For the second edition, the conference intends to be international and will be open to researchers from the European University Alliance Circle U. The conference will indeed conclude the "Circle U. sandpits", one of Circle U.’s flagship actions in support of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research approaches. In addition, with the "Inter Circle U. Prize for inter- and transdisciplinary research", this conference will be an opportunity to highlight some remarkable initiatives carried out in Circle U. universities.

Scope

Both interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches are increasingly required to address ecological and social transition challenges involving interdependent technical, economic or socio-cultural dimensions and a plurality of social actors at the level of society. These social actors include both actors from the NGOs, private enterprises, public administrations, non-university research institutions or engaged citizens. Interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches mobilize specific disciplinary knowledge from all sectors of the university (Sciences and Technology, Social sciences and Humanities, Health Sciences), but they also attempt to integrate different types of knowledge through processes of co-construction of knowledge between researchers from different disciplines and social actors involved in transition initiatives.

The Transition Plan highlights that such research often requires specific support in terms of methodological tools, types of partnerships with social actors or visibility in academic journals and international conferences.

In this context, on 24-25 November 2022, the second edition of the scientific “Conference on interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research for sustainable development” will be organised in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.

Programme

The conference will be formatted along several programme activities:

• Opening Plenary session (on 24 November) on Increasing the contribution of transdisciplinary research to accelerating sustainability transitions.

Our guest speakers, Alexandra Lux and Flurina Schneider (Institute for Social-Ecological Research, Germany), will deliver two plenary keynote lectures entitled “Strengthening societal effects of transdisciplinary sustainability research” and “Transdisciplinary knowledge co-production on sustainability transformations”.

• Thematic Sessions (on 25 November)

Following an open call for scientific contributions, researchers from Circle U. universities and UCLouvain involved in interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary research projects will present their research work or their research protocols in a series of thematic parallel sessions.

• Panel discussions with representatives of Circle U. Universities on creating interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary knowledge ecosystems for research and higher education at universities
• Best practice examples of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research in the European University Alliance Circle U.

Videos presenting the three initiatives selected in the framework of the Inter-Circle U. Prize for inter and transdisciplinary research (ICUP) can be viewed on the website of the Circle U. Alliance.

Practicalities

The conference will take place in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium on 24 and 25 November 2022.

Thursday 24 November

Time: 16:15 – 18:00

Location:

The Opening session will take place at :

Auditorium SOCRATE 11
Place Cardinal Mercier 10
1348 Louvain-la-Neuve

Friday 25 November

Time: 09:30 -17:30

Location:

The Thematic parallel sessions will take place at Collège Thomas More

Place Montesquieu, 2
1348 Louvain-la-Neuve

Registration:

Participation is free but registration is mandatory via this form.

Scope

There is no life without water. Water is a driver for development: it is vital for human nutrition and health and essential for ecosystem management, agriculture, energy, economic development, peace, and security. Yet, billions of people around the world are continuing to suffer from poor access to water, sanitation, and hygiene. Some 2.2 billion people around the world lack access to safely managed drinking water services, 4.2 billion people do not have access to safely managed sanitation services, and 3 billion lack basic handwashing facilities. Many societies are further confronted with increasing water scarcity, lowering water quality and the indirect impacts of climate changes on water system functions and services. In addition, in many regions of the world, governance and institutions and financial resources dedicated to water management are insufficient for reaching a sustainable trajectory for water management. The current challenges related to water are therefore multi-dimensional, multi-scale and complex, and intertwined with the many other challenges of the sustainable development agenda. Addressing these complex challenges needs multi- and interdisciplinary approaches, and expertise from different scientific disciplines. This should be grounded on a thorough understanding of the water system, the water system processes and associated water services and functions. 

