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