SUBITOP Workshops

All members of the Network will attend the four SUBITOP workshops, which have the triple purpose of 1) delivering expert scientific and training lectures to the ESRs, 2) allowing the ESRs to communicate and coordinate their scientific work, and 3) fusing the scientific, applied and outreach components of the network.Each of the four workshops will have a specific goal and, thus, an appropriately shaped layout.

Workshop I

This first workshop will take place in September 2016 near Potsdam. It will provide the novice ESRs with a state-of-the-art review of knowledge of subduction systems, assemble the scientific, private sector and SCP partners, and strive to create a common working base. The emphasis of this workshop will be on scientific lectures and contacts between partners with different background. A special session will be organised for attending classroom teachers to acquire a working understanding of the subduction system and its societal importance. To inspire all participants, the workshop will be located on Thassos, Greece, within the Aegean backarc extension zone, and followed by SUBITOP Short Course 1, which explores the tectonics and topography of this area. To promote network coherence, these two events will be for SUBITOP members only.

Workshop II

This event will take place in Utrecht, the Netherlands, in Summer 2017, and be dedicated to discussions and round tables on scientific topics selected by the ESRs. This approach will help the ESRs identify shared research interests, challenges and problems, and search for shared answers and solutions. The workshop will also feature a training session for classroom teaching to help the ESRs optimise their SCP experience. At this time, the ESRs will be formally assessed by the Supervisory Board to determine if they will be allowed to proceed towards completion of their project. The Workshop will be followed by SUBITOP Short Course 3.

Workshop III

The third workshop is projected for Spring 2018 and will be located in Roma, Italy. At this workshop, the ESRs will report on the progress of their projects by means of an oral and poster presentation. They will receive feedback on the presentations from the assembled scientific supervisors, private sector partners and external Supervisory Board members. Otherwise, the focus of this workshop will be on exchanges with the private sector partners and transferable skills. This workshop will take place after the ESRs have done their industry secondments, and key experiences will be reviewed in a forum discussion. Private sector partners will offer their perspective and participate in training seminars on CV, application writing and job interview techniques. ESRs will also receive personalised advice on career planning and pathways to suitable employment, and benefit from a session on proposal writing techniques. The mid-term review of the Network will coincide with this workshop.

Workshop IV

The final workshop will take the form of a conference on the ‘Links between shallow and deep processes in subduction systems’. This event will be open and widely advertised and serve to disseminate the scientific results of the SUBITOP research programme. The ESRs will be responsible for all aspects of the conference organisation, supervised by senior scientists from the CSIC, which will host the event in Barcelona in Spring 2019, and S. Cloetingh, coordinator of the TOPO-EUROPE Science Network. The conference will include a programme for teachers, based on the Geoscience Information for Teachers concept of the EGU. All teachers involved in the SCP will be supported to attend and report on their SCP experience, together with their respective ESRs.