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Ide3a member’s participation at Berlin Open Data Day 2021: Don’t miss out!
Ide3a member’s participation at Berlin Open Data Day 2021: Don’t miss out! 1100 695 ide3a

Next week, on 25th August 2021, our e-learning specialist Margaux Huth will hold a presentation during the annual Berlin Open Data Day. The topic of the presentation will be the ”Water Hackathon” that was organised in collaboration with the Berlin Senate in January 2021.

The presentation will be held at 12:00 and it will be streamed under the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4sS_yGK_6U

Interested in other events happening during the Berlin Open Data Day 2021? Check out the homepage of the event here. You can also access the full timetable of the event (in German) here.

Save the Date: ide3a schools + Hackathon 2021
Save the Date: ide3a schools + Hackathon 2021 2560 1640 ide3a

Photo credit: Fotis Fotopoulos (@ffstop) on Unsplash

As the new semester is nearing its start, we would like to announce you this year’s ide3a winter schools.

Some novelties have been implemented since last year’s schools based on students’ feedback. This year, there will be two schools: Smart Sensing and Smart Cities as well as a hopefully in-person “Smart City Hackathon”.

Each school will have two intensive three-day sessions spread over the course of two weeks. These three days include, lectures in the morning and tutorials in the afternoon as well as social activities. Students will be able to attend only one of the schools, but will receive access to the material of the other in preparation for the Hackathon. The Hackathon is mandatory for all participants of the schools. One School plus Hackathon will be awarded 6 ECTS.

The tentative dates for this year’s schools are as follows:
Smart Sensing School: 13th – 15th & 20th – 22nd October
Smart Cities School: 3rd – 5th & 10th – 12th November 
Smart City Hackathon: 1st – 3rd December

More information about the contents of our schools as well as registration deadlines will be announced soon. Please subscribe to our student newsletter to not miss the beginning of the registration!

© ECDF/PR
Photo © ECDF/PR

ide3a research assistants win Science Slam
ide3a research assistants win Science Slam 1536 1269 ide3a

We are happy to announce that two ide3a colleagues won the Science Slam of “Wissensstadt Berlin 2021”, which took place on July 9th. In the Science Slam, which thematically focused on the climate crisis, six scientists from TU Berlin, Charité, University of Potsdam and Berlin University of the Arts competed against each other by presenting their research topics to the audience in an informative but also entertaining way. With their contribution “Digital Campus for Green Cities – International and Multidisciplinary? How and why?”, Margaux Huth and Siling Chen convinced the audience the most and were chosen as the winners of the evening. The Science Slam was organised by TU Berlin and Climate Change Center Berlin Brandenburg.

Public scientific events with ide3a participation coming up
Public scientific events with ide3a participation coming up 1196 670 ide3a

Allowing everyone to participate in science and research is what the project “Wissensstadt Berlin 2021” is all about. From 26 June to 22 August 2021, an open-air exhibition will take place on the square in front of the Rotes Rathaus in Berlin. In the course of this, Margaux Huth and Siling Chen, research assistants in the “ide3a” project, will participate in a Science Slam on the topic of the climate crisis on 9 July. Anyone who is interested can come along, the Science Slam will take place from 6:30 pm to approx. 8:00 pm. See more details here.

Already on 8 July, Andrea Cominola, Principal Investigator of “ide3a” will participate in a panel discussion with the topic “Education and Professional Development in Hydro-Environmental Engineering”, in which several case studies from the field of hydro-environmental engineering and water resources education will be presented. The discussion will take place as part of the 1st IAHR Online Forum. See more information here.

First ide3a scholarship holders arrived at TU Berlin
First ide3a scholarship holders arrived at TU Berlin 2560 1523 ide3a

After an extensive application process at the beginning of the year, we were happy to welcome the first scholarship holders of the ide3a project to TU Berlin. In a joint supervision with one supervisor at the students’ home university and one at TU Berlin, these students will work on their theses in the coming months and are supported by scholarships from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).

Despite still difficult conditions due to the Corona-related travel regulations, two students from Dublin City University (DCU) and one from Politecnico di Milano (PoliMi) were able to arrive recently and begin their three months research stay in Berlin.

As a first step, the ide3a coordination team organised a campus tour around TU Berlin. More meetings with further scholarship holders will follow.

