Spring School 2025
Understanding the Unknowns: Communicating Uncertainty as a Driving Force for Geosciences
This trainign course is sponsored by the European Geosciences Union.
About
This 3-day in-person training workshop aims to equip Early Career Researchers with knowledge and skills needed to effectively account for and communicate uncertainty in geosciences with their peers and the public audience(s). The workshop is motivated by a need for achieving meaningful insights from geosciences outputs (e.g., maps, models, simulations, time series) which are used for decision-making, but often presented unaccompanied by uncertainty estimates. The content focus will be on uncertainty communication related to global challenges (disaster risk and climate change) for which geosciences have an essential role to play in finding solutions.
Dates & Location
March 17-19, 2025, Research Center for Science Communication, University of Tübingen, Germany
Aims
Day 1: Communicating Uncertainty: Introduction and Media Training
- Getting to know each other and establishing a fruitfuil group atmosphere
- Interactive "onboarding" regarding challenges of uncertainty (visualization) & intro to core concepts
- Opportunities to conceptualize and draft individual projects to visualize uncertainty in regard to the participants' own case studies
- Feedback and discussion of emerging challenges
Day 2: Visualizating Uncertainty
- Intro to challenges and problems related to the visualization of uncertainties
- Overview of different approaches to uncertainty visualization
- Specifiying cases of uncertainty in the particpants' own research projects and presenting them in short pitches
- Pitching Uncertainties: Accompanying media training
Day 3: Reflection & Transfer
- Identifying, collecting, and reflecting on emerging challenges and opportunities of uncertainty communication and visualization
- Reflecting on personal take-aways and possible next steps to apply new skills and knowledge in the participants' own research
- Invitation to further collaboration and exchange
How to apply
Use the following link to apply: Application Form
Your application includes:
Deadline for application is 31 January 2025. You will be notified about the decision of the Organising Committee by early February 2025.
Costs
This course is designed for Early Career Researchers (MSc, PhD candidates and 1st-year postdocs), and participation is free (but accommodation and travel is at your own expense). There will be a number of travel grants for those who qualify but have difficulties to cover their costs (this requires a justification).The course can accomodate 10 participants.
For more information contact Prof. Peter Dietrich peter.dietrich@ufz.de
Organization Committee
- Michael Pelzer, Research Center for Science Communication, U of Tübingen
- Prof. Peter Dietrich, Department of Geoscience, U of Tübingen
- Dr. Solmaz Mohadjer, Transdisciplinary Course Program, U of Tübingen