Postgraduate Studies in Weather and Climate Modeling
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Mensen die durven denken over de uitdagingen van morgen, daar streven we naar. Daarom is het onderwijs aan onze universiteit stevig verankerd in zes grote onderwijsdoelstellingen: denk breed, blijf onderzoeken, steun talent, bouw mee, verleg grenzen en kies kwaliteit.
De UGent heeft continu aandacht voor kwaliteitszorg en kwaliteitscultuur. Het UGent-kwaliteitszorgsysteem geeft voor elke opleiding informatie over de troeven van de opleiding, de sterke punten én de werkpunten.
Meer info:
Michiel Viejira
Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium
MA1
As a student in Physics and Astronomy, I started to realise that my interest was mainly in less abstract physics with a practical or societal impact. With this in mind, the postgraduate Weather and Climate Modelling seemed ideal to me. After all, we are continuously confronted with weather. Moreover, there is a lot of physics involved in weather and climate so it can be seen as an extension that matches well my education in Physics and Astronomy. I found it interesting that many of the lecturers were employed at weather and climate related institutions such as RMI and VITO. This gives the opportunity to become acquainted with research outside the university. There are also a lot of practical tasks and projects to apply the knowledge learnt in the courses. It was also great to get to know the other students of the postgraduate who had often very different backgrounds. Today I am working at the RMI in the context of urban climate. Some of the lecturers and students of the postgraduate are now my colleagues. The postgraduate program gave me a solid basis to have a smooth start for my job at the RMI.
Siebe Puynen
Antea
MA1
After studying Bioengineering Forest and Nature Management, it soon became clear to me that climate is going to have a big impact on nature, agriculture and our living environment. I therefore wanted to learn more about weather and climate and what the upcoming changes will bring about. This postgraduate degree was the perfect training for this. The postgraduate program counts a limited number of students which is quite nice as you get to know them well and the teaching style is personal and engaging. You are also taught by different experts from not only UGent but also the RMI, so you learn about the many applications of climate science from different angles. Furthermore, I personally had a very broad education as a bio-engineer, including a solid portion of mathematics and physics in the first years. In my masters, this became somewhat less relevant. During the postgraduate, of course, the focus was eagerly put back on this. It took some refreshing, but after a while and with various practical and modelling exercises, it was very nice to work in this way again.
I now work at the engineering firm Antea Group. I applied for a vacancy as an ecologist but was allowed to start because of my training as a postgraduate in weather and climate modelling. They were looking for people with climate knowledge and that turned out to be rare. Here, I work on spatial development studies and projects that deal with both nature and climate. In fact, climate studies within this sector are gaining such momentum that I contacted Professor Caluwaerts back for specific advice and a possible collaboration. This led to the fact that I will now carry out doctoral research in collaboration with the Department of Physics and Astronomy in function of Antea.
Sara Top
FWO post-doc at Ghent University
MA1
I am currently conducting climate research at the Atmospheric Physics department of Ghent University. Weather and climate have always intrigued me. During my studies in Geography and Geomatics I came across the postgraduate in Weather and Climate modelling, but I was doubting whether the mathematics and physics of some courses would be feasible for me. Some courses were tough, but the teachers made the content clear by giving extra explanation when I didn’t understand something. During the projects, that you have to carry out for some of the courses, I learned a lot from my class mates since you collaborate with people that have different backgrounds and are as fascinated by weather and climate. This was a very nice experience! The additional skills I acquired during the postgraduate gave me the opportunity to start a PhD and academic career in climate science. My recommendation is: if you are very motivated, have a (basic) science background and want to find a job that is weather or climate related, then don’t hesitate to subscribe for this course!
Bushra Duti
Institute of Water Modeling – Bangladesh
MA1
The postgraduate program "weather and climate modelling" is an advanced degree program, so I considered doing it after my Master. I completed my Master in Water Resources Engineering at KULeuven and wanted some additional background on numerical weather modelling, so I chose this program. The projects I did after each course definitely helped me to grasp the subject at hand better. My favourite subjects were Dynamic Meterology and Air Pollution. I had the luck and opportunity to use the knowledge gained in this program of Gent University, back home, when I started working in Climate Change Cell and Coastal Modelling Division of Institute of Water Modelling. The Program administration and Coordination is also excellent, and as an overseas student, I have always found them very helpful even after graduation, I and have kept in touch with the people of the program. I very much recommend the interested students to take on this program with confidence, vigor and curiosity.