invitation letters.

--- Getting to Bonn

Flying to COLOGNE/BONN (CGN) Airport

The most convenient airport to arrive at is the Köln-Bonn 
Flughafen, known internationally simply as Cologne(CGN). 
     http://www.airport-cgn.de 
     
There are many direct flights from European cities, especially from 
budget airlines (EasyJet, GermanWings, TUIfly, Air Berlin...) but also 
from Lufthansa and other national carriers. There is a BUS service 
(line 670) to the Bonn Central Railway Station (Bonn "Hauptbahnhof" or 
"Hbf") leaving from outside the terminal building, roughly every 
30 mins (this varies with time of day and day of the week). 

Flying to DUSSELDORF (DUS) and FRANKFURT (FRA) Airports
     
See:  http://www.duesseldorf-international.de 
See:  http://www.airportcity-frankfurt.com 
     
Both these airports are within reasonable reach of Bonn Hbf by TRAIN. 
For train times consult:  http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de 
     
There are train services from Düsseldorf Airport to Bonn Hbf; 
direct connections take just over 1 hour. There are also a few 
direct train connections from Frankfurt Airport to Bonn Hbf, taking 
about 1h 50m. There is a more frequent (and faster) ICE train service 
to Siegburg (38 mins) from which there is a direct connection by 
TRAM ("S-Bahn") line 66 to Bonn Hbf (25 mins).
     
Note that Ryanair does not fly to Frankfurt Airport (FRA) but to 
Frankfurt-Hahn (HHN). Although there are many cheap flights, this 
airport is a 2 hour drive from Bonn and very poorly connected by public 
transport.

Getting to the MPIfR

The bus lines 623 (heading for Lessenich) and 621 (heading for 
Duisdorf) will bring you from the Railway Station to the MPIfR.
The ride will take about 15 min.  Alight at the bus stop Immenburg.

--- Contact

Local Organising Committee:
Chair: Eduardo Ros (ros@mpifr-bonn.mpg.de)
Chin-Shin Chang (cschang@mpifr-bonn.mpg.de)

Webpage: http://www.mpifr.de/staff/ros/estrela-workshop/