2025 School
Our next school will be held from 27 October to 6 November 2025 in Nosy-Be, an island off the northwest coast of Madagascar. The school will be co-organised with the ACACIA research project.
CATER–ACACIA School 2025: Climate Risk Adaptation in Action
We’re excited to announce the 2025 CATER School, the third in a series of immersive, transdisciplinary schools about adapting to climate risk! This year’s edition will take place in Nosy Be, Madagascar from Monday, October 27th to Thursday, November 6th 2025, embedded within the context of the Anticipatory Climate Adaptation for Communities In Africa (ACACIA) Horizon Europe project.
What to Expect
The CATER school convenes learners and teachers for 11 days of intensive work (including two days off during the weekend), combining lectures with group work to develop a ‘serious game.’ Participants will explore climate risk science, disaster preparedness, and community resilience, rooted in the context of floods and tropical cyclones in Madagascar.
Key themes include:
Disaster Risk Reduction and Anticipatory climate adaptation: addressing impacts before they happen.
Advances in tropical cyclone forecasting
Governance, ethics and justice in climate adaptation and services.
Co-production and community-led responses in disaster preparedness.
Impact assessments and evaluation of climate services
Workshops, case studies, and field-based learning will ensure participants gain both theoretical knowledge and practical skills.
💡 Check out past schools (2023 & 2024) and participant testimonials (here and here) to see what’s in store—and get ready to learn, connect, and take action!
Who can apply?
The school is designed for postgraduate students, postdocs, early-career researchers, and practitioners from diverse backgrounds who want to deepen their understanding of, and capabilities with, transdisciplinary approaches for navigating complex climate risks. The programme blends lectures with hands-on learning focused on real-world case studies in Madagascar (the focus of the ACACIA project).
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 2025 CATER-ACACIA School fee is €500, which covers meals, accommodation, field trips, activities, and airport transfers.
Participants must pay for their own travel to and from Nosy-Be, as well as visa costs and insurance.
Financial support: Applicants from low- and middle-income countries can apply for:
🔹 A stipend to cover travel costs.
🔹 A fee waiver to cover the €500 school fee.
Both can be requested in the application form.
Practical details
The course will be conducted in English. The school has a mix of lectures, project assignments, activities, free time and outings. 100% attendance is expected during the school and the across the remote engagements before and after the school.
The course venue is the Ravintsara Hotel on the island of Nosy-Be in Madagascar. Accommodation at the course venue will be in shared twin rooms.
All students must be in place by the evening of Sunday, October 26th. The school will end on Thursday, November 6th, in time to catch the flight to Addis Ababa leaving at 15:35.
Upon completion of the CATER School the students are 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 ?
Apply by filling in the following form: https://forms.gle/YnaS5mi5pmnU7u1x8
Application deadline: May 4th 2025
School Topics 2025
An introduction to changing climatic risk, with an emphasis on Madagascar
Climate science, climate prediction, and uncertainty
Co-production of climate services
Climate vulnerability and adaptation options through transdisciplinarity
Transdisciplinary theory, processes and practice
Complexity of decision-contexts and the plurality of knowledge in climate adaptation
Different types of evidence and ways of knowing for decision making under uncertainty
Use of game-based participatory methods to share knowledge and evaluate the potential of climate adaptation services
Principles, ethics and values in climate services, and in transdisciplinary approaches to climate services
Approaches and methods for impact assessment and evaluation of climate services
Job relevance: what skills are required for a successful career in climate adaptation?
Communication skills - write better papers and better proposals as well as develop science-society relationships and facilitate transdisciplinary and/or co-production processes
Lecturers 2025 (subject to changes)
Erik Kolstad, NORCE/Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, Norway
Rondrotiana Barimalala, NORCE/Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, Norway
Jesse Schrage, NORCE/Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, Norway
Coleen Vogel, University of Witwatersrand, South Africa
Scott Bremer, University of Bergen/NORCE, Norway
Isabelle Ruin, French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), France
Alice McClure, CSAG/University of Cape Town, South Africa
Piotr Wolski, CSAG/University of Cape Town, South Africa
Linda Hirons, NCAS/University of Reading, United Kingdom
Jon Einar Flåtnes, Chr. Michelsen Institute, Norway
Mathias Venning, NORCE/Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, Norway