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Summer Schools in East Africa and Germany

The summer schools in the field of geo-biosciences in East Africa include the disciplines of paleoclimatology, paleontology, paleoanthropology, evolutionary biology, structural geology and geophysics. I teach these summer schools together with colleagues from Addis Ababa University and the University of Nairobi, as well with many colleagues from other universities. The summer schools are funded by the VolkswagenFoundation.

Summer School 2009

Climate Change and Human Evolution in East Africa
Kenya 14–25 Sep 2009

Prof. Dr. Ralph Tiedemann, University of Potsdam
apl. Prof. Dr. Martin H. Trauth, University of Potsdam
Prof. Dr. Eric O. Odada, University of Nairobi

The first summer school included an excursion to key sites of human evolution in Kenya and a short course on the analysis of data from the bio-geo-sciences.

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Summer School 2010/11

Tectonics, Climate and Evolution in East Africa
Kenya and Tanzania 19 September–10 October 2010
Kenya 17 Sep–10 Oct 2011

apl. Prof. Dr. Martin H. Trauth, University of Potsdam
Prof. Dr. Eric O. Odada, University of Nairobi

We organized two consecutive summerschools in the field of geo-biosciences in East Africa, including the disciplines of paleoclimatology, paleontology, paleoanthropology, evolutionary biology, structural geology and geophysics. The summerschool focused on the relationships between the development of extreme relief in the East African Rift system, superposed past climate changes and their influence on mammalian and hominin evolution. The transdisciplinary summerschools for students from the fields of geosciences and biosciences aimed at intense training of the participants at the MSc, PhD and postdoctoral level to foster a better understanding of climate-biosphere interactions in a complex tectonic-topographic setting such as the Kenya and Tanzanian rift valley. This effort rested on team teaching and joint learning and will generate important synergies between researchers and graduate students. The acquired knowledge and understanding helped students define premier research topics to study past geo-biosphere interactions, and it ultimately provided the next generation of researchers and practitioners with the necessary background and scientific tools to evaluate and mitigate the effects of present-day and future environmental changes in the course of global change.

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Summer School 2015/16

Collecting, Processing and Processing Information in the Geo-Bio-Sciences
Ethiopia 20 Sep–11 Oct 2015
Kenya 21 Feb–13 Mar 2016

apl. Prof. Dr. Martin H. Trauth, University of Potsdam
Prof. Dr. Asfawossen Asrat, University of Addis Ababa
Prof. Dr. Eric O. Odada, University of Nairobi

One of the most valuable skills that experienced and successful scientists can pass on to young researchers is the efficient identification of attractive and relevant research topics in the vast and complex world of science. Our current series of summer schools funded by the VolkswagenFoundation in the bio-geo-sciences aims to help twenty young scientists from African and European universities to design new research projects on such topics using the latest methods of data analysis, and to present the results from these projects in an attractive and professional manner. The first module of the summer school focusses on searching relevant published literature and related data on a scientific topic, using both free and commercially available online citation databases. The aim of this module is to identify scientific hypotheses and controversies that could form the basis for new research projects and scientific experiments. This was followed by a set of modules dealing with the analysis of both the researcher’s own data and previously published data using sophisticated statistical and numerical methods such as, for example, using time series analysis to detect climatic changes, using remote sensing methods to map spatial variations in environmental conditions, and using geographic information systems to define areas of heightened georisk. In the third set of modules the results generated in the previous modules are prepared for publication. In this part of the summer school participants are instructed in academic writing, in the design of posters for conferences, and in giving lectures to both specialist and non-specialist audiences.

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Summer School 2018

Earth Surface Dynamics – Understanding Processes at the Earth’s Vulnerable Skin
Germany 20 May–10 June 2018
Germany 12 August–2 September 2018

apl. Prof. Dr. Martin H. Trauth, University of Potsdam
together with instructors from Germany, Ethiopia and UK

We organize a series of two summer schools entitled “Earth Surface Dynamics – Understanding Processes at the Earth’s Vulnerable Skin” led by apl. Prof. Dr. Martin H. Trauth, together with nine instructors from Germany, United Kingdom, and Ethiopia. The series of two consecutive summer schools about the Earth’s Dynamic Surface is targeting a group of 25 doctoral students from geosciences, environmental sciences and related fields such as biology, chemistry, and physics. These summer schools will be designed for doctoral students, aiming (1) to improve their skills to understand the complex interaction of the processes shaping the Earth’s surface at different temporal and spatial scales, (2) to monitor, model and predict the results of these interactions, and (3) to identify and mitigate risks of natural and human-caused interference in these processes in an interdisciplinary and intercultural environment. The two summer schools each comprise three modules with each module covering a week, taking place at different locations in Germany. These locations are representative of typical settings for Earth surface processes, from the coast to lowlands and from continental rifts to high mountains. The first set of modules will focus on types of signals and noise commonly encountered at the Earth’s surface, and methods of acquiring, processing and analyzing data with non-destructive physical surveying methods. The second set of modules will be about the examination and modeling of the processes underlying the data collected at the Earth’s surface. The intense, multifaceted science training program of the summer school will help participants to acquire knowledge and understanding of the processes shaping the Earth’s vulnerable skin and to define premier research topics to study processes at the Earth’s dynamic surface. It will ultimately provide the next generation of researchers, practitioners, and lecturers with the necessary background and scientific tools to evaluate and mitigate the effects of present-day and future environmental change.

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Summer School 2021

Trends, Rhythms and Events in the Earth's Climate System: Past, Present and Future
Online 23 May–13 Jun 2021
Online 22 Aug–12 Sep 2021

apl. Prof. Dr. Martin H. Trauth, University of Potsdam
together with instructors from Germany, Ethiopia, Malawi and UK

We are pleased to announce two fully sponsored consecutive online summer schools for 40 doctoral students from the fields of geology, geophysics, geoecology, meteorology and environmental-oriented biology, chemistry and physics. These interdisciplinary summer schools will be designed for doctoral students, aiming (1) to improve their skills to understand the complex interaction of the processes in the Earth's climate system, (2) to acquire knowledge in state-of-the-art methods of climate time series analysis, (3) to interpret the results of their analysis of past, present and future climate change, including the associated uncertainties, as well as (4) to identify, predict and communicate the impacts of natural and human-caused climate change in an interdisciplinary and intercultural environment, taught by a team of experienced lecturers and researchers.

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