Scope

SUBITOP has three principal training objectives:

  1. To give its ESRs deep expertise and experience of state-of-the-art theories, concepts and techniques in the Earth Sciences and adjacent fields, such as physics and computation, and to make this available also to other interested scientists through selective open access to SUBITOP Workshops and Short Courses.
  2. To assist the ESRs in shaping their careers in academia or industry by providing them with strong organisational, presentation, team-building, networking and management skills, experience of the private sector, and solid professional connections.
  3. To give the ESRs essential outreach and communication experience through a dedicated Classroom Partnership programme.

These objectives will be attained through a coherent training programme, lead by experienced University Professors O. Oncken and F. Gueydan and supervised by the Network Coordinator N. Hovius and the Project Manager (Michael Dietze). SUBITOP will have the following training mechanisms and activities:

  1. Personalised Training Programme (PTP), defined by the ESR, together with the Academic and Private Sector supervisors, and regularly evaluated and if necessary adapted in agreement with the Supervisory Board. The core of the PTP is a research project, designed to earn the ESR a Ph.D. degree. This project is, therefore, based at an academic institution, and involves secondments at a private sector partner as well as another academic institution within the Network. These will give the ESR first-hand experience of working in the Private Sector and access to technology and expertise complementary to that of the primary host. The ESRs will have access to post-graduate level courses at their host institution and elsewhere in the Network.
  2. Short Courses on key modelling and observation techniques, based on tested teaching concepts and tailored specifically for the needs of the SUBITOP ESRs.
  3. Annual Workshops, where all SUBITOP researchers (ESRs and senior researchers) will present and discuss their current research, forging and strengthening collaborations within the Network. Crucially, these workshops will also be a platform for exchanges with the industrial partners. Seminars by Private Sector Partners on knowledge transfer and career paths and opportunities, and skills courses on communication, programming, teaching and career planning will complement the academic programme of the workshops.
  4. The Classroom Partnership Programme is an outreach activity with a substantial training component, teaching the ESRs how to set up a small education programme, and how to make their science accessible and relevant to a group of secondary-school-aged adolescents.
  5. Participation in international scientific meetings, where the ESRs will be exposed to state-of-the-art research in their field, communicate their key findings, and build a network of academic contacts.
  6. Practical activities aimed at developing the ESR’s communication, organisation, collaboration and management skills. These activities include the running of an electronic newsletter and social media accounts, participation in the organisation of the Workshops and Short Courses, responsibility for an open specialist conference, and contributions to the outreach programmes of the host institutes.