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Research School for Socio-Economic and
Natural Sciences of the Environment |
| SENSE e-News |
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Newsletter December 2023
07 December 2023 |
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| Editorial |
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| Welcome to our December SENSE newsletter. It is an exciting time as we have recently welcomed our new director Dr Jampel Dell'Angelo, who we will introduce later in this newsletter. He will replace Philipp Patberg who was the SENSE director for eight years. We want to take this opportunity to thank Philipp for all the work he has done for SENSE!
Furthermore Caterina Marinetti will replace Dan Petrovich as the IVM executive secretary of SENSE. We will introduce Caterina in our next newsletter.
We also had our yearly symposium which was off to a bit of a rocky start as there was a tree on the train track, making it extremely hard for many to reach Amsterdam. Luckily a large number of people managed to arrange a ride and in the end we had a very inspiring day where we talked about themes such as transdisciplinarity, bottom up research, decolonising science, science communication and how to combine research and activism. There were also many inspiring poster presentations from PhD students. We hope that this newsletter provides a lot of inspiration and we hope that you will have wonderful holidays and we hope to meet many of you in the new year!
Anouk de Plaa, Member of SENSE Education and Training Team
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Appointment of Jampel Dell'Angelo as the new SENSE Director |
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We are pleased to announce that the SENSE Board has appointed Dr Jampel Dell’Angelo as new SENSE Director from 14 November 2023. He is the successor of Prof. Dr Philipp Pattberg, who held this position for 8 years.
Jampel is an Associate Professor in Water Governance and Politics at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, where he started in 2017 after five years in some of the leading socio-environmental research centres in the United States. In addition to his personal research agenda and teaching, Jampel currently acts as Principal Investigator of NEWAVE, a Horizon 2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network. Since 2021, he also serves as Editor-in-Chief of the scientific journal World Development.
In his expression of interest for the SENSE Director position Jampel states: “The environmental and sustainability challenges we face are burning urgent. PhD students working on environmental and sustainability issues are, in my opinion, among the most valuable actors with the potential to act on much needed scientific and societal transformations. Sustainability problems, are by definition transdisciplinary, normative and urgent. One of my priorities, in addition to consolidating the current activities of SENSE, will be to foster a sense of community where scholars can contribute from different perspectives. I am particularly interested in bridging the gaps between natural science methods and social science approaches, also including perspectives and expertise from the global south, and more critical views such as decolonial and feminist studies.”
The SENSE Board is very pleased to have found this inspiring and ambitious researcher for the Director position. The Board warmly thanks Philipp Pattberg for his commitment to the SENSE community over the past 8 years and wishes Jampel a great start in leading the SENSE network. |
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| Upcoming courses and discussion groups |
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Intermediate Research Software Development with Python | 11 - 13 December 2023
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| This course aims to teach a core set of established, intermediate-level software development skills and best practices for working as part of a team in a research environment using Python as an example programming language. The core set of skills we teach is a selective set of tried-and-tested collaborative development skills that forms a firm foundation for continuing on your learning journey. |
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Dealing Professionally with Climate Change Issues | 8 - 12 January 2024
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Climate Change topics are becoming more and more relevant to various fields of science and related studies and get a strong multidisciplinary character: from Earth Sciences to Sustainability Studies, from Social Sciences to Economy including moral and ethical topics and related jurisdiction.
Most MSc courses have either a general or more specialized focus and offer a mixture of state-of-the-art knowledge, practical workshops, and discussion. However, training to deal with difficult situations related to the scientific topic or career path of the student are hardly practiced.
This course will help improve the student’s efficiency and effectiveness in dealing with controversial topics and difficult situations related to issues surrounding Climate Change.
Registration deadline: 4 December 2023 |
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Highlight of later courses |
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Making Impact: Increasing the relevance of research through science-society interaction (in person) | 7 & 8 February 2024
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Researchers experience a pressing demand from society to create solutions for a range of urgent problems. In the domain of life sciences such demands relate to climate change, food security, healthy diets, sustainable agriculture, ecological resilience and nature conservation. These demands come forward most concretely in requirements for research funding to stipulate the societal relevance of your proposed study. Some funding schemes demand precise ‘impact pathways’ that spell out how each of the envisioned research results lead to specific benefits for society. Overall, research is expected to develop innovations that contribute to sustainability as well as economic growth. For PhD candidates such expectations can provide motivation to incorporate making an impact into their PhD research. But how to do this?
This course is focused on making a plan of action. You will discover how fundamental research can be combined with societal impact in various ways without a single-best option. You will have the opportunity to reflect on the impact of your own work, learn from other PhD candidates and other researchers working at the interface of research, policy and society.
Registration deadline: 31 January 2024 |
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Bioinformatics with Linux and Python | 11-18 March 2024, Online
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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. After completing the workshop, students should be in a position to (1) apply the skills they have learned to tackling problems in their own research and (2) continue their Linux and Python education in a self-directed way.
Registration deadline: 25 February 2024 |
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A1 SENSE Introductory Course | 27-29 March 2024
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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.
Registration deadline: 27 February 2024 |
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| Upcoming Events |
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| Future Food Utrecht Annual Symposium: ‘Evolution or Revolution’, 13 December 2023 |
 You are cordially invited to Future Food Utrecht’s annual symposium ‘Future Food: Evolution or Revolution’. Join us for an engaging and thought-provoking event that explores the future of food through three exciting themes:
- Sustainable Diets for Optimal Health.
- Food Systems from the Animal’s Perspective.
- Fair Food Transitions.
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TOPX Summit 2024: Closing the Gap – A career development & empowerment summit for ambitious women in Life Sciences, 18 - 19 January 2024 |
| During these two days some of the most inspiring and successful female and male leaders in the Life Sciences Sector will share their insights and key learnings to a room full of talented and driven women. The programme, organised by and for ambitious women in Life Sciences, covered deep dive workshops, interactive discussions, personal stories and lessons learned, one-on-one speed dates and many networking moments. |
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| Upcoming PhD graduations |
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| Overview of PhD graduations December 2023 |
- S (Sara) Pino Cobacho MSc
Mangroves in a transforming world: biogeochemical interactions, global change drivers, and innovative mitigation strategies
5 December, 2023, Wageningen University, Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management
- Katharina Schulze
Mapping ‘Life on Land’: Methodological improvements for assessing land use implications from achieving SDG 15
8 December, 2023, VU University Amsterdam, Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM)
- Glatt, M.A.
Combining choice experiments and agent based modeling to analyze preference uncertainty
8 December, 2023, VU University Amsterdam, Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM)
- Xingjuan Zhu
Quantification of the optimal ratio of manure, fertilizer and lime to counteract acidification in croplands in China
20 December, 2023, Wageningen University, Environmental Systems Analysis
- Mr. Mauricio Barreto Carvajal
Sidestream Superoxygenation and Activated Sludge Pre-Conditioning in a High-Solids Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) for Wastewater Treatment
21 December, 2023, IHE Delft, IHE Delft Institute for Water Education
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