450403 SE Summer School: Understanding Climate Mobilities (2025S)

Climate change is reshaping human mobility in profound and complex ways. While some populations are displaced or relocated in the context of rapid-onset disasters such as floods, wildfires, or tropical storms, others are migrating as an adaptation, for example to cope with slow-onset changes such as drought, land degradation, sea-level rise or coastal erosion. Understanding these complex human-environment relations and the nexus between climate change and human (im)mobilities is crucial for developing sustainable responses and fostering social resilience of the affected communities.
The Summer School 'Understanding Climate Mobilities in the 21st Century' offers an interdisciplinary and intensive learning experience for PhD students seeking to deepen their knowledge of environmental and climate mobilities. Through lectures, workshops, and interactive discussions, participants will engage with cutting-edge research, theoretical perspective, and innovative methodological approaches in the field of climate mobilities. Additionally, participants will also develop essential academic and communication skills, including scientific writing (structuring research papers, navigating the journal landscape, and the role of AI in scientific writing), as well as training in science communication, third-mission engagement, and podcasting for science communication.

Key Themes:
- Theoretical perspectives on climate (im)mobilities: from climate-induced migration to climate mobilities
- The role of translocality and social resilience in migration dynamics (Sakdapolrak et al., 2016)​
- Case studies on droughts/land degradation, sea-level rise, storms and migration linkages
- Migration as adaptation: opportunities and limitations
- The ethics and challenges of climate mobility research
- Innovative methods on exploring and analysing climate mobilities: between mixed-methods, multi-methods, and mobile methods
- Skill development: scientific writing and science communication

What to Expect:
- Inputs by scholars in climate migration research
- Hands-on exercises in research methodologies, analysis approaches and science communication
- Collaborative group projects addressing real-world climate mobility challenges
- Networking opportunities

This summer school will equip participants with a critical and holistic understanding of climate mobilities, enabling them to contribute meaningfully to academic, public and policy debates.