The Circle U. is a recently created European university alliance that aims constructing, by 2025 an inclusive, research-intensive and interdisciplinary European university. Students, staff and partners from civil society, businesses and the public sector will collaborate to jointly develop competencies and solutions for keeping Europe and the planet healthy, peaceful, democratic and prosperous. Louvain4water is a transdisciplinary consortium that develops basic and applied research, advanced training and services in the field of water at UCLouvain.  The expertise available in the Circle U. alliance, or in local platforms of participating universities like the Louvain4water platform yields excellent opportunities for consolidating the science base needed to address the current water challenges. Yet, such expertise should be better mapped and linked in order to empower the capacities of participating institutions of the Circle U. alliance in addressing water challenges. 

The overall goal of this symposium is to strengthen the conceptual interdisciplinary scientific framework that is needed to address the current multidimensional water challenges and to bring together expertise from different partner institutions of Circle U. in the water science domain. The specific objective is to illustrate and discuss on how interdisciplinarity can be boosted to address the complex water challenges and to draw a roadmap to set-up interdisciplinary activities in the water science domain in the realm of Circle U.

Symposium format 

To reach these goals, a scientific symposium was organised at UCLouvain 26 April 2021. The symposium was formatted along several programme activities: 

• Opening : Introduction to the European University Alliance Circle U. (presenter to be announced)
• Introduction to Horizon Europe R&I opportunities related to Water, Healthy Oceans and Seas by Elisabetta BALZI, Head of Unit, DG Research & Innovation, C.4 Healthy Oceans and Seas, European Commission
• Key note presentations (120 minutes): Experts from the different universities will give some lectures on current progress in the water science domain. We aim for 7 key note presentations of each 20 minutes.  
• Pitch presentations (60 minutes): Scientific members of the different universities will be able to showcase their work in the water science domain and invited to record a short presentation (3 minutes per presentations).
• A business meeting (60 minutes) aiming to draw a roadmap for interdisciplinary research in the water science domain within the realm of Circle U. 

Programme

Publication and diffusion 

The proceedings of the meeting, including abstracts of keynote lectures and posters will be distributed virtually, through the Louvain4water website.

Organising committee

The meeting is organised by the scientific committee of the Louvain4Water platform and will be hosted by UCLouvain. 

Registration

The objective of the Louvain4Water Seminars is to strengthen the network of researchers and other actors working in the water domain at UCLouvain and identify common actions in this domain.

For this meeting, we are pleased to receive Prof. Sanda Lenzholzer (Wageningen University and Research Centre WUR) who will give a keynote speech on the project "REALCOOL - Research through Design for Cool Urban Water Environments".

In addition to this, the Louvain4Water Seminar will offer its members the opportunity to pitch their research works on topics related to water (app. 3 minutes per presentation). Please do not hesitate to contact us through the registration form below if you wish to present your work. The presentation can equally be in French or English.

Keynote by Prof. Sanda Lenzholzer (Wageningen University and Research Centre WUR) REALCOOL - Research through Design for Cool Urban Water Environments

Urban design practitioners believed that urban water bodies (such as canals, ditches or ponds) can solve urban heat problems but recent research shows that the cooling effect of large water bodies during summer is limited over day and can actually induce a night-time warming effect. But what is the situation around small water bodies and how can they provide cooling for their environment? This was studied in the ‘Really cooling water bodies in cities’ (REALCOOL) project. In a Research Through Design process we explored the most effective combinations of shading, water vaporisation and natural ventilation to cool smaller water bodies. It showed that the water itself cannot be cooled effectively, but that the environment of the water bodies can be cooled: shading was the most important factor followed by openness to wind and evaporating water through fountains and sprays. We created virtual prototypes/ design guidelines that we tested according to criteria such as water-storage capacity, compatibility with other urban functions, costs, maintenance and effects on public health. Our user committee concluded that the final prototypes can be easily applied in design practice.

Pitches presentations

To be announced.

Location

Auditoire Gerty Cori

Tour Laennec, 57

1200 Woluwe-Saint-Lambert

Date: 24 November 2022, 13:00 - 16:00

Location: Hybrid format: Virtual (via Teams ) and Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium (Earth & Life Institute, Bâtiment de Serres, UCLouvain).

