11.05.2015: The German Research Foundation DFG has announced to support two new graduate schools under GFZ participation. The graduate schools, run by University of Potsdam, NatRiskChange and StRATEGy, deal with natural hazards and risks, and Earth surface processes, tectonics, and georessources, respectively. GFZ is an important partner in both projects.

The intensity and frequency of natural hazards change as well as society and environmennt do. The graduate school NatRiskChange „Natural Hazards and Risks in a Changing World” deals with natural hazards and risk assessment in a changing world. Natural and technological developments have a great impact on risks associated with natural hazards in the worlds regions affected. 
Speaker of this project is Prof. Axel Bronstert, University of Potsdam, GFZ scientists involved are Prof. Fabrice Cotton, Prof. Bruno Merz, PD Dr. Sebastian Hainzl, Dr. Saskia Förster, Dr. Heidi Kreibich, and Dr. Siegrid Roessner. Further project partners, next to University of Potsdam and GFZ, are the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), and die Freie Universität (FU) Berlin.

The international graduate school StRATEGy „Surface processes, Tectonics and Georesources: The Andean foreland basin of Argentina“, is run in cooperation with argentinean partner universities. The aim of this project is to jointly and interdisciplinary train PhD students in geosciences – especially in the fields of structural geology, sedimentology, mineralogy/petrology and geology of mineral deposits. Here, tectonic, climatic, and sedimentologic processes are to be investigated that have an impact on the formation of metallic ressources and hydrocarbons in the Andean foreland of northwest Argentina on different time scales.
Two equally large groups of PhD students will be trained in Potsdam and Argentina. Speaker of this project is Prof. Manfred Strecker, University of Potsdam. Co-speaker at GFZ is Prof. Magdalena Scheck-Wenderoth, further associated GFZ scientists are Dr. Stephan Sobolev, Prof. Achim Brauer, and Dr. Dirk Sachse.