2024 School

The 10-day school will be held from October 21 to November 1 in Arusha, Tanzania. Situated at the base of Mount Meru, Arusha is both a vibrant city and a gateway to the stunning natural beauty of northern Tanzania. Please read carefully through the text below before submitting your application. When you are ready, use the button further down to go to the application form.

Who can apply?

PhD students, postdoctoral researchers, early-career researchers, practitioners (e.g., employees at relevant government or non-governmental agencies and private sector employees) who are engaged with, working in a sector threatened by, or generally interested in learning about, climate risk, resilience and action. Other applications (from, e.g., Master's students) will be considered on an individual basis if there is space (admission is competitive). Note that we aim for a transdisciplinary cohort with a rough 50/50 balance of participants from Africa and elsewhere, and an equitable gender balance.

Cost

The course itself will be free of charge for eligible, selected students. Full board accommodation, activities (National Park visit, etc.), and return transport from the course venue to Arusha are covered.

Not covered: Travel costs to Arusha before the course and from Arusha after the course, visa costs, insurance, and airport transfers.

However, it is possible to apply for one of a limited number of stipends to cover these costs using the application form. Stipends will likely only be awarded to applicants from low and middle-income countries except in rare occasions. To apply for the stipend please fill out the relevant section of the application form.

Practical details

The course will be conducted in English. The school has a duration of 10 'work' days with a mix of lectures, project assignments, activities, free time and outings. Both prior to the school and after the event, students will engage with lecturers and follow up assignments and seminars are anticipated. 100% attendance is expected during the school and the across the remote engagements before and after the school.

Participants are advised to arrive in Arusha on Monday 21st October 2024, as there will be transportation from Arusha to the course venue on the morning of 22nd October. Return transport to Arusha will be arranged for the afternoon of 1st November. It will be possible to fly out of Arusha in the evening of 1st November. This is the earliest participants will be able to depart Tanzania.

Accommodation at the course venue will be in shared twin rooms.

Additional details as to the course venue will be shared later and this website updated accordingly.

Upon completion of the CATER School you will be awarded a certificate, certificating participation in 65 hours of learning and practical skills building.

For those collecting ECTS as part of an academic program this translates to approximately 5 ECTS upon the submission of the CATER School certificate to your respective institutions. N.B Different institutional requirements may cause some variation.

How to Apply

Click on the button below to go to the application form. The application deadline is April 19, 2024.

School Topics 2024

The 2024 School topics have not yet been 100% finalised. However, here is a list of the 2023 School topics for a flavour of what you can expect from the 2024 School:

• An introduction to changing climatic risk, with an emphasis on Africa.

• Interrogate what ‘risk’ is in climate vulnerability and adaptation; and explore climate vulnerability and adaptation options through transdisciplinarity.

• Learn about transdisciplinary theory, processes and practice.

• Gain understanding of the complexity of decision-contexts and the plurality of knowledge in climate adaptation.

• Learn about using different types of evidence and ways of knowing for decision making under uncertainty.

• Use game-based participatory methods to share knowledge and evaluate the potential of climate adaptation services   

• Discuss principles, ethics and values in climate services, and in transdisciplinary approaches to climate services.

• Climate justice, and considerations when working with vulnerable groups: gender, indigenous peoples, populations living in precarity

• Job relevance: what skills are required for a successful career in climate adaptation?

• Learn about climate literacy for educational purposes.

• Improve communication skills - write better papers and better proposals as well as develop science-society relationships and facilitate transdisciplinary and/or co-production processes.

Lecturers 2024

A full list of lecturers for the 2024 School has not yet been finalised. This will be updated ASAP - but expect a rich and varied cohort across both physical and natural sciences, and across both European and African contexts.

Here is a list of the 2023 lecturers, many of whom will also attend the 2024 School.

• Erik Kolstad, NORCE/Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, Norway

• Rondrotiana Barimalala, NORCE/Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, Norway

• Mathias Venning, NORCE/University of Bergen, Norway

• Peter Johnston, Climate System Analysis Group, South Africa

• Alice McClure, Climate System Analysis Group, South Africa

• Anna Steynor, UK Meteorological Office, UK

• Elisabeth Thompson, UK Meteorological Office, UK

• Erlend Eidsvik, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Norway

• Isabelle Ruin, Institute of Environmental Geosciences, France

• Ingrid Vigna, Norwegian Meteorological Institute, Norway

• Scott Bremer, University of Bergen/NORCE, Norway

Funding information

The 2024 School is gratefully receiving additional co-funding through the CONFER EU project and through the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD).