Supersymmetry is a powerful concept in high-energy physics, but is often thought to require too much fine-tuning to be relevant for condensed matter systems. However, in this talk, I will show that supersymmetry emerges in a large class of models with a Z2 and U(1) symmetry at the multicritical point where the Ising and Kosterlitz-Thouless transition coincide. To arrive at this result we performed a detailed renormalization group analysis of the multicritical theory including all perturbations allowed by symmetry. I will sketch this analysis and show how it reveals an intricate flow diagram with a marginally irrelevant direction that preserves part of the supersymmetry of the fixed point. The flow along this special line is very slow and we discuss the implications of this slow flow.

Harvard