Programming can serve multiple purposes. Purposes like developing applications and working with data are also very useful for research. For dealing with these issues, Python offers many libraries. Getting the skills of working with some of these libraries will enable future learning.
This can be for more advanced programming applications, but also for self-learning to apply different libraries.

For more information see here. 

Python is a dynamic, readable language that is a popular platform fit for executing different kinds of numerical problems, from simple one-off scripts to large, complex software projects. This workshop is aimed at people who already have a basic knowledge of Python and are interested in using the language to explore and visualize large datasets and write more complex programs using object-oriented programming techniques.

For more information see here. 

Do you have little or no trouble reading specialist literature in English, but do you find writing your own English-language articles to be a tall order? After taking our Writing a Scientific Article workshop, you will be able to write an article yourself with no difficulty at all.

The workshop offers you a step-by-step approach to improving your own article. You’ll first decide on the best structure for your article. Then you’ll work on your sections and paragraphs, and finally we’ll focus on fine-tuning your sentences and sentence structure. You’ll find scientific writing in English to be easier than ever thanks to our tried-and-true approach.

For more information see here. 

Linux and Python, a dynamic, readable programming language, is a popular combination for all types of bioinformatics work, from simple one-off scripts to large, complex software projects. 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. 

Registration deadline: 27 January 2026

The overall aim of the A1 course is to create a vision for your own development, accompanied by a plan. This, so you can pro-actively discuss, and reflect on, the direction you want to take with your research, together with your supervision team. We will use an extended TSP form as the output, so you start discussions with your supervisors with the form they are used to.The 2-2.5 in-person days are meant to sharpen your plans, by actively engaging with the topics a starting PhD candidate needs to think about. It will also provide an opportunity to get to know other PhD students in the SENSE network. You can learn about each other’s research activities, the problems that are being tackled and get the opportunity to build new links within your network.

For more information see here. 

Present your work with confidence, clarity and impact on the global stage. Are you ready to make your research stand out on the international stage? Whether you’re giving a seminar talk, pitching your project in just one minute, or designing a poster that grabs attention, strong communication skills in English are essential. In our 4-session course, Presenting and pitching with confidence, you’ll practise and refine these skills in a supportive setting. You’ll learn how to speak with clarity and impact, engage international audiences, and present your research with confidence. You will practise giving your own presentation in front of the group; putting the tips and theory immediately into practice.

For more information see here. 

This inspiring and interactive PhD course empowers you to move from knowledge to action, in addressing environmental and climate challenges. Through critical reflection, strategic planning, introduction of tools that enable you to take hands-on steps, you’ll develop a personalized action pathway that fits you as a person and in your role as a scientist. During this course you will gain a community of fellow researchers to support you in taking action. The community will get together during 2 comeback sessions to reflect on and learn from each other’s progress, challenges and successes.

For more information see here. 

Addressing societal problems such as climate change, ecosystem damage, biodiversity loss, poverty, or social inequality requires transformative changes in the way societies use technologies, consume resources, and interact with each other. This transformation heavily relies on changes in individual and collective behavior. Behavioral economics (BE) is one of the most prominent subfields in social sciences. It challenges and extends the standard rational choice model used in economics, providing a more realistic depiction of the behavior of the “representative agent” that incorporates key insights from other social sciences, notably psychology and political sciences. This enhanced representative agent can then be used to produce policies that are more aligned with the inner workings of human decision-making and are therefore more apt to produce the desired transformations.

For more information see here. 

“Transformative Research for Sustainability Challenges” provides PhD candidates with exciting concepts and methods to enhance the potential of their research to beneficially contribute to society and the environment. Participants are guided through a process designed to surface and examine fundamental assumptions that underpin their research approaches, to inspire future trajectories both within and beyond their PhD. This course is taught by a range of scholars in Wageningen University & Research (WUR), Utrecht University (UU), University of Twente (UT), and Stockholm Resilience Centre (SRC), who will guide students through critical concepts, methodological innovations, and tricky dilemmas that have challenged and enabled their own work. The course content focuses on four main aspects of transformative research identified in the 71 Visions Report. This course received an Education Innovation Award in 2021, and is supported by WIMEK and the Urban Futures Studio.

For more information see here. 

This interactive course is designed to equip participants with foundational concepts, practical tools, and hands-on experiences to apply inter- and transdisciplinary approaches in their own research. The course is structured around five core themes that guide participants in exploring the essential dimensions of such research: the individual, collaboration, outcomes, the research process, and reflection.

For more information see here. 

This course focuses on the speciation and bioavailability of metal complex species, organic compounds and nanoparticles in aqueous environments.The course program will focus on the analytical and physical chemistry of metal ions in complexing aqueous environments and the bioavailabilities of different species. Due attention will also be given to the speciation and bioavailability of organic compounds. Modern analytical speciation techniques such as DGT, PLM, DMT, stripping voltammetries, ligand exchange methods, SPME, radiotracer techniques, etc. will be discussed in methodological detail. 

For more information see here. 

