Exeter coordinates international capacity-building activity in climate change and resilience for future scientists
Exeter collaborated with international partners from across the world to deliver the PhD Academy on Water and Climate Resilience
The University of Exeter has collaborated with international partners from Belgium, China, Germany, and Italy to deliver the PhD Academy on Water and Climate Resilience, held at Venice International University (VIU) campus from 8-12 July 2024.
The scientific coordinator for the event was Prof Albert Chen at the Centre for Water Systems. The PhD academy was supported by Prof Guangtao Fu (Centre for Water Systems), Prof Navonil Mustafee (Exeter Business School), Prof Ralf Ludwig (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Germany), Prof Patrick Willems (KU Leuven, Belgium) and Prof Haifeng Jia (Tsinghua University, China), Ilda Mannino (Venice International University, Italy), Ivan Sgandurra (Università di Bologna, Italy), and Neil Maiden (City University of London and Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia, Italy).
Prof Albert Chen said: “The University of Exeter, as a member of VIU, enjoys the privilege of collaborating with the consortium members to advance science and education in support of Sustainable Development. The PhD Academy has successfully brought together world-leading experts, sharing insights, knowledge, and research skills with international researchers.”
Twenty-four Early Career Researchers from 12 countries, including Belgium, Bolivia, China, Ethiopia, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, UK and Vietnam, participated in the Academy, enhancing their knowledge in climate modelling, impact assessment, nature-based solutions, adaptation, resilience, and artificial intelligence.
They also learned about creative thinking, paper publication and review, grant application, proposal writing and assessment, and scientific communication skills. The proposal development workshop also helped them better understand how to build a research consortium and shape a research proposal. Five Exeter students from the Centre for Water Systems and Department of Geography attended the event.
The PhD Academy has helped the participants learn state-of-the-art research on climate resilience research, gain transversal professional skills, and expand collaboration networks.
Federico Cornacchia, a PhD student at Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia, Italy, said: “It was a fantastic adventure, filled with learning opportunities on crucial topics regarding the modelling of our complex world under climate change, dealing with deep uncertainty. Additionally, it was a wonderful chance to network with researchers from around the world. I am truly grateful for this invaluable experience and the knowledge I gained.”
