The first round of PhD students have officially started! Following the Science Council meeting on November 21st, we had the pleasure of organizing a kick-off event at the Deltares campus in Delft. We were delighted to welcome the PhD students from five universities who have started their programs, including Simon Nollet (KU Leuven), Alexander Menz (RWTH Aachen), Maria Paula Avila Guzman (ULiège), Rafaella Oliveira (VU Amsterdam), and Anicia Touraine (UTwente). They will be working within the framework of JCAR ATRACE.
The event took place over a busy Thursday, featuring an introduction to JCAR ATRACE and inspiring presentations from PhD students involved in various projects. Presentations were given by representatives from CLIMAAX, who focused on climate risk assessments; COMPASS, which addressed climate and impact attribution; and Future FRM Tech, which discussed improvements in pluvial flood early warning in relation to the recent Valencia floods.
In addition to the presentations, participants enjoyed a campus tour, where the PhD students pitched their projects to each other and to attendees from Deltares and TU Delft. The following day was dedicated to workshops aimed at fostering collaboration and identifying connections between the JCAR ATRACE research agenda and individual PhD projects. The productive discussions and shared interests demonstrated a strong commitment to enhancing cooperation in flood and drought management.
We anticipate another meeting at the beginning of 2025, when PhD students from LIST, GFZ Potsdam, and TU Delft will join the group. We look forward to the outcomes of their research and the fruitful collaborations over the next four years.
If you would like to learn more about their topics, please check out the PhD overview in our latest magazine.
