The commencement of the Masters theses

Walking away from Ljubljana - the group on a fieldtrip on
the penultimate day of our time in the Slovenian capital.

It is now mid-March and, since our last post just prior to Christmas, we have finished our short spell in Ljubljana after an intense month of many exams, many presentations and many reports. It was a tough two months, inevitably disjointed and split by the Christmas holidays. On our final day together, a field-trip was organised through the snowy Karstic region of  South West Slovenia, with the trip an opportunity to witness glorious snow-covered landscapes, dive (figuratively) head-first into some of the world's deepest and most scientifically-valued cave networks and, most importantly, to begin to say goodbye to each other and the country. In early February the day to leave Slovenia came around.

Currently, we have been within our thesis writing period for a month now. With over six months to focus on a topic, the thesis period has proved to be an opportunity for us to explore a topic of interest to us and really delve deep into an academic field. We have been given opportunities - and many of us have worked hard to create our own opportunities in new institutes - all over the world, with students spread from Denmark to the Caribbean and some of us have the opportunity to travel to Asia and beyond for fieldwork. For more information on the thesis titles, locations and a brief topic description, please visit the new 'Masters Theses' (click here) page. It's brilliant!

A suitable snapshot of FRM meets
FRM in Dresden's Neustadt.

Many of the first batch of FRM have been lucky enough to meet the second batch of students (FRM 2.0). Those four students writing their thesis in Germany were able to coincide their arrival with the last week of the 2011-14 group's stint in Dresden. Such an opportunity provided the chance for questions to be asked, stories to be shared, advice to be given and a few drinks drunk - all in the name of business... maybe. And, now, FRM 2.0 find themselves in Holland where, in-between countless lectures, assignments and essays, they have joined-up with the largest thesis contingent. The three students at UNESCO-IHE and the other three Delft-based thesis students are now able to expand the inter-generational FRM bonding that began in Dresden. And, who knows, maybe the two thesis students in Barcelona will be lucky enough to continue the trend in the first few days of FRM 2.0's time at UPC! Such bonding between the FRM community and the shared sense of purpose is a real positive of the course and I, for one, am grateful for my opportunity to have spent such time. Hopefully, future meetings can be encouraged in the next 18 months and beyond.

However, as always with such a masters, the thesis period brings with it new experiences and issues to work through. Over our year and half travelling Europe together, we have grown very accustomed to each other and I am comfortable that I speak for all of us when I say that not being surrounded by our favoured, friendly FRM faces is an odd experience that makes our final six months very different to the preceding eighteen. However, this is just a fact of this period and, if nothing else, it ensures that we are passionately anticipating our graduation ceremony at UNESCO-IHE, Delft, in September. I know that many students have already started to make arrangements for themselves and, more significantly, their families to join them for the celebrations. We know it will be a special day for us all and, if previous UNESCO-IHE organised parties are anything to go by, we are set for a brilliant evening too.

But until then, there are thesis proposals to fine-tune, research to plan and implement, tens of thousands of words to write, defence seminars to sweat through and everything in-between. It is set to be a busy six months, but with the end (surprisingly-quickly) creeping up, it's time to end it with a bang.

Allons-y!

by

Richard Vause

Adios to Barcelona!

The UPC campus in December- we'll miss weather like this!

It has long been accepted that the passage of time is constant, but after our three months in Barcelona I think it would be fair to challenge this assumption. As we woke up from some of our final siestas, it was apparent that our three months in the heart of Catalunya had flown by. After tonnes of tapas, stacks of sangria and frequent fiestas, our time in Spain was drawing to an end.

But not before we had been assessed. In keeping with the Spanish way of life (ask Patricia), our at UPC was very relaxed, with much independence given to us in the completion of our assessments. With two group assignments and two group presentations set, we were given deadlines in the final week for each.

The FRM group bidding farewell to our
UPC lecturers over a few beers

Accordingly the emphasis was placed on independent and self-motivated study to a far greater extent than in the earlier parts of our course. I think it would be fair to say that each one of us learnt a lot about our style of teamwork, time management and planning, with (hopefully) an all-round successful outcome reached for all of us!

