Students learn about different possibilities of specialization in ecology and which methods are used in the respective field. Specialization means that not only different areas of knowledge and different methodological approaches are internalized, but that ultimately different career paths are chosen: from a doctorate to working in public authorities or in a planning office to the interface with the social sciences, e.g. through the analysis of human-environment interactions. Students learn from lecturers and selected guest lecturers about different directions of specialization in the field of ecology and find out which “methodological toolbox” is required for each.

Choosing a career always goes hand in hand with a focus on a specific method and subject area. But: What knowledge and methodological skills do I need for the various professional fields in ecology? What can I expect in a nature conservation authority? How should I imagine a doctorate in ecology/physical geography? What methods do I use to work with society and communicate research results? In addition to career-related insights into different subject areas and methods, various current ecological challenges are presented and discussed in the course.

Seminar with field trips and guest lectures

After successful completion of the module, students will

• have gained a critical understanding of the diverging meanings of core concepts of landscape and environmen in various fields of politics in Europe and in Germany,
• have a knowledge of the tasks and structure of landscape planning in Germany,
• are familiar with the most important instruments of landscape and environmental planning.

• Landscape Definitions (e.g., European Landscape Convention, UNESCO World Heritage Convention)
• Federal Nature Conservation Act (German: BNatSchG u. LSchG NRW)
• Environmental Aspects (Concerns) in Binding Land use Plans and in Regional Planning
• Nature Conservation, Biotope (Value) Assessment and Compensation
• Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA - German: UVP, UVU, UVS)
• Environmental Indicators and Environmental Quality Goals and Standards
• Strategic Environmental Assessment
• Methods of Multi-dimensional Ecological Impact Analyses for Planning

Lectures, group discussions, short field trips and oral contributions

Understanding and knowledge of the UN institution IPCC, its tasks and working methods; teaching, development and discussion of the main scientific statements of the IPCC reports (6th Assessment Report) on global warming (climate change), reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (climate protection), vulnerability and adaptation to climate change

1) What is the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and how does it work?

2) Procedure of the IPCC reports and the role of government delegations in their adoption 

3) Structure of the reports

•  Special reports,
•  Working Group reports (WG I to III),
•  Synthesis report,
•  Summaries for political decision-makers

4) Key messages from the reports of the 6th Assessment Report

• WG I: “scientific basis”: current global warming, man-made contribution to current global warming, future global warming, IPCC scenarios, residual CO2 budget, link between CO2 and global warming, earth energy imbalance
   
• Further topics from all working group reports and the special reports: Limits to adaptation, tipping points and other topics requested by participants

5) Outlook for the upcoming Assessment Report (Special Report “Cities and Climate Change”, new emission scenarios, new models, ...)

6) Critical appraisal of the work of the IPCC (timeliness, financing, sequence of reports, synchronization with other reports (biodiversity, global stocktake)

The course will be a combination of input lectures and seminar parts. In addition we will make a role play simulating an IPCC plenary meeting.

IPCC, 2023: Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Core Writing Team, H. Lee and J. Romero (eds.)]. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland, pp. 1-34, doi: 10.59327/IPCC/AR6-9789291691647.001

IPCC, 2021: Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Masson-Delmotte, V., P. Zhai, A. Pirani, S.L. Connors, C. Péan, S. Berger, N. Caud, Y. Chen, L. Goldfarb, M.I. Gomis, M. Huang, K. Leitzell, E. Lonnoy, J.B.R. Matthews, T.K. Maycock, T. Waterfield, O. Yelekçi, R. Yu, and B. Zhou (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA, pp. 3−32, doi:10.1017/9781009157896.001.

IPCC, 2018: Summary for Policymakers. In: Global Warming of 1.5°C. An IPCC Special Report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate poverty [Masson-Delmotte, V., P. Zhai, H.-O. Pörtner, D. Roberts, J. Skea, P.R. Shukla, A. Pirani, W. Moufouma-Okia, C. Péan, R. Pidcock, S. Connors, J.B.R. Matthews, Y. Chen, X. Zhou, M.I. Gomis, E. Lonnoy, T. Maycock, M. Tignor, and T. Waterfield (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK and New York, NY, USA, pp. 3-24. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009157940.001.

Currently, a reorientation of mobility, traffic and transport processes is being called for under the buzzwords "traffic turnaround" or "mobility turnaround" in the context of climate change. Since the turn of the millennium, environmentally relevant perspectives have increasingly been incorporated into transport and logistics planning, often under image-driven buzzwords such as "sustainable mobility" or "green logistics". I

In this current socio-political context, the lecture presents and discusses ideas, concepts and implementation options for so-called sustainable transport from a scientific perspective.

