Lab-meetings: How to establish a good setting?

I will finish my PhD soon. Until now I worked mostly on my own but tried to talk with my colleagues on a regular basis about methods, approaches, troubles and success. Good settings are coffee breaks or after sport. It can help a lot because I am forced to order my thoughts, try to explain them in a meaningful manner and most of the time I get helpful answers, comments or tips. Additionally, I learn a lot about the topic of my colleagues.

In my area (Biotechnology) we distinguish between upstream (producing stuff using living organisms) and downstream processing (purifying stuff). Usually two different working groups (or more) are covering those areas. It is really important to talk with each other because the downstream part can heavily depend on the upstream conditions.

One aim of the next project will be to bring those areas closer together and to strengthen our knowledge about the implications of the upstream process on the downstream part.

The team will consist of two professors, two post docs, two PhD students one or two technicians and several diploma students. Recently I talked with one of my colleagues about possible setups for the meetings. We came up with following scenario:

• One team meeting every month.


• Everyone prepares a short presentation (10 minutes max).


• Following questions should be answered during the presentation:
  
  
  
  • What is my current (mid term) goal ?
  
  
  • How do I approach it ?
  
  
  • What was the (short term) goal of the experiments performed ?
  
  
  • Did the experiments worked out like expected ?
  
  
  • What are the results ?
  
  
  • Planned work for the following month ?
  
  
  
  

I expect the meeting to last for one to two hours. At least one of the profs will attend the meeting. The two post docs organize the meetings (schedule, remainder etc.). The meeting will take place between 12:00 and 13:30. All team members prepare some bread, meat, cheese, fruits,vegetables, drinks and coffee together. That is a bit more work than just going to the canteen but I think this setting may help to establish a relaxed atmosphere.

What experiences do you have with team meetings ? How do you organize them ? Who moderates them ? What worked out well and what did not ?