TRANSMOUNT – Transitions in mountain environments

In the dual context of climate change and global warming, mountain regions are currently undergoing major changes. Climate change is causing an intensification of hydro-climatic processes which, combined with the heavy urbanization of certain valleys, is reinforcing risk situations. Rising temperatures and changes in rainfall patterns are significantly altering ecological conditions. 

Mountain regions are also facing a number of challenges linked to globalization, including communication difficulties, peripheralization and profound changes in the four traditional economic sectors of mountain regions: agriculture, forestry, energy production and tourism. 

Holistic approaches, combining natural sciences, human and social sciences, and modeling and mapping tools, are needed to analyze and cope with these issues. TRANSMOUNT aims to provide the students conceptual and methodological tools to address these issues. It follows three thematic axes and one methodological objective: 

1. axis 1: Hydrogeomorphological processes and risks
2. axis 2: Landscape changes in agro-sylvo-pastoral mountain systems
3. axis 3: Mountain heritage and tourism economy
4. methodological objective: combining remote sensing and field research in mountain areas. 

The programme copes with current territorial issues in the Alps, the Carpathians and the Mediterranean mountain regions. 

• Geomorphic risk typology and analysis   
  
• Hydrological processes in mountain regions  
• Climate change and ecological impact on biodiversity on mountain areas  
• Territorial dynamics in mountain areas  
• Field techniques and photogrammetry to study mountain processes  
• Mountain ecological features  
• Remote sensing and GIS integration in coping for mountain regions  
• Mountain risks: management and perception  
• Mountain agro-sylvo-pastoral system transitions  
• Mountain landscape trajectories and their perception  
• Mountain geoheritage and tourism  

• mapping and interpreting mountain environmental and social-economic phenomena by integrating data from complementary sources;
  
• identifying and explaining risk related phenomena, natural hazards, social and economic vulnerability, for local resilience and sustainability assessment;
  
• understanding mountain landscapes with their features, changes, and their perception;
• field data sampling and class-laboratory work on data processing in order to assess the current state of mountain environments;
• extraction of qualitative and quantitative data from satellite and UAV imagery in mountain areas (multitemporal formula); 
• description and evaluation of geoheritage sites and their tourist potential using qualitative and quantitative criteria;
• identification of the local and regional patterns of mountain urban and rural communities.  

The physical mobility section of the BIP will take place between 22 - 26 March 2027, in Naxos Island, Cyclades Greece:

The five-day program follows the three axes of the CIVIS BIP TRANSMOUNT course. The physical part will integrate different activities, most of them focused on student active participation. Each day includes around 8 hours of learning activities.

Day 1 - 22 March 2027, Axis 2: Landscape changes in agro-sylvo-pastoral mountain systems

• a focus on Naxos Island Mediterranean mountain areas.

Day 2 - 23 March 2027, Axis 3: Mountain heritage and tourism economy

• heritage sites of tourist significance in Naxos Island mountain area, site data collection on features, historical evolution, environmental impact and values, including the past and present socioeconomic issues.

Day 3 - 24 March 2027, Axis 3: Mountain heritage and tourism economy

• visits and work to complementary sites of geopatrimony and geohistorical significances

Day 4, 25 March 2027 Axis 1: Hydrogeomorphological processes and risks

• visits and work on complementary areas on water resources, usages, management.  Observations and measurements on water related morphodynamics under the specific hydrological regimes, on water usages and its sustainability at local and regional level, on environmental impact of developments and engineering works etc;
• flood hazards – processes, impact, recurrence, indicators, impact on socioeconomic components including agriculture and settlement, local communities resilience issues etc.

Day 5 - 26 March 2027 Axis 2: Landscape changes in agro-sylvo-pastoral mountain systems

• analysis of the antique settlement functionalities, historical floods evidences, agricultural economy and community resilience;

• an analysis of the landscape features and functionalities agricultural economy and its impact and sustainability;
• discussions with local inhabitants and stakeholders.

