The NERC Earth System Science Graduate School

The National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS) will coordinate the NERC Earth System Science Graduate School (NESSGS) on behalf of a consortium of NERC Research and Collaborative Centres and strong university departments. The school will provide NERC-funded research students and other early career researchers with a broad and in-depth foundation in the scientific concepts of Earth System Science (ESS) and its applications. The consortium has broad representations across the disciplines of earth, marine, terrestrial, atmospheric and polar science and will draw on its international reputation in integrative science, including earth observation, climate science, whole earth system modelling, the water and biogeochemical cycles, biodiversity, environmental sustainability, energy and policy making. The school will include formal lectures, workshops, group work, presentations, practical exercises, field observations. There will be a strong emphasis on student participation and community building, with a strong intention of creating lasting networks. As internationally leading research organisations in their own right, the partners are able to be adaptable in varying specific themes from year to year and have large networks of international collaborators available to contribute to the teaching. Through provision of this summer school, the consortium will ensure that NERC can be confident that its research students have access to world leading research training in ESS wherever they are based.