Trinational Fall School: ‘Transdisciplinary approaches to the sustainability of water use: case studies from the Upper Rhine’

From 7 to 11 October 2024, the University of Strasbourg will host a Fall School on sustainability in the management of inland waters in the Upper Rhine region.

What is it about?

Only a very small proportion of the world's water is available in the form of surface water or groundwater to support life-sustaining processes on earth, yet short- sightedness and vested interests in the management of rivers and lakes are causing lasting damage.

The trinational Fall School offers 20 doctoral and master's students from various disciplines the opportunity to interactively learn transdisciplinary methods for the transfer of knowledge from research to the practice of water management and to test them on the basis of three case studies in the Upper Rhine region.

After an introduction to the methodology, participants will discuss topics such as renaturalisation, environmental perception and participatory engagement, water use conflicts with the relevant experts and stakeholders on site (2 excursions, 1 kayak tour). The solutions developed in teams will be further developed together and documented in a video.

Who can take part?

17 doctoral students and advanced Master's students from the five Eucor universities (Basel, Freiburg, Mulhouse/Colmar, Strasbourg and Karlsruhe) and 3 from the other four EPICUR universities from all disciplines who are interested in transdisciplinary water research and would like to further their education in this field. No prior knowledge required.

Application

Please send your application (CV, letter of motivation and brief description of your doctoral project, maximum 2 A4 pages in total, PDF format) in English by 31 July 2024 to td-fallschool@eucor-uni.org.

Participants are expected to speak English (main working language) and French or/and German. The selection criteria relate to the composition of an international and interdisciplinary group as well as the motivation of the candidates.

A selection committee made up of representatives from the partner organisations will meet in mid/end July. You will receive a response to your application by the beginning of August at the latest.