2020/12/18     Dresden, Germany

By Isabella Georgiou

On Wednesday, 9 December 2020, the fourth annual PhD Symposium for the Joint PhD Programme in Integrated Management of Water, Soil, and Waste between UNU-FLORES and Technische Universität Dresden (TU Dresden) took place virtually. The event was moderated by Dr Lulu Zhang, Associate Programme Officer of UNU-FLORES, who guided the discussions throughout the sessions and led the successful conclusion of the Symposium.

Held annually, the purpose of the Symposium is to provide a platform for PhD candidates to introduce and provide updates on their research to supervisors and academic staff from UNU-FLORES and TU Dresden, who in turn provide guidance and constructive feedback.

A wide array of topics addressing key elements of the Resource Nexus were discussed, followed by a fruitful discussion on the challenges of addressing the Resource Nexus in PhD research. The young researchers engaged in overarching topics such as sustainability, resilience, and vulnerability, and risk assessment of different systems and resources, including water, waste, agriculture, and materials.

Furthermore, the topics covered and addressed different synergies between sectors and actors, accounting for the private and public sectors, as well as trade-offs between the environmental, social, and economic spheres.