In the course of the year, we expect more students from our partner universities to come to the TU Berlin and vice versa. They will get the opportunity to increase intercultural competences while tackling a whole range of research questions and final projects in the field of critical infrastructure with professional support from teachers of our consortium as well as other professors at TU Berlin.

Working for ide3a – open position at TU Berlin
Working for ide3a – open position at TU Berlin 2496 1472 ide3a

You are a student in Berlin and looking for a job? The ide3a project is looking to enrich its team with student workers supporting the scientific work of the ide3a consortium.

The ide3a project focuses on the digitalization of critical infrastructures like water networks, energy grids, sensor networks, and other interconnected urban systems. We work together with five major European partner universities and institutes to support the mobility of students across Europe. A declared goal of ide3a is the development of a serious game based on the simulation of critical urban infrastructures. The students will be fully involved in the collaborative research on the serious game and, thus, gain comprehensive insights into scientific practices. Furthermore, the student can improve their problem solving and interdisciplinary communication skills.

The position comprises 60 working hours/month and is paid according to TV Stud III. The contract is of fixed duration until December 31st 2021 with the option of extension in case of funding available. Since we have a very international team, English is the working language. Knowledge of German is an asset but not mandatory.

The tasks of the student worker are the following:

  • Support the team in their research (e.g. literature research, testing of frameworks etc.)
  • Support the development of a serious game/simulation of critical urban infrastructures under different scenarios
  • With a focus on the respective topics of the department (see below)

Student Worker at the Chair of Urban Resilience and Digitalisation

Focus of the department: Simulation of water networks and green-blue infrastructures

Required Qualifications: Study program in Architecture, Landscape Architecture or Urban Design/Planning/Management; Knowledge of urban infrastructure (Water infrastructure & green-blue infrastructures; experience in simulation of complex systems and their interaction

Link to the Jobadvertisement: The job ticket can be found here.

Application deadline: May 14th 2021

How to apply: Please send your application in English with the reference number and the usual documents (cover letter and CV) by email until May 12th to Lisa Westphal ().

Information on cyber attack: TU Berlin is faced with a cyber attack and not available via Email. The deadlines for all applications were extended to May 14th 2021 and the e-mail Adress of Lisa Westphal provided above is a preliminary mailing address valid until TU Berlin is back digitally.

Register now for lecture series on “Critical Infrastructure and Digitalisation”
Register now for lecture series on “Critical Infrastructure and Digitalisation” 1047 582 ide3a

ide3a offers a series of lectures by all partners of the network in the summer term of 2021. The course will be conducted fully digitally and we invite students from all partner universities to join the lectures on “Critical Infrastructure and Digitalisation”.

If you are interested, register through the form below until April 1st 2021. We will inform all applicants shortly after the deadline if their application was successful.

The lecture series provides an overview on the digital and technological transformation of different sectors of urban critical infrastructure. These sectors include water networks, energy grids, sensor and communication networks, as well as mobility. Within each topic we are paying special attention to the way sensor and open data networks can enable a shift toward new ways of monitoring, operating, and managing these systems efficiently and sustainably. Additionally, the goal of the course is to identify and discuss the synergies and inter-dependencies between the different sectors and topics.

Experts from different faculties of TU Berlin, guest speakers from the ide3a partner universities (NTNU Trondheim; DCU Dublin; PoliMi Milano; CUT Cracow), and from the utility sector and policy making domain will present cutting edge research projects, lessons learned, challenges and visions.

The lectures will be completed by two practical workshops. The exam to complete the course is a portfolio exam consisting of a report to be written in groups, a scientific literature presentation, a video assignment and small weekly quizzes.

Lectures will be held in English and takes place every Tuesday from 3.30 pm to 5 pm starting on April 13th 2021. This course awards 6 ECTS if all lectures and the exam are completed. Please note that students from our partner universities have to take care of crediting the course in their home university. We will help in that process by providing the necessary information and documentation.

Registrations are now closed.

Applications for ide3a scholarships 2021 are open
Applications for ide3a scholarships 2021 are open 2560 1600 ide3a

Ide3a offers interested and qualified students the opportunity to write their Bachelor or Master thesis with a DAAD-funded scholarship and joint supervision. Students from TU Berlin can apply for one of our partner universities: NTNU Trondheim (Norway), DCU Dublin (Ireland), CUT Cracow (Poland), or Polytecnico di Milano (Italy). Moreover, students from these universities have the opportunity to apply for a scholarship at TU Berlin.

