The Young Scientist School (YSS) URSA MAJOR 2023 will introduce a young generation of researchers to special topics in urban societal, environmental, and computational sciences. URSA-MAJOR: “Urban Sustainability in Action Multi-disciplinary Approach through Jointly Organised Research Schools” is a research project. The focus is set on digital communications, massive environmental monitoring, and integrated urban system modeling to support sustainable development pathways in smart cities. Participants will learn about the current state-of-the-art, progress and challenges in urban system research; high-resolution climate modelling, observations (including ground-based and remote-sensing), and data analysis; as well as modern approaches to communication about socio-environmental interactions using web-based geoinformation systems, storytelling, and technologies of virtual and augmented reality.

The YSS programme includes a series of conceptual theoretical lectures and concrete practical exercises. Each student will work in a group under a small-scale research project (SSRP) ending with online presentation to the school lecturers and participants and further with eventual peer-review research publication(s).

The YSS comprises of the following parts:
• 23 Oct 2023 – online session and material distribution
• 1-3 Nov 2023 – in-person (incl. hybrid sessions) in Tromsø (Sommarøy), Norway
• 20 Nov 2023 – presentations/ defenses of SSRPs by student groups
• 24 Nov 2023 – issue of YSS certificates

The YSS is a part of the Norwegian education and networking project URSA MAJOR (https://www.ursamajor-nerci.in), funded by the INTPART International Partnerships for Excellent Education, Research and Innovation program of the Research Council of Norway. This YSS is supported by the Pan-Eurasian EXperiment (PEEX; https://www.atm.helsinki.fi/peex) and the World Meteorological Organization – Global Atmospheric Watch (WMO-GAW; https://public.wmo.int/en/programmes/global-atmosphere-watch-programme) communities.

This School is dedicated to the Memory of Professor Sergej Zilitinkevich (1936-2021), who has actively promoted atmospheric and environmental sciences, multi-disciplinary approaches in the Earth system modelling and their applications for research community, and especially, for the younger generation.

This School is organized in a hybrid format to increase knowledge transfer to participants unable to travel. All accepted participants of the school are required to attend a series of lectures, prepare SSRPs. Successfully defended SSRPs – will be granted the attendance certificates with 1-3 ECTS points (depending on quality and quantity of the presented results).

Text: Igor Esau, University of Tromso, Norway