The LARAM 2021 school

LARAM (“LAndslide Risk Assessment and Mitigation”) is an international training programme run by the Geotechnical Engineering Group (GEG) of the University of Salerno.  This is a long running training scheme that brings together early career professionals for a two week intense period.  The course is taught by eminent landslide scientists.  It serves two key purposes:

1. It equips cadres of early career researchers with the skills that the need to make a substantial contribution to landslide science;
2. It creates international cohorts of researchers, enabling collaboration.

The LARAM organisers describe the school as follows:

For each edition of the school, 40 PhD students are selected to attend the residential courses, selected among applicants working in civil engineering, environmental engineering, engineering geology or related fields. The School can be also attended by some Young Doctors who defended their PhD thesis in the previous 5 years.

The courses include formal lessons, tutorials and field training.

The 2021 version of LARAM will run from 6 to 17 September 2021.  Unfortunately, in these pandemic times it is having to run in online format.  However, there is no doubt that it will be an exceptionally worthwhile event.

Details of the 2021 programme are now available.  Applications are also invited from both PhD students and those recently graduated with a doctoral degree:

• Application for PhD students: https://www.laram.unisa.it/school/2021online/application_phd_students
• Registration PhD graduates: https://www.laram.unisa.it/school/2021online/registration_young_doctors

Whilst the LARAM school was not available when I was early in my career (to my deep regret), many of my post doctoral researchers have attended over the years.  They have found it to be an invaluable experience.  I thoroughly recommend it.

Previous cohorts of students and lecturers on the LARAM programme. Image from Cascini et al. (2020).

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Reference

Cascini, L., Calvello, M., Cuomo, S. et al. 2020. LARAM School 2020 goes online: the 15th doctoral school on “LAndslide Risk Assessment and Mitigation”. Landslides 17, 1997–1999. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-020-01456-w