Students of all subject areas can apply for DAAD-funded scholarships to write their thesis at one of these universities starting from the summer semester 2021. The duration of the stipend for your stay abroad is three months with the option to extend it, if there are capacities.

The deadline for applications is February 28 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, complications may occur in the process of going abroad. In case you cannot enter the country as planned, the supervision of your thesis can still start digitally and scholarships payments will be paid out.

What do you gain from this?

  • Equipment, knowledge, and supervision: The best of both universities!
  • Internationalisation of your research profile and international experience
  • Support with the administrative procedure
  • DAAD-scholarship with monthly payments and support for travel expenses

How do you apply for a scholarship?

UPDATE 17.02.2021: Due to a very high number of applications we have decided to modify the application process as follows.

  1. Applicants do not need to find a supervisor at TU Berlin before the application process is finished. Selected candidates will seek supervision at TU Berlin only after they were confirmed.
  2. Additionally to the required documents (see below) every student must submit a (max.) 150 words short description containing their study programme, faculty, department, field of study, specific research interest and/or thesis topic which must be linked to the broader topic of critical infrastructure. 
  3. Also name your supervisor at your home university. If you do not have one yet, send us suggestions for possible supervisors at your faculty/department.
  4. Apply with your institutional email address (university email address). Applications from private email addresses cannot be considered.

 The paragraphs 1-4 are additional to the already announced application documents, which are:

  • Letter of motivation (including preferred period for stay abroad, proposed supervisor at home university and why you think you are the right person to do this stay abroad, additional information – maximum 1 page)
  • CV (maximum 1-2 pages)
  • Bachelor certificate and/or current transcript of records
  • Assessment letter of a professor of your home university
  • Current enrolement certificate

Please send all your application documents in one single PDF-file to .

Berlin´s Water Hackathon & school on “Smart Cities”
Berlin´s Water Hackathon & school on “Smart Cities” 604 340 ide3a

For the third school of this winter term the ide3a-project teamed up with Berlin Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises to conduct the “Berlin Water Hackathon 2021”, or as it is called for students from our partner universities the school “Smart Cities”. 

While Berlin might not make international headlines as ‘a city on the verge of a water crisis’, the German capital – just like many others worldwide – is also predicted to face more and more water related challenges like extreme weather events in the near future. Increasingly frequent extreme rainfall events, summer droughts, and increased heat stress urge us to rethink the relationship between the city of Berlin and its urban water system. Understanding the complex interconnections between water and other critical infrastructures is key in this mission. 

The ‘Berlin Water Hackathon 2021’ invites students and professionals from various disciplines to join forces and tackle some of these wicked water problems in a creative and collaborative manner. In addition to our partner students, people from the general public with an interest in this topic were invited, too. 

The online event will kick off with 3 days of lectures and workshops, from January 20th-22nd, introducing the state of the art and hands-on case studies from Berlin and beyond. The second part of the event will comprise a 2-day hackathon, from January 25th -26th, supported by the Berlin Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises. The teams will work on one of three challenges that the Berlin water system is facing. The best team project will be awarded by a prestigious jury of experts!

The programme of the hackathon can be downloaded here. 

First Two ide3a Schools Completed
First Two ide3a Schools Completed 604 292 ide3a

We are glad to announce that the first two ide3a schools “Smart Sensing” and “Smart Buildings” were successfully completed. Both lecture series grounded on topics of critical urban infrastructure and were conducted fully virtually. Besides the gain of knowledge, students had the opportunity to take part in hackathon challenges as group work, in which they elaborated the solution for a certain scientific problem and were thereby supervised by the ide3a ambassadors. The challenges were accomplished with group presentations and the submission of final reports.

As a cooperation of all ide3a partner universities, the schools enabled lecturers from different academic institutions and countries to contribute to the programme. Students from Technische Universität Berlin (TUB), Cracow University of Technology (CUT) and Politecnico di Milano (PoliMi) engaged in the courses brought in their views from different disciplines and fields of study.At the end, the schools received an overwhelmingly positive feedback by both lecturers and participants, which is a strong motivation for all members and staff of the ide3a project to continue on our path of implementing digital learning formats in an international and interdisciplinary environment. Our next school in the series, “Smart Cities”, will take place in January 2021.

© ide3a 2021
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