GFZ German research centre for geo sciences

Dealing with Climate Change Impacts – the Potsdam Summer School starts with young talents from all over the world

From global sea level rise to extreme events like floods or droughts – even with ambitious climate mitigation, some impacts of climate change will be felt within this century. How to avoid the unmanageable and manage the unavoidable will be the focus of the Potsdam Summer School from September 5-14, bringing together more than 40 early-career scientists and young professionals from all around the globe.

29.08.2016|Potsdam: From global sea level rise to extreme events like floods or droughts – even with ambitious climate mitigation, some impacts of climate change will be felt within this century. How to avoid the unmanageable and manage the unavoidable will be the focus of the Potsdam Summer School from September 5-14, bringing together more than 40 early-career scientists and young professionals from all around the globe.

With its overarching theme “Dealing with Climate Change Impacts”, the participants of the interdisciplinary Potsdam Summer School will work closely with earth and climate scientists, oceanographers, social scientists and other experts from research and business. How can we deal with the long-term impacts of climate change? The two-week programme features talks, workshops and discussions on climate change and its consequences for food security or migration as well as on planetary boundaries and risk assessments with regard to necessary climate mitigation and adaptation measures. 

The summer school agenda also includes introductions to the various forms of dialogue with decision makers from politics and business and with the public. For the first time the Potsdam Summer School is also cooperating with two local secondary schools and the proWissen Potsdam e.V. society in a joint workshop on September 7th. The young scientists and professionals will discuss with the pupils how the young people in Potsdam can respond to the challenge of climate change in practice. The results of the workshop will be further developed by the pupils over two years in projects at their schools, supported by Potsdam researchers. 

Launched in 2014, the Potsdam Summer School brings together the professional expertise of five renowned local research institutes in partnership with the city of Potsdam. The summer school is jointly organized by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), the <link en home>Helmholtz Centre Potsdam - GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, the Alfred Wegener Institute - Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) and the University of Potsdam.

The aim of the Potsdam Summer School is to bring together early-career scientists and young professionals from academia, governmental and non-governmental agencies and organizations, as well as from the private sector, from all around the world to discuss frontier research questions related to a sustainable development of the future. In this context, the summer school provides a unique opportunity for all participants to foster and enhance international cooperation and exchange of ideas. The participants were selected from more than 330 applications from every continent. With the third Potsdam Summer School 2016, the city of Potsdam presents itself once again as a cosmopolitan centre of science, engaging in crucial challenges of the present and future.


>>Further information on the participants and the programme of the Potsdam Summer School 2016 from September 5 - 14

Contact PIK:
Sarah Messina | +49 (0)331-288 2507 | presse@pik-potsdam.de

Contact GFZ:
Josef Zens | +49 (0)331-288 1040 | josef.zens@gfz-potsdam.de

Contact AWI:
Sina Löschke | +49 (0)471-4831 2008 | Sina.Loeschke@awi.de

Contact IASS:
Eva Söderman | +49 (0)331-288 22340 | Eva.Soederman@iass-potsdam.de

Contact University of Potsdam:
Silke Engel | +49 (0)331-977 1665 | presse@uni-potsdam.de

Contact City of Potsdam:
Sigrid Sommer | +49 (0)331-289 1270 | marketing@rathaus.potsdam.de

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