Note: depending on weather conditions, the programme might be adapted by changing the order of the activities but with the intention to cover all sites and objectives during the mentioned period of the physical component.  

The course will run online between 01 March - 30 June 2026. The virtual component includes a total workload of 92 hours, structured as follows : 

• 1 introductory meeting (4 hours) 
• 10 thematic meetings (4 hours each, total 40 hours) 
• 1 final online workshop for project presentations (4 hours)  
• 44 hours of individual and group work 

Each 4-hour thematic session will include:  

1. theoretical presentation (1 hour) 
2. practical issues – methodology (1 hour) 
3. individual work and  scientific literature (e.g. paper reading, exercise, etc.) (2 hours) 

This format aims to balance theoretical lectures (with an interdisciplinary approach) and practical, research-based workshops, where trainers present their own work to illustrate the concepts discussed. 

Students are strongly encouraged to interact actively, ask questions, and contribute complementary examples related to methodologies, techniques, or case studies relevant to mountain research that will be presented during the virtual sessions. The knowledge gained in these sessions will serve as a foundation for the on-site (physical) component of the course and its evaluation.  

In June, students will carry out a fieldwork project under the supervision of trainers. They will present their results in the form of an oral presentation of a poster during a final virtual workshop and submit a written report.  

Schedule

The virtual sessions will take place on Mondays from 15:00 to 19:00 (CET), 16 :00 to 20:00 (EET). The sessions will not be recorded! 

The final assessment will be based on a small-group project, designed to foster interdisciplinary collaboration and problem-solving.  

Students will form teams of 3 to 5 members, with attention to complementary institutional affiliations, academic backgrounds, and skill sets. Projects with an interdisciplinary approach (e.g., geomorphology–ecology, remote sensing–mountain economy, geomorphology–tourism) are strongly encouraged.  

Project titles and objectives will be defined during sessions 5 and 10 of the virtual component of the BIP course, and case studies will be further developed during the physical week.  

At the beginning of the course, the coordinator will provide a Project Development Guide via Moodle. This document will include detailed explanations of the evaluation criteria and assessment procedure. 

The final evaluation will be carried out by the group of trainers and the coordinator during a virtual evaluation session on 15 June 2026, based on the group’s uploaded material (poster) and its online presentation. 

The final deliverables will include three equally weighted components: 

• Poster - a visual synthesis of the project outcomes (1/3)
• Online poster presentation, delivered in the style of a scientific conference contribution (1/3)
• Report - a concise written paper (5–6 pages) that may combine text, maps, figures, and other outputs. The emphasis should be on data collection, processing, and interpretation rather than format (1/3)

Grades will follow a scale from 1 to 6, with 4 as the minimum passing grade. 

The final evaluation will be based on :  

• relevance and coverage of mountain environmental and socio-economic issues in the context of climate change, landscape dynamics, risks and community resilience etc;
• clear and realistic objectives, formulated after a review of the basic knowledge on the selected subject;
• methodological coherence, with a focus on the techniques and skills acquired during the BIP;
• original contribution in data collection and processing, linked to the objectives and the specific issues identified on different spatial scale(s);
• synthetic view and consistency in result interpretation, in order to identify relevant aspects that can be compared and calibrated with other data; 
• spatialization of information – it is essential to follow the principles of geodata collection and visualization in order to provide the specific information; 
• practical solutions and stakeholder relevance, ensuring the project has potential applications beyond the academic context. 

Beyond technical and academic outputs, this evaluation also emphasizes: 

• interdisciplinary teamwork, encouraging students to integrate diverse perspectives and skills;
• stakeholder engagement, aiming to provide insights and solutions that may be valuable for local communities and decision-makers. 