The International Academic Conference for Land, Life & Society will be an autonomous academic space, but at the same time will overlap with the official inter-governmental ICARRD+20 conference. While it is principally an academic space, it will also take the format of a dialogue with social movements.The international conference will provide simultaneous interpretation in Spanish, French and English. They invite:Researchers, lecturers, academics, research groups from all parts of the world working on land – in the broadest sense: agrarian, food, labour, environmental, climate, biodiversity, trade, rural-urban, geopolitical, law, citizenship, war and peace issues – and how these relate to the issue redistributive land policies (such as agrarian reform, restitution, recognition, etc..) and the care of the environment and nature.

For more information, see here.

Call for abstracts! PhD students are warmly invited to apply for the call for abstracts, for the seminar: “Future of Integrated Assessment Models: Pathways Towards Carbon Neutrality for Climate, Environment, Health and Socio‐economic Co‐benefits”. Visit the website to read more about the event and how to participate. For all participants, complimentary on-site and full-board accommodation is provided by the Wilhelm and Else Heraeus Foundation, and there is no conference fee. Please note that the total number of participants is limited.

Deadline for applications: 3 February 2026

For more information, see here.

Call for Applications! The Journal of Peasant Studies (JPS), and co-organizers are jointly organising the International Writeshop in Critical Agrarian Studies and Scholar-Activism for PhD students and relatively early career researchers (up to 5 years from PhD completion) who are based in, or are originally from, the Global South. The Writeshop aims to improve researchers’ strategic knowledge about and practical skills on matters related to international journal publication and impact, with a particular focus in the field of Critical Agrarian Studies. This includes choosing journals; building ideas about and framing/writing journal manuscripts; overall preparation and submission of journal manuscripts; dealing with peer review reports, and so on.

Deadline for applications: 31 January 2026

For more information, see here.

The Alliance VU-UT invites researchers to submit collaborative Seed Grant proposals of up to €35,000* addressing major societal challenges. On this page, you will find an overview of the thematic areas, the grant application and selection procedure, eligibility criteria and available support and timeline. The aim of the joint research projects is to contribute to solving pressing societal challenges within the following thematic areas:

• Responsible Societies: Urban climate, Responsible use of natural resources, Natural hazards and societal impacts, Net zero emissions
• Secure Societies: The citizen perspective, Crisis management, Undermining, Polarisation, The future of the police professions
• Smart Societies: Smart health, Smart areas, Smart industries
• In addition to the existing thematic areas, the Steering Group wishes to explore and encourage VU-UT collaboration in the Health domain. 

Read more here.

Last December, the PhD Council of the Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM) at VU Amsterdam shared its experiences and achievements with VU’s Network of Graduate Schools. This event also provided an opportunity to highlight the added value of IVM’s participation in the SENSE network. The aim was to inspire other departments and faculties by showcasing the positive experiences of PhD life at IVM. With this article, we would like to share some of these experiences shared in the presentation as well with other SENSE members, in the hope of inspiring them as well.

Read more here.

Water management and governance, sanitation, hydroinformatics and environmental technology – those are just some of the topics covered in 15 new specialized three-week courses now offered by IHE Delft. The courses, taking place at IHE Delft between December 2025 and April 2026, are also offered as modules within the MSc in Water and Sustainable Development. Designed for both students and professionals, they combine advanced theoretical learning through lectures and discussions with practical experience in laboratories, fieldwork, group assignments, and excursions.

Read more here.

• Julius Schlumberg
  Taming the Tangle: A Pathways Approach to Multi-Risk Management
  22 January 2026, VU Amsterdam
• Zhaolu Feng
  The fate and removal of micropollutants and antibiotic resistance in aerobic granular sludge systems
  23 January 2026, Wageningen University
• Zhaoqi Bin
  Application of trait-based plant-soil feedback for agroecosystem optimization
  23 January 2026, Wageningen University
• Thaine Herman Assumpção
  Analysis of Citizen Science Data Collection for River Flood Modelling
  28 January 2026, IHE Delft
• Judith Claassen
  Multi-Hazard Entanglement: Unraveling Historical and Stochastic Multi-Hazard Events
  29 January 2026, VU Amsterdam
• Haris Ali
  Earth Observations-Informed Modelling for the Design of Nature-Based Climate Adaptation Strategies
  4 February 2026, IHE Delft & TU Delft
• Ilaria Micella
  Global multi-pollutant modelling: Uncovering new perspectives for river exports of nutrients, plastics, and chemicals
  6 February 2026, Wageningen University
• Anran Li
  Microbial wood degradation in a composting environment: influencing factors and improvement strategies
  12 February 2026, Wageningen University
• Bota Sharipova
  Currents of Trust: Insights from transboundary Water Cooperation in the Sava and Syrdarya River Basins
  6 March 2026, IHE Delft & University of Amsterdam
• Emily te Pas
  Towards “set-in-stone” co-deployment of enhanced rock weathering and biochar – an experimental study on their CO2 removal and agronomic co-benefits
  13 March 2026, Wageningen University