In-Country / In-Region Summer Schools in Germany 2020 - Cologne, Frankfurt, Freiburg & Leipzig

​Summer School

“From Data to Decision – Assessment

of the Water-Energy-Food (WEF)

Security Nexus”

TH Köln University of Applied Sciences

August 17th – September 11th, 2020

Call for Applications 2020

For DAAD Master and PhD In-Country/ In-Region scholarship holders

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Summer School

“From Data to Decision – Assessment of the Water-Energy-Food (WEF)

Security Nexus”

TH Köln University of Applied Sciences

August 17th – September 11th, 2020

The Institute for Technology and Resources Management in the Tropics and

Subtropics (ITT) invites DAAD scholarship holders of the In-Region/ In-Country

programme to apply for the attendance of a four-week summer school from August

17th to September 11th, 2020 at the TH Köln University of Applied Sciences

(Technische Hochschule Köln) in Cologne, Germany.

The title of the four-week programme is “From Data to Decision: Assessment of

the Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Security Nexus”. The summer school will facilitate

capacity building for future professionals in the cross-sectoral field of sustainable

resources management, with a focus on holistic assessment of nexus systems

and on enhancing the ability to create information that is valuable to decision

makers.

The summer school course will focus on:

 Assessment of WEF Nexus systems using public domain data

 Modelling of WEF Nexus interactions and interventions

 Decision-making based on WEF Nexus assessments

 Publication and communication of WEF Nexus system sciences

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Overview

When August 17th, 2020 to September 11th, 2020

Travel Days: August 15th /16th and September 12th /13th

Where Germany: TH Köln University of Applied Sciences Cologne

(Technische Hochschule Köln)

Who DAAD scholarship holders of the In-Country/ In-Region

programme

Master and PhD students enrolled in: Environmental sciences, civil or

environmental engineering, water and natural resources management,

agricultural sciences, crop sciences, agro-forestry, renewable energies,

environmental law, social sciences with environmental focus or equal

What A four-week summer school focussing on a cross-sectoral

assessment, modelling, evaluation and decision-making processes

related to the WEF Security Nexus.

Language The teaching language of the course will be English. Proof of English

proficiency is required.

Costs The costs of the programme are covered by the DAAD, through funds

provided by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and

Development (BMZ).

Evening meals are not funded by the DAAD and have to be covered

by the participants. The costs are estimated to be75€/week (total

300€). For details on funding & costs, please see the section

“Accommodation & Costs” below.

How to

Apply

Online application form and submission of required documents.

Access and information is available under:

https://www.tt.th-koeln.de/wef-nexus-summer-school-2020/application/

Key Dates Application portal open: February 17th 2020 - March 22th

Notification on acceptance until April 30th 2020

Submission of further documents until May 8th 2020

Summer school start in Germany: August 17th 2020

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Detailed Information

The University

of Applied

Sciences

Cologne (TH

Köln)

The University of Applied Sciences Cologne sees itself as space for technology,

arts and science. Its programmes and activities are disciplinarily and culturally

diverse and aim on social and technological breakthroughs of high societal

relevance. The subject range of TH Köln includes the fields of Applied Natural

Sciences; Architecture and Construction; Information and Communication;

Computer Science; Engineering; Culture; Society and Social Sciences as well as

Business Studies. More than 90 degree programmes are offered as full-time

programmes or in some cases as career-integrated or part time programmes.

The University hosts approximatively 26,000 students from about 120 different

countries along with 440 professors and 2,000 staff members.

Research mainly focuses on future-related issues, including climate change,

energy supply, health and food safety as well as demographic changes. The

focus is set on the development of solution strategies for the most important

questions of our time and on interdisciplinary exchange.

The Institute for

Technology and

Resources

Management in

the Tropics and

Subtropics (ITT)

The Institute for Technology and Resources Management in the Tropics and

Subtropics (ITT) at the TH Köln fosters professional and cultural diversity in

modern research and education. The Institute aims to empower people of various

technical and cultural backgrounds and enables them to solve complex issues

related to environmental problems with an interdisciplinary and intercultural

approach at the graduate and postgraduate level.

The future orientated institute has a large international network and acts as a

globally renowned “think tank” that provides innovation for the development of

regional sustainability in the context of global change with an emphasis on

integrated water management.

The ITT stands for modern science, development and cooperation with

international partners in order to face the challenges of a changing world in an

interdisciplinary and intercultural way.

The DAAD and

the summer

school

The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), with financial support

provided by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development

(BMZ), supports academic qualification measures for individuals from developing

countries who participate in the In-Country / In-Region Programme. Every year,

the DAAD awards more than 1,000 BMZ-funded scholarships to junior

researchers from Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, South East Asia and

South Asia to help finance their Master or PhD programmes in their home country

or region. The programme aims to enable trained professionals to address and

deal with diverse societal, economic and ecological issues in developing

countries. A further objective is to sustainably improve the teaching and research

conditions in the partner regions and to strengthen their higher education profile.

As an additional offer for scholarship holders of the In-Country / In-Region

Programme, the DAAD cooperates with German universities in organising a

range of summer schools in Germany. These four-week measures give the

students and young researchers an opportunity to take part in a high-class

academic training in a selected subject area, meet and exchange with peers from

across the world, and make their own, unique experiences of the German society,

culture and history.

