SENSE highlights

Conference: Shared Pathways to a Sustainable and Just Future
On Thursday 30 Januraty 2025 at VU Amsterdam, researchers, staff, professionals from inside and outside VU Amsterdam will come together to attend interactive workshops, lectures, panel discussions and keynotes. Sign up now!

Save the dates for the upcoming courses, more information will be soon available in our website's upcoming courses.

  28 April – 2 May 2025
  Environmental and Resource
  Economics – Module: Sustainability
  Applications of Behavioral Economics
  More info here

  24-28 June 2025
  Micropollutants in the water cycle
  More info here

  13 - 19 September 2025 (tentative)
  Grounding Carbon farming
  More info here

Summer Course: Freshwater Ecosystems – Challenges and Solutions to Sustainable Management in a Warmer and Water Limited World. Registration is now open!
This summer school, taking place from 7 to 11 July 2025 in Delft (NL) will explore the intrinsic links between freshwater ecosystems and services for societies and discuss how to ensure the sustainable and equitable management of freshwater resources. PhD candidates qualify for a 50% discount on the course fee. Deadline for registration: 7 June 2025. For more information please visit here and read below.

A1 SENSE Introductory Course. Last month to register.
Do not forget to register to the upcoming edition of the 'A1 SENSE Introductory Course: building a personal vision for your PhD' that will take place on 26 - 28 March 2025, at De Bosrand, Ede. During the course, you will discuss your own personal wishes and ambitions, what impact you would like to have with your research, and set personal learning goals for your PhD, together with PhD candidates from other SENSE institutes. Deadline for registration: 26 February 2025. For more information please visit here and read below.

This course offers basic ecotoxicological training for PhD students and scientists from universities and research institutes who in the future will be involved in ecotoxicological research. The course is also suitable for industrial and governmental researchers, managers and policymakers. The basic knowledge offered in this course is essential for all those who are or wish to become involved in the field of hazards posed by environmental contaminants.

For more information see here. 

This course will make you familiar with a modern toolbox of analysis techniques at the interface of statistics and machine learning. You will develop the skills to build and evaluate modeling strategies for complex (big, high-dimensional, hierarchically-structured) data as occurring in the areas relevant to WIAS and PE&RC. Moreover, the course will give you insights in the connections between modern modeling strategies and will teach you to ask the right questions in order to choose the best method for the data at hand. Illustrations will come from relevant case studies.

For more information see here. 

This course offers the basic theories in the field of remote sensing, starting from the information needs of various land applications. It is directed at providing a basic knowledge of remote sensing concepts and methods: recording techniques in the optical and microwave region, image construction, geometric and atmospheric correction procedures and the subsequent quality of images. As a next step, image classification and validation are dealt with. The estimation of biophysical object properties is treated using spectral and radar backscatter indices and time series analysis.

For more information see here. 

This course is primarily aimed at participants who are in the start-up of a modelling project. We purposefully aim to involve people from different scientific backgrounds. The emphasis is not on the mathematical, computational, and statistical aspects of modelling per se, but on the elements of the modelling process before that. You will learn about the scoping of a model, and to think critically about the choices in modelling. The set-up is to have participants cooperate with peers from other disciplines to reflect on the foundational design, requirements and purpose of their own modelling projects.

For more information see here. 

This workshop is aimed at complete beginners and assumes no prior programming experience. It gives an overview of the language with an emphasis on practical problem-solving, using examples and exercises drawn from various aspects of bioinformatics work. The workshop is structured so that the parts of the language most useful for bioinformatics are introduced as early as possible, and that students can start writing plausibly-useful programs after the first few sessions.

For more information see here. 

This course will enable you to think about the ‘bigger picture’, grasp sustainability and to apply concepts and approaches to your own research, in a collaborative learning environment . To date, many different scientific concepts and approaches of sustainability exist. What are the differences and what do they entail? What is your role as a scientist in achieving sustainable development? How can you apply sustainability in your own research? And in doing so, how can you deal with facts, uncertainty, values and opinions? To ensure that the content of the course is aligned to your own research, the content of the course will also be determined by the research topics of the participants.

