25th EJSW – European Junior Scientists Workshop – 2022

The 25th EJSW – European Junior Scientists Workshop on “Monitoring Urban Drainage Systems and Rivers” was held on 15-21 May 2022, in St-Maurice-en-Valgaudemar, France. This edition was co-organized jointly by the Sewer Systems and Processes Working Group of the IWA/IAHR Joint Committee on Urban Drainage and the H2020 project Co-UDlabs. It gathered 20 junior participants from 11 countries and even more diverse nationalities.

The 25th EJSW included:

  • 20 oral presentations by the junior scientists (20 min presentation + 10 min for questions/answers).
  • 5 short courses (45 min) by senior organizers on i) low-cost monitoring, ii) uncertainty assessment, iii) data validation, iv) application of cameras in discharge monitoring, and v) 3D printing applied to urban drainage and river monitoring.
  • 1 workshop (1.5 h) on ethics in science and research.
  • 4-afternoon hands-on sessions for each junior participant, are to be chosen among the 8 following topics:
    i) DIY low-cost water level monitoring,
    ii) sediment transport monitoring,
    iii) tracing experiment for discharge measurement,
    iv) data validation,
    v) sensor calibration,
    vi) uncertainty assessment,
    vii) LSPIV,
    and viii) turbidity -TSS (or COD) correlation.

The EJSW benefited from wonderful weather for outdoor hands-on sessions, the excellent food and venue at the Val des Sources hotel, and was a great opportunity for sharing knowledge and experience, networking, and creating links between participants, reinforced by recreational activities.

EJSW 2022 in St Maurice en Valgaudemar (photo F. Clemens-Meyer).

The senior organisers: Jean-Luc Bertrand-Krajewski and Mathieu Lepot (INSA Lyon), François Clemens-Meyer (Deltares and NTNU), Antonio Moreno Rodenas (Deltares), Oldrich Navratil (University Lyon 2, CNRS UMR 5600).

Feedback from participants:

“I’d want to thank all the seniors for their efforts in preparing this workshop and creating a positive atmosphere among us. I’ve learnt a lot from both an academic and a personality standpoint. I hope that a session like this will be organized with this mood and knowledgeable professors. Thank you one again.” (SNT)

“The workshop was a fantastic experience to meet and work with other Ph.D. students interested in similar topics. Always guided by experienced professors and a great attitude to sharing their knowledge.” (MAP)

“The workshop was amazing! I had the opportunity to meet young researchers in a calm and relaxed atmosphere. The workshop gave me the opportunity to find out how research is approached in other countries.” (ME)

“It was a great pleasure and a wonderful learning experience attending the EJSW 2022. The venue was scenic and charming, and the hosts, senior scientists and organisers made sure to make us feel welcome and relaxed at all times. The workshop itself covered a variety of topics vital for a junior scientist, especially for someone who’s just starting a PhD. And the workshop had a good balance between work and leisure.” (PJ)

“The EJSW 2022 created wonderful opportunities for us to know each other. The designed lectures and workshops were really helpful for the beginning of my career. The food and landscape were also incredible nice.” (TH)

“I definitely have no words but to thanks for the time I had in the workshop. I really appreciated it. There were many learnings, good conversations and friendships/connections built. If I could define the workshop in one word, that word would be amazing.” (PVS)

“Oh, I am so happy that I can share one week time with kind seniors and PhD students coming from all over the world. This is very special for me because that I never participated in such activities before. In this workshop, we can learn methods in hydrology monitoring, know works of others and make friends. I feel the time goes so quickly and I will miss this my first workshop in the future!” (QZ)

“I am very grateful for being able to participate in the EJSW 2022. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet other young researchers in my field who also had a great passion for urban drainage. I very much enjoyed the informal atmosphere, where there were many opportunities for great discussions and the ability to ask questions to deepen my understanding on the topics covered further.” (PM)

“This week of presentations, lectures, workshops, and discussions was a real great opportunity to meet people and share. We learned and applied different methods and devices, for a global use or directly for our research. It was a perfect environment to take a step back from our research and come back with plenty of new ideas and resolutions for our future works.” (GF)

“Thank you for the workshop. In particular, the opportunities for exchange, networking, and discussion as well as the feedback from the seniors were very valuable for me. The hands-on sessions in the quiet atmosphere were good for getting involved in the topic and learning basics unaffected from everyday life.” (KS)

“As a young scientist, the EJSW was very valuable. The relatively small size (25) of the group, composed of junior and senior researchers, was very suited for a free exchange of ideas. I especially appreciated the discussions about work ethics, and how to produce good scientific results in the context of urban drainage research (experimental design, uncertainty, data validation). Thanks to a very friendly and sharing atmosphere, I got to know personally future colleagues and friends that will accompany my professional career. Finally, the venue in the middle of the Alps was perfect to cut from the PhD daily life, recharge the batteries and come home with fresh energy.” (PL)

“I greatly appreciate the opportunity to get in contact with other PhD candidates, since my PhD studies started just at the time of the Covid pandemic spread and I did not have such real contact so far. I would like to thank you all for organization and enthusiastic approach.” (AS)

“The EJSW 2022 was a wonderful opportunity to boost knowledge on field work, data validation and work ethics in water sciences. I took a lot of motivation for my future scientific work out of this intense week, and I hope to meet some of the participants and organizers in future conferences/ workshops. Thank you so much!”. (RM)

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