Network Activities and News
This page highlights training and networking activities and news within the doctoral network, including boot camps, workshops, and upcoming summer schools. These events support interdisciplinary learning, collaboration, and professional development for doctoral candidate.
BEYOND Summer School 1 – Magdeburg, 15–19 June 2026
Day 1 – Fieldwork and high-frequency monitoring
The Summer School started in the field with a tracer experiment at the Sauerbach stream in the Bode Observatory. The participants investigated processes controlling nitrate uptake and transport in an agricultural stream and subsequently discussed and analysed the data generated during the experiment.
The field activities were followed by a session on quality control of high-frequency sensor data, introducing important considerations when working with the high-resolution environmental measurements that form a central part of many BEYOND projects.
Day 2 – Data analysis and sensor technologies
The second day continued with hands-on analysis of the data collected during the field experiment. The aim was to connect field observations with quantitative approaches for understanding nutrient transport and transformation in streams.
The afternoon broadened the perspective towards technological development and applications. LUODE Consulting presented developments in sensor technology, followed by a presentation from EasyMining. These sessions provided perspectives on how environmental monitoring, technological innovation and resource recovery can connect research with applications outside academia.
Day 3 – Catchment functioning, monitoring and modelling
The third day focused on understanding catchments as interconnected systems. Lectures addressed how landscape characteristics, hydrology and biogeochemical cycles interact to control solute export and catchment functioning.
The programme then moved from catchment processes to water-quality monitoring, including the different requirements of statutory monitoring and research and the opportunities provided by high-frequency sensing. During the afternoon, two modelling sessions provided opportunities to explore how observations and process understanding can be translated into quantitative models.
The day concluded with canoeing on the Elbe River, followed by an informal barbecue – an opportunity for the network to spend time together outside the research environment.
Day 4 – Doctoral Candidate progress and BEYOND protocols
A central part of the Summer School was dedicated to progress within the individual BEYOND research projects. All Doctoral Candidates presented their work and discussed results, methodological challenges and plans for the next stages of their projects.
The afternoon focused on the common BEYOND protocols. Presentations and discussions provided an opportunity to compare approaches across projects and institutions, identify potential collaborations and strengthen connections between the different parts of the network. Time was also reserved for supervisory meetings.
The day ended with a joint Summer School dinner in Magdeburg.
Day 5 – From individual projects to BEYOND synthesis
The final day shifted the focus from individual Doctoral Candidate projects towards integration and synthesis across the network. Participants discussed potential BEYOND synthesis papers and how results from the different research projects can be brought together to address questions at the network level.
The programme also covered career development plans, dissemination and exploitation, data management and other activities required to ensure that the scientific results generated within BEYOND are effectively shared, integrated and used.
The Summer School concluded a week that combined field-based learning, scientific training, project development and networking. It provided an important opportunity to assess the progress made during the first phase of the Doctoral Candidate projects and to identify new connections and collaborations for the next stages of BEYOND.
A big thank you to the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ team for organising and hosting a highly productive and enjoyable first BEYOND Summer School.
BEYOND Boot Camp, Söderfors – 16-22 November
The BEYOND doctoral network held its first boot camp in Söderfors, Sweden, in November, bringing together doctoral candidates, supervisors, and partners for an intensive week of training, exchange, and collaboration.
The programme combined scientific sessions, professional development, and network-building activities. Early sessions focused on introducing the network, sharing research interests through poster presentations, and outlining expectations, outputs, and collaborative structures. A keynote lecture and discussions provided a shared scientific starting point for the cohort.
A full day was dedicated to researcher skills development, including academic writing, science communication, career planning, supervision practices, and effective use of individual study plans. These sessions emphasised reflection, peer interaction, and practical tools for doctoral training.
Scientific depth was further strengthened through sessions on research ethics, participant presentations of past, ongoing, and planned research, and structured “speed-dating” discussions to identify synergies across projects. Outdoor activities, including a guided hike and field visits, were integrated to encourage informal exchange and well-being.
The boot camp also included study visits and stakeholder engagement, highlighting pathways from research to societal impact, innovation, and entrepreneurship. The week concluded with discussions on data management, synthesis activities, dissemination, and future collaboration within the network.
Overall, the Söderfors boot camp laid a strong foundation for interdisciplinary collaboration, shared identity, and long-term scientific cooperation across the doctoral network.