Target Audience: Circle U researchers (PhD students, others, …) interested in climate science, water management and urban planning.

Organisers:

• Circle U, Climate Hub
• Louvain4Water

Background of Circle U, Climate Hub, Happy Hour Event (HHE)

The overall objective of the Happy Hour Event is to strengthen the partnership between Circle U units within the “Climate Change Knowledge Hub”. We believe that this needs a better understanding of the partners’ different thematic research fields and available specific expertise.

The Circle U, Climate Knowledge Hub, Happy Hour Events (HHE) are organized to reach this objective. An HHE is a short scientific event (typically lasting no more than 3 hours), consisting in two keynote lectures (one from the natural sciences and one from the human science domain), followed by a debate, a set of small pitch presentations and a final debate. The HHE is targeted to young researchers and doctoral students of the different partners. The participation in an HHE is certified by the organisers and can be included in the participants’ portfolio of research training.

Scope and objectives of the Circle U knowledge hub first Happy Hour Event

The current projected climate change for western Europe suggests an acceleration of the hydrological cycle, and hence predicts for the coming decades an increase of exceptional meteorological events such as heat waves, droughts, or catastrophic rainfall and flooding events. Such speeding up of the hydrological cycle adds considerable burden on the quality of life, in particular in urban environments, and calls for additional urgent measures to make European cities climate resilient. The adaptation of urban water infrastructure and water management is often considered as a key to face this challenge and to make cities more resilient to climate change. Yet, designing climate resilient water infrastructure for urban environments should be based on a thorough understanding of the hydrological processes in urban settings. In this happy hour, scientific advances supporting climate resilient water management for urban environments will be discussed.

Format of the Happy Hour Event

Two keynote lectures will allow to present specific cases dealing with climate resilience, hydrological issues and water management in urban environments.

A call is made for PhD students and researchers of Circle U to present a pitch presentation of scientific studies related to urban water management and infrastructure adaptation to face the challenges of climate change in urban environments. Contributions are solicited on the following topics

• Extreme hydroclimatic observations in urban environments
• Hydroclimatic models for urban environments
• Water management infrastructure to reduce flooding and extreme drought impacts
• Restoration of natural watersystems in urban environments
• Nature based solutions for making cities blue and green
• Innovation in water production, water distribution and water sanitation
• People engagement to contribute to blue resilient water cities

Submission format and deadline

PhD students and researchers of Circle U. are invited to submit their pitch proposals in the following format

• Name
• Affilitiation
• Abstract

Pitch proposals should be submitted before 17/11/22, 24h00.

Selected pitch proposals will be invited for a pitch presentation of 3 minutes + 2 minutes of discussion.

Publications and certifications

The oral and pitch presentations will be registered and will be made available on the web site of the event

A book of abstracts will be made available on the web site of the event

A certificate of participation will be delivered to participants

Preliminary programme

13h00-13h20 - Keynote lecture: "How does Paris impact heavy metal transfer in the Seine river?". Prof. Alexandre Gelabert, U Paris.

13h20-13h30 - Q&A

13h30-13h50 - Keynote lecture: “Flooding in Walloon Brabant: from a transdisciplinary diagnosis to transdisciplinary actions?.” Prof. Jean Philippe de Visscher, LAB, UCLouvain.

13h50-14h00 - Q&A

14h00-15h00 - An ensemble of PhD pitch presentations (3 min presentation per pitch, 2 min questions – discussion per pitch). To be confirmed after 14/11/22

15h00-16h00 - Panel and final discussion

16h00-16h15 - Transfer to downtown Louvain-la-Neuve to participate to the Circle U. conference “INCREASING THE CONTRIBUTION OF TRANSDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH TO ACCELERATING SUSTAINABILITY TRANSITIONS”

This project has received funding from the European Union’s ERASMUS+ Programme under grant agreement No 101004062

Download the programme

Partnership