Headline: Facing Natural Hazards: Potsdam Summer School 2015

As the recent earthquakes in Nepal have reminded us, extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and severe, impinging on the development of increasingly complex and vulnerable societies. It is now clearer than ever that as well as improving our capabilities to predict natural hazards, we need to develop appropriate strategies to manage them in the long term. This year’s Potsdam Summer School is devoted to the theme of natural hazards. It will take place from 14 to 23 September 2015. Now in its second year, the Potsdam Summer School is a transdisciplinary, interactive event that brings together a range of different participants from around the world: up-and-coming scholars and young professionals from research institutes as well as experts from government agencies, NGOs and the private sector. Together, they will discuss various aspects of catastrophe preparedness. The Summer School aims to bridge the gap between innovative methods in research on the Earth, the environment and sustainability and the question of how knowledge about natural hazards is used in policymaking and administration.

The entire Summer School will be conducted through English. With the support of the City of Potsdam, the Potsdam Summer School 2015 is organised by the IASS, the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI), the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and the University of Potsdam. The Summer School programme also includes informative lectures by experts, stakeholders and guest speakers from national and international institutes and organisations.

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