October 11^th, 2023 

Entitled “Bonding across Borders”, the first scientific retreat of the Twinning EU-funded SupraLife project reunited students and researchers from our group at the University of Aveiro, as well as from the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e, the Netherlands) and the University of Bordeaux (UBx) and its affiliated entities Polytechnic Institute of Bordeaux (Bordeaux INP) and French National Centre for Scientific Research in the banks of the Douro region between 29^th September and 2^nd October. The retreat encompassed individual scientific talks by each consortium partner, as well as a poster session. The latter brought together students and researchers, with different backgrounds and expertise and affiliated with the different institutions, at each poster aiming to stimulate scientific exchanges, creativity and “thinking outside-the-box”, aligned with the project goals. The retreat was a unique opportunity for our consortium to strengthening bonds, networking, sharing experiences, fostering cross-disciplinary scientific interactions and deep synergies, as well as engaging in stimulating scientific discussions in nurturing innovative collaborative research projects and new paradigm shifts on advanced supramolecular biomaterials for healthcare in an informal and relaxed atmosphere. It was also an opportunity for our partners from TU/e, UBx, Bordeaux INP and CNRS to learn about the Portuguese culture and traditional costumes, while being bioinspired by the picturesque Douro scenario.