SENSE highlights

Courses highlight:
Do not missthe upcoming courses and registration deadlines!

A1 SENSE Introductory Course: building a personal vision for your PhD | 17 -19 February 2026, De Bosrand, Ede
Registrations will open in early December! For more information visit here.

From Research to Environmental and Climate Action | 16 - 18 March 2026, Wageningen
Registration are now open. For more information & registration visit here.

Interviews and Questionnaires in the Natural and Environmental Sciences enable PhDs who do not have a background in the social sciences to design, conduct, analyze and report interviews and questionnaires. Foundational learning objectives are met through participating in a MSc course (YRM31306). In addition to responding to questions during the course that are specific to PhDs’ own projects, enhanced learning objectives for PhDs are met through a) individual consultations with PhDs during and after the course and b) replacement of the written final exam with a delayed critical discussion in which the PhD explains why and how they will integrate what they learned into their own PhD project. The approach to interviews and questionnaires taken in the course is tailored to the themes and purposes typical of research at Wageningen.

For more information see here. 

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. 

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. 

Registrations for the next edition in March 2026 will open the first week of December.

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. 

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 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. 

Join us in watching the documentary film ’Facing the Unknown’! Inspired by the book Emergency Preparedness by Paul Rübig and Achim Kaspar, this documentary delves into critical issues of water resilience, sustainable energy and infrastructure against the background of the unpredictable forces that shape our future.

For more information, see here.

Dr Susanne Schmeier has been appointed by IHE Delft as professor by special appointment at Utrecht University’s Faculty of Geosciences, focusing in activities in the field of Water Law, Governance and Diplomacy. She will assume her position with an inaugural lecture titled: “The future(s) of international water cooperation – Understanding why and how we cooperate over the world’s most precious resource.”

For more information, see here.

IHE Delft will host the 8th AcroporaNet Student-Centred Symposium, an in-person event that will explore the full breadth of tropical ecology — from mangroves and seagrass meadows to coral reefs and deepwater ecosystems. The symposium offers a unique opportunity for student participants to share  research, exchange ideas and build connections with fellow students and researchers working across tropical ecology. Participants are encouraged to present their work in the format that suits them best, whether through a traditional presentation, a poster or a lightning talk. Attendance is not limited to presenters — all who wish to learn, be inspired and engage in discussion with peers and tropical ecology experts, are warmly encouraged to join.

For more information, see here.

Calling all students, practitioners, managers and scientists engaged in Nature-Based Solutions (NbS) in SIDS. On the 11 December IHE Delft will host a hybrid seminar on the design, development and implementation of NbS in island contexts. This in-person and online event will explore the full breadth of improving island resilence with NbS — from coastal areas to urban sustainability. The symposium offers a unique opportunity to engage with experts and practitioners advancing NbS initiatives in SIDS. There will be opportunities to share research, exchange ideas, and build global connections.  The programme will feature case study presentations from practitioners directly implementing NbS in SIDS, followed by an interactive panel discussion. Together, we will also explore the creation of a community of practice dedicated to advancing NbS in SIDS.

For more information, see here.

This event is part of the Solidarity Symposia series, hosted by the King’s School for Government to provide PhD students and early career researchers with a platform to present their work on social justice topics. This symposium is for researchers whose work addresses the causes, consequences, and solutions to climate change, and its impacts on communities and societies.

A prize of £500 will be awarded for the best talk, as chosen by a panel of School for Government academics.

For more information, see here.

Call for application to participate in the International Academic Conference for Land, Life & Society on 20-22 February 2026 at the University of Cartagena, Colombia. It 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.

Across all sessions, participants engaged with pressing questions on climate adaptation, environmental data, and societal transformation, underscoring the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration and knowledge exchange. The integration of technical, social, and participatory data emerged as key to developing effective, inclusive responses to climate and societal challenges. Innovative approaches in environmental management, water governance, and socio-ecological transformation were showcased throughout, strengthening connections among PhD researchers and institutions. We are thrilled to share the Outcomes Report, the Book of Abstracts, plenary recordings, and a photo gallery capturing two days of inspiring dialogue, discovery, and collaboration.

Read more here.

Storymaps are visual tools to tell a story in a spatial format. In a new storymap, IHE Delft and partner researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi tell the story of a sandy riverbed in India – the Luni sand river in Rajasthan. The storymap offers users a chance to join the researchers on their journey along the sand river.

Read more here.

As the world marks UN World Cities Day (31 October), which calls for more sustainable urban development, a new international study warns that the construction sector’s carbon footprint could double by 2050, putting global climate goals at risk. Prajal Pradhan, affiliated with the Wubbo Ockels School for Energy and Climate, and SENSE RUG representative, is one of the lead authors and highlights the urgent need for change in how we build our cities.

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.

On FLOWs, the Water Governance Blog of the IHE Delft, Toka Mahmoud reflects on the need to go beyond numbers and build relations in research through interdisciplinary methods to better understand the social consequences of climate change and push people to act on it.

Read more here.

UN-Water is preparing the Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6) Synthesis Report on Water and Sanitation 2026 – a flagship United Nations publication that will reflect on ten years of progress and outline priorities for the years to come. Stakeholders are encouraged to participate in the 10-minute consultation, available in multiple languages.

Read more here.

• Omar Abdeldayem
  Hydrothermal Carbonization of Biomass for the Production of Value-Added Materials: an Experimental and Modelling Approach
  10 December 2025, IHE Delft and TUDelft
• Lars Tierolf
  Tradeoffs in Climate Migration and Adaptation Under Future Flood Risk
  17 December 2025, VU Amsterdam
• Julius Schlumberg
  Taming the Tangle: A Pathways Approach to Multi-Risk Management
  22 January 2026, VU Amsterdam
• 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