Motivation Letter

CV

The applications will be evaluated based on:

• basic academic training in the fields mentioned above;
• participant motivation letter with relevant arguments concerning the interest on mountain issues (e.g. Master’s thesis or Ph.D Thesis topic);
  
• interest for mountain specific issues in current research activities for MSc degree dissertation or PhD thesis;
• good language skills (official certification is non mandatory).

Niki Evelpidou (coordinator of CIVIS BIP course). Professor at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece, Faculty of Geology and Geoenvironment, with subject "Geomorphology and Geographical Information Systems". PhD of the Faculty of Geology and Geoenvironment of the University of Athens and the Faculty of Geoarchaeology of the University of Franche Comte, France. Fields of research in geomorphology, sea level changes, palaeogeography, geoarchaeology, spatial technologies, study and modeling of natural hazards. 

Emmanuel Vassilakis. Director of the Remote Sensing Laboratory and Head of the Geography and Climatology Section of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece, Department of Geology and Geoenvironment. BSc in Geology, MSc in Applied Geology and PhD in Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques. Postdoctoral studies at the Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences Department at the MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, United States) and Visiting Professor at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany. Research fields in Remote Sensing and GIS, with emphasis in optical satellite image processing especially in high resolution data interpretation, as well as in close range remote sensing methods (UAV and TLS) used in geomorphology and natural hazards. Teaching experience in Remote sensing, Geomorphology, GIS, innovative techniques in field mapping. 

Anna Karkani. Laboratory Teaching Staff on the subject “Geomorphology and Natural Hazards” at the Faculty of Geology & Geoenvironment of the National & Kapodistrian University of Athens. Research interests in geomorphology, coastal geomorphology, natural hazards, palaeogeography and sea level changes. She has more than 40 publications in scientific journals and 37 conference announcements. She is also actively involved in the organization of conferences, workshops and training schools related to geomorphological subjects. 

Christos Georgiadis. Teaching and Research Assistant, Section of Zoology-Marine Biology. Department of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece.  BSc in Animal Science at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom and MSc in Pest Management, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. PhD in Entomology at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. Postdoctoral specialization at the United Arab Emirates University as instructor of Invertebrate Biology, Department of Biology, College of Science. Research interests in entomology, invertebrate biology, ecology, biogeography, terrain sampling and museal conservation (researcher and curator of Zoological Museum of the university. Teaching interests - laboratories of Zoology, Zoological Diversity, Ichthyology, Biological Oceanography. 

Emmanuel Reynard. Professor of physical geography at the University of Lausanne (UNIL), Institute of Geography and Sustainability, Switzerland. Member of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Mountain Research (CIRM) of UNIL in Sion. Studies in Geography at the University of Lausanne; MSc and PhD degrees at the Faculty of Arts of UNIL; Postdoc at the University of Queensland, Australia. Research fields in mountain geomorphology, geoheritage and geoconservation, water resources management, landscape management. Teaching in geomorphology, water management, landscape, mountain planning, and geoconservation. 

Melanie Clivaz. Researcher at the University of Lausanne, Institute of Geography and Sustainability and Interdisciplinary Centre for Mountain Research (CIRM) in Sion, Switzerland. BSc in Physical geography and MSc in Geography, specialization Geomorphology and development of mountain regions, of the University of Lausanne. Research interests: mountain geotourism, mountain landscape and sustainability, and citizen science. 

Christophe Randin. Ad personam Professor and researcher at the Faculty of Biology and Medicine, Department of Ecology and Evolution and member of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Mountain Research (CIRM), University of Lausanne, Switzerland. PhD at the University of Lausanne and post-doctoral fellow at INSTAAR (Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado, Boulder, United States) and postdoctoral research assistant, University of Basel, Switzerland. Research interests in mountain and alpine biodiversity and ecology, predictive modelling of climate change impact on plant species, plant phenology and niche ecology, citizen science and crowdsourcing. 