Regular registration deadline: 3 February 2025

For more information see here. Registration: here. 

This course addresses the principles of sustainable conservation and conservation strategies where we will focus on rewilding.In the course we aim to: a) Present a theoretical perspective and have a practical assignment. We address the question: what is conservation science? And work on its scientific grounding, whereby it is more than applied ecology, it should have knowledge questions in itself. b) Identify cross-cutting themes, whereby we shouldn’t focus on solutions. Instead we focus on exploration to help understand the complexity of local conservation by analyzing the situation. c) Identify the key concepts and work towards a paper that describes the complexity of the local area network, in the context of what is conservation science is.

For more information see here.

The workshop will use examples and exercises drawn from various aspects of environmental and climate sciences, along with a variety of different datasets. We will focus on the use of the pandas and seaborn packages for data manipulation and visualization, as well as using parts of the standard library to write custom classes and integrate them with the rest of the language.

For more information see here.

This course brings together PhD candidates from different institutes that are part of SENSE, and that have the ambition to work on environmental issues. During the course, you will discuss your own personal wishes and ambitions, what impact you would like to have with your research, and set personal learning goals for your PhD. We will have open discussions on finding your own way within science, and how inter- and transdisciplinary science can play a role for you. The course will also be an introduction to personal leadership, exploring what is important to you, and talking about how to tackle challenges you may face along the way.

For more information see here. 

The course “Environmental and Resource Economics” is offered as different independent modules. This module covers Behavioral Environmental Economics. At the end of this course the student: a) Understands the applications of behavioral economics to environmental questions; b) Can identify biases in human decision-making emerging from risk, time, and social preferences; c) Can design a(n) (environmental) policy intervention with behavioral tools.

For more information see here. 

Issues surrounding agriculture, the environment, and food systems have become central in public debate. This graduate-level course presents a unique opportunity for students to explore these debates through the lens of citizenship and its role in shaping fair and just agricultural, environmental, and food systems.

For more information see here.

The advanced course Integrated Multi-Omics approaches for Improvement of Industrial Microbes aims to offer a coherent overview of current state of the art omics technologies, bridging the different cellular levels, i.e. metabolomics, fluxomics, transcriptomics and proteomics. It will be shown how integrated application of these technologies provides holistic, quantitative insights in cellular physiology. Finally, it will be demonstrated how targets for (further) improvement of industrial microbes can be identified through integration of omics data with modelling approaches.

For more information see here.

Master class to broaden disciplinary thinking in agriculture, food sciences, nutrition and health to arrive at an interdisciplinary research perspective on healthy and sustainable diets. It aims to contribute to synergy between scientific disciplines, applied research and stakeholders along the food supply chain.

For more information see here.

This course offers a comprehensive overview of the threats to water quality posed by micropollutants and a multidisciplinary approach to identify and solve this environmental problem. Designed for national and international PhD candidates in environmental sciences working on topics of water governance, water quality and water treatment technologies. The content of the course is divided into 4 pillars: 1) Origin, fate and impact of micropollutants in the water cycle; 2) Analytical methods to detect micropollutants and their transformation products; 3) Advanced water treatments technologies for removing micropollutants; 4) Water governance: translating scientific knowledge into legislation. In the assignment, the course participants will reflect on the knowledge obtained in the lectures by compiling a dossier about a specific micropollutant.

For more information see here.

In this summer school you will explore the intrinsic links between freshwater ecosystems and services for societies and discuss how to ensure the sustainable and equitable management of freshwater resources. You will gain insight into different global paradigms of sustainable ecosystem management, explore actions and policies to support aquatic resources, and compare examples of management outcomes through lectures, debates, and group discussions.This summer school has been developed through a special collaboration between the University of California at Davis in the USA and IHE Delft Institute for Water Education in the Netherlands. PhD candidates qualify for a 50% discount.

For more information see here.

This course builds knowledge on the governance of freshwater resources with emphasis on the institutional, political and organizational dimensions.

For more information see here.

Experience a unique opportunity to learn, network and grow at the Green ERA-Hub Summer School 2025 in Bari, Italy. This five-day event brings together promising PhD students with leading experts in the agri-food and biotechnology sectors to jointly develop innovative solutions to global challenges.