After the hard work of our final weeks, it seemed fitting to relax and say goodbye to our lecturers. Again, we chose to do so in keeping with the Spanish way of life: through a few beers and lively conversation. Well attended by the class and lecturers alike, we took a lot of pleasure in learning a bit more about each other (congratulations on the forthcoming third child ‘Big Daddy’ Brian! Note, Richard makes a great boys name…), our opinions of Spain over the past three months and to say farewell properly.

Leaving drinks with our new Erasmus Mundus friends

Also, during our studies in Barcelona we found ourselves in a Coastal Risk Management class with a number of other Erasmus Mundus students (from a course with an official website, but without a student-run blog, if you can believe such a thing exists). These students had also spent the past six months in Delft – unbeknownst to us – and, we found significant comfort and enjoyment in our shared experiences. Therefore Barcelona was also a significant time of new friendships and it was with heavy hearts we bid goodbye to our new Erasmus Mundus pals. But fortunately, for a those of us selected to write their thesis in Holland at UNESCO-IHE, they will be reunited with our new friends as they complete their own thesis. International Erasmus Mundus friendships at their very best.

It was then time to pack up for one more time and board our transport to our next stop, and final destination as a total group of 18, Ljubljana. Due to the high prices of flights from Barcelona to Ljubljana (or anywhere near Slovenia!), bus was the mode of transport chosen by most of us. As a 23 hour journey, it was as ‘interesting’ as expected so please return soon to hear about our arrival and first impressions of our new Slovenian home.

by 

Richard Vause

An array of academic activities

The life of an Erasmus Mundus student brings a variety of social opportunities - festivals, holidays and more. However, this post, aims to highlight another opportunity handed to us: the breadth of academic insights we receive. Through differing teaching styles, course structures and even physical environments, we are given the opportunity to open our minds wider and wider, broadening our academic background.

In addition to the everyday academic diversity we encounter, we frequently experience even greater diversity through the numerous opportunities to attend conferences, seminars, PhD defences and more in the institutes in which we study. Our most recent  opportunity was to attend a research seminar at UPC only last week from Dr. Carlo Gregoretti, titled “Monitoring Debris Flow in North Eastern Italy”. With impressive visualisation of concepts, his talk acted as a useful introduction to a topic (Debris Flows) that we have newly encountered in Barcelona.

Similarly, whilst at UNESCO-IHE we had the opportunity to attend a PhD (Multi-Objective Optimization for Urban Drainage Rehabilitation by Wilmer Jose Barreto Cordero) and a Master (Flood Characteristics of the Haor Area in Bangladesh and the Potential Effects of Climate Change by Asadusjjaman Suman) defence. Talks such as these give us the opportunity to gain insight into the future for our studies!

At UNESCO-IHE a seminar was held discussing “How Flood risk can promote social justice”, highlighting the significance of social aspects of flood risk management. The seminar provided a differing perspective from much of our studies, raising our awareness of the fact that deeper social and philosophical considerations must be taken in order to formulate appropriate strategies for flood-related disasters globally. With the views of co-ordinator Zoran Vojinovic, honorary fellows of UNESCO-IHE Dr. Cunge, Professor Mike Abbott and Professor J.P O’Kane, the seminar proved a refreshing academic experience for all in attendance.

FRM students talking to Dr. Gopal at the Intecol Conference

As discussed previously, during our Florida fieldtrip we were given the opportunity to attend the INTECOL Wetlands Conference, the globes premier wetlands meeting. The opportunity to meet numerous academics and interact with a tight-knit academic community was a new experience for many of the course and gave the perfect introduction to the world of an academic. In fact, whilst at the Wetlands conference, I was able to meet a professor (Dr. Gopal) who had contributed the leading research in Ecology science and a frequently reoccurring name in my own personal research for my own ecology paper on tropical wetlands whilst at TU Dresden. As with most of the academics we were lucky enough to meet at the conference, Dr Gopal’s words and insights served as motivation for many of us to enter the world of research in the future.