The lecture as a course of the Institute of Geography and organised by the Chair of Economic Geography, in particular Transport and Logistics, focuses on the spatial perspective of this topic - the view of transport geography.

Both freight and passenger transport are included with regard to their environmental and sustainability dimensions. Building on fundamental findings from transport science, environmental research and the sustainability debate, specific issues relating to passenger and freight transport are considered from the perspective of transport geography. Approaches, concepts and instruments for the design of sustainable transport structures are discussed and evaluated.

The following topics will be addressed in the lecture:
-The concept of sustainability and its relationship to (transport) geography

-Environmental impacts of transport: noise, air, land consumption

-Energy consumption in transport

-Planning concepts: car-friendly city, pedestrian-friendly city, "Traffic turnaround"

-Transport economics and sustainability

-Transport policy approaches from the perspective of sustainability

-Sustainability concepts in logistics

-Sustainable transport concepts in Germany, Europe and beyond

Module: Lecture + Seminar
- Seminar for the lecture: Block seminar expected on 23 + 24 July 2024 ‘Sustainable mobility management in urban passenger and freight transport’
- Preliminary discussion of the seminar: in the lecture on 05.05.2025 - Compulsory attendance: assignment of presentation topics and organisational information
- Module grade: half of the grade results from the written exam grade and half from the seminar grade (paper with presentation and abstract/handout; no term paper

Lecture schedule:

14.04.2025 1. basics of the organisation and structure of the lecture;
                       Concept of sustainability and its application in transport

21.04.2025 2. sustainability in transport: a practical observation task

28.04.2025 3. transport, environment, energy: interactions and influences

05.05.2025 4. transport policy requirements for sustainability in transport, seminar preliminary discussion

12.05.2025 5. elements of a sustainable transport transition and the role of space and spatial planning

19.05.2025 6. sustainability in urban transport and individual transport behaviour

26.05.2025 7. sustainability in freight transport and ‘green logistics’

02.06.2025 8. modal shift: possibilities and limits

09.06.2025 Whit Monday - public holiday: no lecture

16.06.2025 9. inland navigation: sustainability and intermodality in freight transport, air transport in the context of the sustainability debate

23.06.2025 10. Regional case studies I: Ruhr area, Switzerland

30.06.2025 11. Regional case studies II: United Arab Emirates, USA

07.07.2025 12. Perspectives and restrictions: Sustainability in transport

14.07.2025 13. closed session (12:15-13:15)

23 + 24 July 2025 Block seminar ‘Sustainable mobility management in urban passenger and freight transport’

Presentation topics:

1. sustainability in urban transport
2. resident/resident parking: current problems and concepts
3. city centre closures for car traffic: concepts, implementation, criticism
4. cycling in the city: concepts, initial situation, problems, concepts & case study Amsterdam
5. e-scooters - a contribution to the so-called traffic turnaround
6. concepts for strengthening pedestrian mobility in cities
7. possibilities and limits of integrating passenger shipping into urban public transport
8. autonomous buses in public transport: concepts, possibilities, limits
9. renaissance of the tram in urban areas
10. freight trams: Ideas, realisations, problems
11. urban commercial transport - a shadowy existence or a key element of the transport transition?
12. car-free and low-car residential neighbourhoods: Idea, realisation, problems
13. corporate mobility management: concepts, players, realisation
14. industrial estates - a poor relation of sustainable transport planning

in the lecture

In this course, our goal will be to survey the different ways in which soil knowledge is produced and deployed in the world with a focus on the urban environment.

In particular, we will try to imagine what these different conceptions of soil might mean for environmental thought, and for a broader commitment to decolonial (geo)environmental justice.

Soil is a critical resource for an increasingly urbanized planet. Despite the enormous importance of this resource, soil is still a ‘black box’ material whose scientific description is relatively recent. In this course, our goal will be to survey the different ways in which soil knowledge is produced and deployed in the world.