For more information see here.

OpenGeoHub Summer School is an annual event that has been running at various locations in Europe, North America, and Australia since 2010, inviting researchers and specialists in developing open-source software and open data to help others improve analysis and modeling frameworks. The 2025 event is organized in collaboration with EO Council and SURF. The Summer School will consist of live presentations and demos by leading EO modelers and OSGeo developers, workshops, discussion panels, machine learning competition, and several social events.

For more information see here.

Carbon farming is proposed as a solution. Carbon farming designates any agricultural management practice resulting in carbon sequestration in soils or vegetation, and the business model should allow farming to get paid for each ton of carbon sequestered. One approach – soil carbon sequestration - to solve the climate crisis and revert environmental degradation caused by agriculture while feeding a growing world population… is that too good to be true?

Keep an eye on our website for more information - coming soon here.

At the conference Shared Pathways to a Sustainable and Just Future: Navigating the Antropocene on Thursday 30 January, researchers, staff, professionals from inside and outside VU Amsterdam will come together to attend interactive workshops, lectures, panel discussions and keynotes. Sign up now!It is also possible to partially attend the conference. 

For more information, see here.

Join IHE Delft for an enlightening presentation of the book “Dams, Power, and the Politics of Ethiopia’s Renaissance”. You can join the conversation with the authors of the book in-person or online. The event is followed by drinks and snacks. The book Dams, Power, and the Politics of Ethiopia’s Renaissance provides the first detailed examination of the domestic and international political dynamics that shaped Ethiopia’s dam building. 

For more information, see here.

The IHE Delft Water and Development Partnership Programme, in collaboration with its partners, invites you to join the online seminar “Water Infrastructure in Times of War”. In this online session, the speakers will explore how violent conflicts impact water infrastructure and further endanger already highly vulnerable populations. The aim is to draw attention to this complex and pressing issue, while discussing the importance of continuing research in these conflict-affected areas to document the realities on the ground and inform future action. 

For more information, see here.

Models validate and influence how people think about and interact with water, both in terms of the ideas behind them and the actual data and tools used. How do you see your responsibility as modeller for the influence a model can have? What were you proud of, what would you avoid in the future? This seminar will create space to exchange experiences around these questions, with input from speakers and with smaller discussion groups. 

For more information, see here.

IHE Delft will host the meetup for episode 4 of a new series of podcasts Waterproof by environment journalist Tracy Metz on behalf of Partners for Water. In this ‘Build-Neglect-Repair-Repeat’ episode, you will explore various approaches and hear about international examples that promote lasting operation and maintenance of water management and infrastructure projects.

For more information, see here.

The conference will focus on the crucial role citizen science plays within water resource monitoring, management and governance as well as community-led actions. Together, we will explore how citizen science can help us achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) around the world and future-proof healthy water bodies for generations to come. 

The call for contributions ends on 15 December 2024.

For more information, see here.

The 7th International Symposium on Knowledge and Capacity for the Water Sector will bring together sector organizations, knowledge institutes and policy makers to explore the significant shifts that have taken place in the water sector over the past decades. Participants will analyze how these changes impact knowledge and capacity strengthening, especially in relation to the new generation water and sanitation professionals, and investigate how knowledge and capacity strengthening can further contribute to water-related improvements. The Symposium will also assess how these developments alter the landscape of knowledge and capacity strengthening in the water sector – and what that means to the way capacity strengthening is organized and implemented. 

The call for abstracts is now open until 3 February 2025. Read more here.

For more information, see here.

• Nina Valin
  Deciding & knowing for radical environmental change. The formulation, evaluation and implementation of the European Water Framework Directive
  26 February 2025, VU Amsterdam
• Gerard Dam
  Long-Term Morphodynamics of the Western Scheldt Estuary. A modelling and data study
  4 April 2025, IHE Delft and TU Delft
• Clara Lines Diaz
  Usefulness of Information for Drought Management Decisions: Data and User Perspectives
  7 April 2025, IHE Delft and TU Delft