The three-day interactive event was attended by more than 100 participants from four continents and included two outstanding presentations by distinguished materials scientists.

"The goal of IMS 2022 was to expose young and motivated people to the unique and fascinating materials science fields and broaden their horizons. Furthermore, we wanted the event to encourage participants in the early stages of their careers to follow their path in materials science. A collaboration between two major societies helped us increase the impact radius of the event and achieve a high diversity of participants." - Rishabh Kundu and Manuel Best, organizers of IMS 2022.

On the first day of the event, May 28, Sanjay Mathur, chair professor and director of the Institute of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Cologne, gave his presentation on "Between Borders: Practicing Science at Cultural and Disciplinary Interfaces." In his presentation, he connected borders and boundaries in science and between nations. Further, he shared his journey from being a Ph.D. student in India to a professor in Germany and how embracing change and being open to new things has helped him learn from both nations. In the Q&A session, there was a lively discussion among the participants.

On the second day of the event, June 4, 2022, the focus was on showcasing the work of young materials science students and researchers and practicing soft skills through spontaneous performances at PowerPoint™ Karaoke and short science slams. To participate in the Science Slam, participants were to submit pre-recorded videos of up to 5 min in length about their work or MatWerk-related area of interest. For the PowerPoint™ Karaoke, presenting participants spontaneously performed a slide for one to two minutes that was previously submitted by another participant.

The first three places in these three categories were awarded a cash prize. The rankings were chosen by all participants as follows:

PPT-K Submission
1^st place: Siddhartha Nanda
2^nd place: Lisa Nguyen
3^rd place: Seulgi Ji, Vidushi Galwadu Arachchige, Marie Neumann, Nabojit Kar (shared)

PPT-K Presentation
1^st place: Deepsikha Brahma
2^nd place: Pentakota Uday Kumar
3^rd place: Marie Neumann

Science Slam Submission
1^st place: Nils Winkelmann
2^nd place: Siddhartha Nanda
3^rd place: Nabojit Kar, Linus Erhard, Bohnni Shikha Biswas (shared)

The student members at AcerS, Carina Rindtorff Pérez, and Ruth Adam, actively supported the organizers in running the event on day two.

On day three of IMS 2022, June 11, Professor Gerhard Schneider, Director of the Institute for Materials Research in Aalen, Germany, gave his presentation on "High-Throughput Search for Green Alternative Materials." He made a strong case for young researchers to apply novel methodologies to search for new materials, thereby accelerating the search process. Furthermore, he has emphasized the need to link the sustainability aspect more closely with materials development. Professor Schneider explained these issues using examples from his research. Following the lecture, there was also an exciting Q&A session with interesting questions from the audience.

At the successful conclusion of the event, the organizers thanked all participants.