Jeanne Fournier. Project manager at the Interdisciplinary Centre for Mountain Research (CIRM) in Sion, Switzerland. BSc in Geosciences (Geography) and MSc in Foundations and Practices of Sustainability, both from the University of Lausanne (UNIL). Research interests include regional development, sustainability of mountain regions, vulnerability and adaptation of mountain destinations, citizen science, and the concept of « Living Well in the Mountains ». 

Aurelie Arnaud. Associate professor at the Faculty of Law and Political Sciences – Institute of Urban Planning and Territorial Development, Aix-Marseille Université, France and researcher at the LIEU laboratory. BSc in engineering and territorial development at the Joseph Fourier University of Grenoble and MSc degree in Mountain Region Management. PhD in Human Sciences, Politics and Territories of Joseph Fourier University of Grenoble. Research interests inn atural risks and social-urban aspects, mapping of human perception and risk threats, mapping of complex geographic features. 

Brigitte Talon. Associate Professor at Aix-Marseille Université, Mediterranean Institute of Biodiversity and Marine-Continental Ecology, France. MSc in Continental Mediterranean and Mountain ecosystems at the Aix Marseille University – St. Jerome and PhD in Biology – ecology of populations at the same university, with a Postdoctoral specialization at the University of Laval, Quebec, Canada – Laboratory of Northern Researches, currently PhD supervisor in Ecology at Aix Marseille University. Teaching interests in ecology-general, plant, forest and applied including mountain ecology, pedology. Research interests in environmental history and landscape dynamics, biogeography, palaeoanthracology, climate crisis and eco-socio systems vulnerability, forest biodiversity dynamics. 

Bogdan Andrei Mihai. Professor at the University of Bucharest, Romania, Faculty of Geography, Department of Geomorphology-Pedology-Geomatics. He studied Geography and Geomorphology-Pedology at Bucharest and got a MSc degree in Geoecology and PhD in Geography at the same university, specialization stage at the Institute of Alpine Geography, University Joseph Fourier of Grenoble, France and Abisko Research Station of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Visiting professor at University of Lausanne, Switzerland, Institute of Geography and Sustainability. Research on mountain landscape change modelling, mapping and analysis. Teaching in remote sensing image analysis, photogrammetry and digital mapping. 

Gabriela Ioana Toroimac. Lecturer at the University of Bucharest, Romania, Faculty of Geography, Department of Meteorology and Hydrology. She studied Geography at the University of Bucharest, PhD in Geography at the same university, Master Degree in Hydrology, University of Bucharest, Faculty of Geography and University of Lille 1, France, PhD degree in Geography in international co-tutelle at the Universities of Bucharest and Lille 1. Research interests in hydromorphology, flood risk, water balance. Teaching experience in hydrology, hydrological hazards, management of natural and anthropic risks. 

Marina Vîrghileanu. Lecturer at the University of Bucharest, Faculty of Geography, Romania, Department of Geomorphology-Pedology-Geomatics. BSc in Geography – Geomorphology and Pedology and MSc in GIS at the same university. Doctoral specialization at the University of Alcala, Spain, Faculty of Geology, Geography and Environment, and postdoctoral research stages on GIS applications in natural parks from France (Massif Central) and Portugal (north). Specialization courses on Earth Observation at the European Space Agency (EA) in radar image processing, radar polarimetry and Copernicus atmospheric Sentinel 5 data processing. Research interests in remote sensing, GIS, cartography and topography. Teaching experience in remote sensing and image analysis, photogrammetry, cartography and topography. 

Liliana Zaharia. Professor of hydrology at the University of Bucharest, Romania, Faculty of Geography, Department of Meteorology and Hydrology. She studied Geography at the University of Bucharest, PhD in Geography at the same university. Postdoctoral specialization courses in Hydrology and water resources management, Federal Polytechnical School of Lausanne, University of Neuchatel and Federal Polytechnical School of Zurich, Switzerland. Director of research centre Water Resource Management and Hydrological Risks, University of Bucharest. Fields of research in hydrology, water resource and management, hydrological hazards and risks, physical geography.