In particular, we will try to imagine what these different conceptions of soil might mean for environmental thought, and for a broader commitment to decolonial (geo)environmental justice. Our analysis will be shaped by an interdisciplinary reading list of soil scientists, feminist materialist scholars, historians of science, geographers, and engineers. Through engagements with both humanistic and empirical scholarship on soils, we will develop a perspectival approach that resists the rigid formalism of purely technical definitions. As a material that lies somewhere between the biological and geological sciences, this kind of thinking requires us to engage with the categorical boundaries that have historically shaped soil knowledge. By learning where these boundaries are and how to navigate them, we will become better equipped to think critically about larger environmental issues and transformative processes in the urban environment.

This course will consist of a series of lectures and collective discussions organized around building a theoretical foundation for the political ecology of soil. In order to ‘ground’ our discussions, we will consider specific soil profiles to analyze and discuss. Taken as a whole, this course should be understood as a basic introduction to the geological turn in the environmental humanities. Our focus on soil specifically is intended as a heuristic device to ground our debates in specific materials and geographies.

Provided in class

In the seminar parts, soil protection law and the technical basis for a soil approach in accordance with the Soil Science Mapping Guide (KA 6), including the functional assessment, will be presented and the soil-forming processes after the massive disturbance of the soil by acts of war will be worked out. The seminar content will be deepened with the field work and prepared in a practical way.

Modern wars with their extensive use of technical means have had and continue to have a considerable impact on the landscape and soils both in the frontline areas and in the “hinterland”. Even 80 years after the end of the Second World War, the soils, especially in the Ruhr area, show a multitude of changes that can be traced back to the effects of war. 
The event will use soil characteristics that can still be observed today to examine the specific effects of war on soils and how the resulting changes after 80 years of soil-forming processes can be assessed with regard to the fulfillment of soil functions. 
The course consists of a seminar part as well as excursions and practical field work. 

Development of the basics in seminar form:

• Fundamentals of soil protection law
• Technical and professional basics
• Soil function assessment
• Case studies
• Concept development

Excursion with field work

• Approach possibilities in the field 
• Comparison KA5/KA6
• Assessment options

Will be announced during the seminar.

The research workshop at the GI is intended to enable students to work on research projects both individually and in small groups, not bound to a specific seminar, or to initiate their own small projects outside of a project seminar. The projects can be carried out in a wide variety of subject areas, can be regional or international, purely geographical but preferably interdisciplinary.
Involving students in research practice as early as possible offers them both a broader and deeper horizon of learning and experience, which will have a positive effect on the choice of a topic for their Master's thesis as well as their later career decision. Practising self-organisation, independent work and the assumption of responsibility are important goals that should lead to greater motivation and a stronger commitment to their studies and geography.

The content can be requested individually from other lecturers.

Andreas Pflitsch/Teresa Mansheim:

For the summer term, I am offering the following topics and locations:

Alaska

As part of the research in the glacier caves and the former copper mines of Kennekott/McCarthy in the Wrangell St. Elias National Park in Alaska, an approximately 14-day research trip will be carried out in September 2025. Up to 3 students can take part in this trip.

The trip will focus on recording the cave structures of glacier caves using laser scanners, as well as recording various climatological parameters such as air temperature and air currents. The same measurements will be taken in the icy mines.

Overall, the trip has a certain adventurous character.

The research work is quite strenuous, as we sometimes have to hike for several hours to the research sites. Accommodation is in tents, without much comfort. We will reach one of the research sites by small aeroplane, where we will stay for a few days. At least there is a simple hut with a stove so that we can warm up there in the evening and dry our damp clothes. But there is hardly a better way to experience the breathtaking landscapes and glaciers of Alaska.

The cost will be around €1,000 to €1,300 (excluding flights to Alaska).

Dechenhöhle in Iserlohn and other topics:

On individual request

If you have any further questions, please contact me by e-mail (andreas.pflitsch@rub.de).

If you are interested, please contact the respective lecturer personally and discuss the further procedure individually.

Will be announced by the lecturers.

The students...
...understand the problems of regional transformation towards sustainability.
...develop conditions for the sustainable development of company locations.
...use various creativity techniques (design thinking).
...work out solutions for a real problem of our practice partner (Business Metropole Ruhr) for the development of sustainable business locations in the Ruhr region.
...develop a pitch for a sustainability concept.

The seminar offers you the exciting opportunity to actively participate in the sustainable development of business locations in the Ruhr region. Based on the Challenge Based Learning concept, our practice partner, the Business Metropole Ruhr, will present you with a specific challenge. Using the Design Thinking method, you will first analyse the problem situation and then develop creative solutions together over two intensive block days. You will then present these to the practice partner - and with a bit of luck, your ideas will even be put into practice! The aim is to develop innovative ideas that have a real impact. The focus is on your own experience in creative solution development, elaboration and experimentation. Take part and help shape the future sustainably!

