Amid the global Covid-19 pandemic, RE-CITY ESRs and the rest of the project team held the first hybrid meeting and training school of the project in Dortmund at the end of September and the beginning of October 2020. Due to the various situations with the pandemic, some of the participants attended the event virtually, while the rest of the ESRs were physically in Dortmund, following all hygienic requirements in regards to the Coronavirus.

The event took place over 5 days. The first two days were dedicated to the PhD Colloquium where for the first time the ESRs had the chance to present their research design, to justify their methodological approaches and to receive critical feedback from the rest of the team. After two intensive days of presentations and discussions, the third day of the programme included a fieldtrip through Dortmund. The local team had prepared an interesting visit to the Phönix See area – a former mining complex, which was redeveloped into a residential and leisure zone. Dortmund’s industrial heritage still plays a role in the city, but reimagined into cultural space or recreational space.

The second part of the academic programme was also two days and its main goal was to improve the research design, methodological approaches, research designs and objectives for each of the participants. With lectures and workshops by Prof. Thorsten Wiechmann (TU Dortmund), Dr. Letizia Imbres (TU Dortmund), Stuart Farthing (University of the West of England) and Gérard Hutter (Leibniz Institute for Ecological Urban and Regional Development), the ESRs focused on group work and exchange and fine-tuned a number of important details in their works. The improvements and changes were further discussed in an additional presentation and plenary session.

A key event in the course of the PhD Programmes, the workshop in Dortmund was very important for the progress of each of the ESRs. The TU Dortmund team took all the necessary measures to facilitate a safe and professional environment given the challenging circumstances in which the meeting took place.

For more information, visit the RE-CITY ITN social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Blog and LinkedIn!