As students under the course title of ‘Hydroinformatics’ at UNESCO-IHE, when the opportunity to attend a Hydroinformatics conference in Hamburg arose, a few of us (those most interested in the field) took the opportunity with welcome hands. The conference took a special focus on the impact of climate and environmental changes on aquatic environments and the development of suitable adaptation and mitigation measures. During our attendance, Prof. Dimitri Solomatine, the head of Hydroinformatics at UNESCO-IHE, helped us to appreciate the importance of attending such conferences to enhance our knowledge and become familiar with the latest research. And this, in fact, is true of all of the above seminars, conferences and talks – it is these opportunities that can really broaden our academic experiences. This will hopefully prove invaluable in developing ideas for our own masters research and beyond. So I guess we should probably be off for some literature reviewing!

Hydroinformatics participants with UNESCO staff: Professor Dimitri Solamatine (left) and Dr Popescu and Dr Jonoski
Special thanks must go to Dimitri for his help organising the attendance of the students at the conference.

by Nilay Dogulu

¡Hola Barcelona!

Having reached halfway of this masters marathon, the month of holiday in August came as a welcome break to our tired bodies and minds. For most, this involved travelling to our respective home countries to replenish ourselves by catching up with family and friends, filling up on all our favourite foods, daytime soap operas and simple delights such as being able to read signposts, while also having some time to take stock of the whirlwind of a year we have had. For others, their travelling experiences continued as they took the opportunity to venture even further across Europe and beyond. As if we hadn't had enough travelling as it was.

At the beginning of September it was yet again time to pack our entire lives into suitcases and boxes, find accommodation and begin our next adventure in the beautiful city of Barcelona. As a tourist destination, this was definitely the city we were most looking forward to visiting. And I can tell you now, it has not disappointed. Barcelona is a city teeming with culture, amazing architecture, festivals and music, with the added bonus of incredible weather and beaches! It is also steeped in history and the people here take enormous pride in both their region Catalonia and, of course, the famous Barcelona Football Club.

Castells, a truly Catalan construction

Thus far, the highlight of our stay has been the festival of ‘La Mercè’. This festival took place a week after a festival campaigning for Catalonian independence from Spain and only two weeks before that there was another festival in our local area of Les Corts... for no particular reason! The Spanish really do love to party and they know how to do it well! ‘La Mercè’ celebrates the Roman Catholic feast day of Our Lady of Mercy - the patron saint of the city. A jam-packed schedule included; free concerts, circus acts, the building of 'castells' (human towers), a fire-music-fireworks parade known as 'Correfoc', more free concerts and the biggest fireworks display I have ever seen to finish off the celebrations. It was a truly magical weekend!

But of course, the reason we have the privilege of enjoying these marvellous experiences is ultimately to become flood risk managers. Therefore, it was with fresh brains that we began our studies in Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) under the guidance of Prof. Allen Bateman. After some inevitable registration and logistical confusion that seems to follow us everywhere we go, we eventually returned our noses to the grindstone. The courses here have been carefully planned so as not to overlap with any material we covered in either Dresden or Delft. This has led to a diverse and interesting timetable with numerous new concepts and approaches being taught. Our classes here cover; drought management, debris flow and flash flood risk, coastal risk management and the use of radar in flood early warning systems. A key feature of our work at UPC will be that all of our grades will be based on continuous assessments - projects or presentations completed in groups or individually, depending on the subject. This allow a more practical and application based approach to be taken to the subjects, accounting for us only spending 3 months here.

A major academic issue,burning a hole in the minds of the entire class, is the upcoming selection of thesis topics. Our first preliminary list of topics has just been received and makes for a very ‘thought provoking’ read.  So, just as we settle into our lives in Barcelona we are already looking forward to the future with curiosity, wonderment and only a mild sense of dread! It seems to be the FRM lifestyle!

by Siobhan Gleeson