The seminar takes place at irregular intervals throughout the semester, with two block days and a double session at the end.

Mon 07.04.2025 Individual session
Mon 14.04.2025 Individual session
Mon 28.04.2025 Individual session
Mon 05/05/2025 Individual session
Mon 26/05/2025 Individual session
Sat 21/06/2025 Block day
Sat 05.07.2025 Block day
Mon 14/07/2025 Pitch presentation, double session

Will be announced during the seminar.

Students will learn how sustainability can be described in the neighborhood. They will also get to know various participatory processes and try out their application in the neighborhood. Different participation and governance approaches are known. Systems theory can be applied to the neighborhood and its potential developments. An examination of transformative sustainability research has taken place.

• Basic theory and practice of participation
• Neighborhood definition and governance approaches 
• Systems theory
• Transformative sustainability research including the development and implementation of a real-world laboratory

interactive

Beecroft, R.; Parodi, O. (2016): Reallabore als Orte der Nachhaltigkeitsforschung und Transformation. In: TATuP - Zeitschrift für Technikfolgenabschätzung in Theorie und Praxis 25 (3): 4–8.

Change-Makers (Hg.) (2015): Art of Hosting Handbuch. Über die Kunst, Räume für gute Gespräche zu schaffen. https://esieben.ch/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/2015AoH- Handbuch_Ostschweiz.pdf [05.05.2020]. 

Di Giulio, A.; Defila, R. (Hg.) (2018): Transdisziplinär und transformativ forschen. Eine Methodensammlung. Wiesbaden.

Maschkowski, G.; Wanner, M. (2014): Die Transition-Town-Bewegung – Empowerment für die große Transformation? In: pnd online II 2014, S. 1-11. 

Parodi, O.; Albiez, M.; Beecroft, R.; Meyer-Soylu, S.; Quint, A.; Seebacher, A.; Trenks, H; Waitz, C. (2016): Das Konzept ,,Reallabor” schärfen: Ein Zwischenruf des Reallabor 131: KIT findet Stadt. In: GAIA - Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society 25 (4): 284–285.

Schneidewind, U.; Singer-Brodowski, M. (2013). Transformative Wissenschaft: Klimawandel im deutschen Wissenschafts- und Hochschulsystem. Marburg.

Wanner, M. & Stelzer, Dr. F. (2019): in brief 07/2019: Reallabore – Perspektiven für ein Forschungsformat im Aufwind. Wuppertal: Wuppertal Institut (Hrsg.).

Wissenschaftlicher Beirat der Bundesregierung Globale Umweltveränderungen (Hg.) (2016): Der Umzug der Menschheit: Die transformative Kraft der Städte. Berlin: https://www.wbgu.de/de/publikationen/publikation/der-umzug-der-menschheit-die-transformative-kraft-der-staedte [23.08.2020].

Participants acquire 

• an understanding of neighborhood-related governance with a focus on the housing sector,
• knowledge of players in the housing and real estate industry,
• knowledge of the framework and market conditions that influence the housing industry and urban development,
• the ability to critically reflect on political and planning approaches to increase sustainability.

The main topics of the seminar are: 

• What is the housing industry?
• General conditions for the development of housing (e.g. availability of space, construction costs, shortage of skilled workers)
• New requirements for the creation of housing (e.g. climate pathway, subsidized housing construction, sustainability reporting)
• Solution approaches (e.g. serial construction, serial renovation, circular construction)
• Medium and long-term prospects for residential construction

This is a fortnightly seminar that is supplemented by excursions and guest speakers. 
In the first part, the basics of the players in the housing industry and the framework conditions that currently determine their actions are taught. 
Subsequently, challenges, in particular the conflict between rising construction costs and the requirements of climate and social policy, will be focused on and critically reflected upon.
Approaches to solutions developed by the housing industry will be presented using specific case studies (including Duisburg in particular) and in some cases discussed with stakeholders.
Finally, the significance of these developments for the medium and long-term provision of housing in Germany will be discussed.

Will be announced during the seminar. In addition, recommended for basics: 

Grzesiok, Svenja 2018: Bündnisse für Wohnen im Quartier: Ein Format integrierter und kooperativer Quartiersentwicklung. Wiesbaden.

