APPLICATION AND ADMISSION (Extract from the Circular, para. 2)
Conditions for application and admission
The course is arranged for the benefit of participants from earthquake-prone countries from Southern and Eastern Africa and neighboring countries.
Preference is given to young candidates engaged in seismology, seismic monitoring and zonation, earthquake data analysis, hazard, vulnerability and/or risk assessment. Applicants should have active interest and obligations in these fields. Engineers with background and duties in earthquake engineering and disaster management who want to deepen their understanding of seismological phenomena, methods and data products are also considered, as are researchers or university lecturers in geosciences who may act as conveyers of the knowledge acquired in the course (training of trainers).
Applicants must have a scientific degree (B.Sc. or M.Sc., diploma or higher) in geosciences, physics or engineering from a recognized university, a focus will be on PhD-students. Preferably applicants should have several years of professional experience in subjects covered by the course. Applicants must also have a thorough knowledge of English which is the only working language of the course.
It is also mandatory for admission to the course that applicants are able and willing to present own scientific work, through an oral presentation (15 minutes + 5 minutes discussion).Priority is given to applicants who are able to cover the cost for travel from domestic institutional or development-aid project funds for training. Only a limited number of Travel grants are available to selected participants from developing countries in need of support.
Application formalities
Applications should include the following information:
(1) Filled-in application form;
(2) Two letters of recommendation or reference which give details on the applicant’s personality, duties and performance in seismic station operation, data analysis or other specified applied or research projects;
(3) Confirmation of appropriate command of English;
(4) Title and one-page abstract of the proposed topic or case study to be presented or discussed in a special workshop session;
(5) Title and kind of intended cultural presentation;
(6) Letter of motivation;
(7) List of scientific publications (if available)
Without such specifications and accompanying documents an application will not be considered!
The deadline for the submission of the application documents is July 2, 2025.
Candidates will be informed of the decision of the Academic Board by July 25, 2025 and, if accepted, will receive further instructions by the GFZ in a letter of acceptance. Any additional questions may be directed to the address above.
Services provided to selected participants
Fellowships granted to participants entitle them to the following services:
· Accommodation in single rooms (double rooms during the excursion), meals and tea-break refreshments within the facilities and arrangements provided by the organizers.
· Tuition, course material, scientific and cultural excursions;
· Collection of scientific material and software which participants can take home;
· Local transport in connection with the official programme, field excursions and pick-up arrangements for meeting participants arriving at and departing from the airport.Travel grants to cover the cost of international air travel might be available for few participants only. Therefore, every applicant is urged to look into available possibilities to cover travel expenses on his/her own with the support of his/her nominating or sponsoring institution and to make, an explicit statement to this effect in the application form.
For more information, please contact:
GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences
Section 2.1 “Physics of Earthquakes and Volcanoes”
Dr. S. Cesca
Telegrafenberg, D-14473 Potsdam
GERMANY
E-mail: course-un@gfz.de