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The WEF-Nexus

summer school

- thematic

background

The WEF Security Nexus describes the interconnections and interdependencies

between the water, energy and food (WEF) sectors. These interdependencies of

the WEF securities have received growing attention in the past years by

academia and policy-makers. Recently, the Nexus approach has been put

forward as a fundamental necessary shift towards sustainable resources

management and development.

The 4-week summer school with the title “From Data to Decision: Assessment of

the Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Security Nexus” will support young researchers

in understanding the cross sectoral character of sustainable resources

management and development.

The summer school is structured in three different steps towards an integrated

understanding and management of the WEF Security Nexus: 1) System

understanding, 2.) qualitative and quantitative assessments and modelling, 3.)

Nexus related decision-making and planning. The figure below illustrates the

integrated approach of the WEF Nexus summer school in Cologne, Germany.

Training

Objectives

The overall objective of the summer school is to improve science based

decision-making capacities of young academics (Master and PhD) towards a

sustainable management of natural resources in the context of the WEF

Security Nexus. Special emphasis is set on the development of interdisciplinary

professional competences to prepare the participants for a future career in the

international academic community.

Therefore, the summer school will focus on:

 Conceptual thinking: contributing to a deeper understanding of the WEF

Security Nexus linkages and potential resources management scenarios.

 Capacity building: strengthening skills and knowledge about tools and

methods for WEF Security Nexus assessments and planning.

 Connectivity: improving international communication between junior

researchers, senior researchers and experts.

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Training

Methodology

The four-week course will consist of lectures, interdisciplinary group work,

interactive sessions and excursions in Germany.

Accommodation

& Costs

Participants are housed in shared single-gender rooms (4 beds per room).

For more information on the accommodation please look here:

https://www.hostel.ag/en/

The following costs are covered by the DAAD, through funds provided by the

German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ):

 The costs of the training (€5.500/person for the 4-week summer school)

 Transport (airfare in economy class and local transport in Germany)

 Accommodation with breakfast

 Lunch meals at the University

 Excursions

 Emergency health and accident insurance

 Visa fees (if required)

Evening meals are not covered by the summer school scholarship.

Expenditures for individual meals in Cologne will amount to approx. €75 per

week (counting for a total of €300) and have to be provided by the participants.

Who can Apply? The course is open to DAAD scholarship holders currently enrolled in the DAAD

In-Country / In-Region programme (Master or PhD level).

The course might be especially relevant to students enrolled in:

 Environmental sciences

 Civil or environmental engineering

 Water and natural resources management

 Agricultural sciences / crop sciences / agro-forestry

 Renewable energies

 Environmental law

 Social sciences with environmental focus

 Or equal

 This training is conducted in English and a proof of English proficiency is

required.

 Please note that attending this summer school should not compromise

your regular study programme commitments or duration. This summer

school will not be accepted as justification for extension of your current In

Country/In Region scholarship

 You can apply for up to two summer schools in 2020. However,

participation will be possible in only one of them.

 Please mind that participation is possible only once: If you have joined

one of the In-Country / In-Region programme’s summer schools in the

last years, it will not be possible to participate again in 2020.

How to Apply Please visit our website for further information and for access to the application

portal: https://www.tt.th-koeln.de/wef-nexus-summer-school-2020/

The application portal will be open from February 17th 2020 - March 22th.

Any applications submitted after the deadline or incomplete applications will not

be considered.

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A full application consists of the following four documents:

 Application form

The form is provided in the online application portal and is an online

submission.

 Letter of Motivation

Among other points, the letter of motivation should clearly state, why

you are interested in this course and what your personal research

interest is. The letter will be submitted in the online portal and has a

max. length of 450 words.

 Curriculum Vitae (CV)

The CV should be provided in tabular form with a max. length of 2

A4 pages.

 Proof of English proficiency

This proof can be provided as an English test result (we accept IELTS

or TOEFL and a B2 level is required) or in form of a signed and

stamped certificate that proves, that a full study in higher education was

completed in English language.

 Copy of your passport

Scan of the first two info pages of your current passport. The passport

needs a min. validity of 6 months after your stay in Germany.

After the

Application

Full applications received by the deadline will receive full and equal

consideration. Applicants who have met the eligibility requirements are entered

into the selection process. The number of participants is limited to 30.

During the selection process, professional staff members will review every

application against our selection criteria. Formal selection criteria include gender

balance, geographical distribution, and a balance between applicants enrolled in

a Master vs a PhD programme. People with disability are explicitly encouraged

to apply! Should you have questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to

contact the coordinator or the team at the DAAD.

The outcome of the selection process will be communicated until April 30th 2020.

Contact Details Information and access to the application portal available on the summer school

page: https://www.tt.th-koeln.de/wef-nexus-summer-school-2020/

In urgent matters, please contact the summer school coordinator at TH Köln

University of Applied Sciences Ms. Greta Dekker.

ittsummerschoolnexus@th-koeln.de

We are looking forward to receiving your application​

 
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