INITIATE for PhD is a new platform aiming at strengthening the emergence of robust international, intercultural and interdisciplinary network of PhD candidates working on water related issues. It gathers PhD candidates and their mentors from 12 universities across the world, among those three UNESCO International Centres (Delft, Dundee, Montpellier). It is meant to provide to participating PhD candidates opportunities to exchange with PhD candidates from other universities, who are struggling with similar issues to develop interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary knowledge. We expect a double benefit from the platform: on the short term, a decentred perspective for each PhD candidate on his/her own PhD subject; and on the long term a robust network beyond PhD to exchange experience on water issues and build tomorrow successful consortia to face global change water related issues. Beyond these direct benefits from interactions with PhD candidates and their mentors, participants to the platform will also benefit from the connections of all the universities participating in the platform. If you are interested in a further international career, you will be put in touch through the platform with academics from all over the world and practitioners from international institutions and major businesses involved in mitigating and adapting water management to global changes. The three UNESCO centres, but also the universities’ connections with private and public entities will be mobilised in the events dedicated to the platform.

In practice, the platform will provide several possibilities for these exchanges, starting with summer schools, joint field schools, online seminars, mobility to use specific devices… Each year a new cohort of PhD candidates will be selected. As participation in the INITIATE for PhD platform is meant to be impactful in the course of the PhD, we require that the application come with a letter of support from your PhD supervisor(s), and that you commit to contribute to the cohort all along its activity, beyond one specific event.