This PhD summer school focuses on climate change adaptation and flood recovery, with a particular emphasis on strengthening long-term resilience in both urban and rural areas. Floods are among the most disruptive climate-related hazards in Europe, and recent events have shown that flood recovery involves not only technical reconstruction but also broader questions of planning, governance, and long-term resilience.
The summer school uses flood-affected regions as learning environments to examine how recovery decisions are made and how they shape future vulnerability. Drawing on experiences from recent flood disasters, including the Ahr Valley in Germany, the summer school explores what build back better means in practice. Participants will discuss challenges related to land use, reconstruction, governance, and planning, and reflect on how recovery strategies can reduce existing vulnerabilities rather than reproduce them.
The summer school offers a collaborative, transdisciplinary learning environment combining field visits, interactive workshops, and facilitated discussions with experts and regional stakeholders. Participants will compare recovery approaches, reflect on land use and governance challenges, and co-produce knowledge that bridges science and practice. Jointly organized by RPTU Kaiserslautern, TU Dortmund University, and IQIB Germany, the event brings together up to 12 PhD students and practitioners from local administrations, infrastructure operators, and civil protection agencies to engage with flood recovery challenges from multiple perspectives. The aim is to foster mutual learning across science and practice and to support participants in developing critical, context-sensitive perspectives on flood recovery and resilience-building.
The event is linked with TERRAenVISION cponference 2026 (https://terraenvision.eu/).
Further information about the agenda, application process, and updates will be provided on this page.