After successful completion of the module, students will

• be able to explain the multidisciplinary perspectives on the post-industrial city

• be able to evaluate theoretical approaches to challenges and issues confronting post-industrial cities, largely

in the EU but also in comparative global context

• be able to critically assess the contested nature of the concepts, definitions, theoretical and policy debates as

well as narratives using a comparative approach

• be able to apply the critical understanding gained in this module by contributing to contemporary real-world

debates and struggles over post-industrial city transformations in the EU and elsewhere

The lecture will form an introduction to the study of the post-industrial city and provide students with a substantial foundation of content knowledge. It focuses on the built-up urban landscape, the socio-economic structures, socio-spatial dynamics, narratives, urban institutions, and power relations of the industrial past and whether and how these continue to inform transformations of society and space in the post-industrial present. The module will have no single geographical focus but will use examples from a range of different countries and time periods. Students need to understand these facts and ideas, and the theories that connect them, in the context of a conceptual framework of the post-industrial city. The main aim is to introduce students to a multiscalar view of the post-industrial city and the differentiated impact of post-industrialism on societies and cities, and perspectives for the transformation of post-industrial cities. Among others, the module will introduce concepts such as historical institutionalist and comparative historical analysis to study post-industrial cities as 21 institutions regulating land and property, planning, and governance are central. Drawing on insights from practice theory, the issue how macro-structures and micro-agency interplay and cohere is addressed.

Lecture, theory-based discussions

Announced in the first session

Lecture “Transport Economics and Transport Policy - Geography of Logistics and Transport”:

The lecture of the Institute of Geography provides an introductory overview of facts, problems, concepts and design options in transport geography, transport economics and transport policy as well as (spatial) logistics. Central topics are the differentiated analysis and evaluation of means and modes of transport, the transport policy framework and control options, the production and evaluation of transport services, the transport markets and the spatial and planning aspects of transport.

Seminar “Waterways and ports - current spatial research and application issues”:

In addition to the engineering and economic dimensions, issues relating to transport and logistics also have a spatial science perspective, which is examined within geography by transport geography. The focus of this perspective is on transport and logistics locations, spatial characteristics due to transport/logistics and spatial interdependencies as well as networks that are integrated or effective in terms of transport. Accordingly, this seminar will look at the geographical (“spatial”) perspectives on waterways and ports. To this end, the various dimensions and interactions between waterways and ports and transport and economic geography will be demonstrated, developed and discussed, mainly on the basis of specific regional case studies, in order to gain a deeper understanding of the transport-geographical dimensions of these topics.
The seminar is part of the module “Transport Geography” alongside the lecture “Transport Economics and Policy - Geography of Logistics and Transport”.

Contents of the lectures:

01) 14.10.2024: Transport system: basics, terms, categories and approaches in spatial science

02) 21.10.2024: Traffic - Transport - Mobility: historical development & current significance; literature

03) 28.10.2024: Transport economics: supply & demand, regularities, distance, costs & prices

04) 04.11.2024: Transport policy: control options, concepts, goals; seminar preliminary discussion (attendance obligatory)

05) 11.11.2024: Transport Geography: Transport and Space; Transport and Infrastructure Planning

06) 18.11.2024: Urban transport and urban mobility management

07) 25.11.2024: Logistics: term, development, concepts in theory and practice

08) 02.12.2024: Sectoral Consideration I: Rail Transport

09) 09.12.2024: Sectoral Consideration II: Road Transport

10) 16.12.2024: Sectoral consideration III: Shipping and waterways

Christmas holidays

11) 06.01.2025: Sectoral Consideration IV: Air Transport

12) 13.01.2025: Networking in transport: combined transport, multimodality, nodes and interfaces

13) 20.01.2025: Outlook: Transport Today and Tomorrow - Transport Change and Transport Turnaround

14) 27.01.2025: Written exam (12:15-13:15)

Possible presentation topics in the seminar:

01. shipping, waterways and ports as a subject of research in transport and economic geography

02. container traffic: a success story from the perspective of transport, logistics and port locations

03. shipping companies and terminal operators: changes under the influence of internationalization and globalization

04. The Rhine: development and significance as a waterway

05. The Moselle: Development and importance as a waterway

06. The Danube and the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal: Development and importance as waterways

07. The Meuse: development and importance as a waterway and economic axis

08. Kiel Canal: Development and importance as a waterway

09. The St. Lawrence Seaway: development and importance as a waterway and economic axis

10. Port of Rotterdam: development, importance and prospects

11. Port of Antwerp: development, importance and prospects

12. Port of Hamburg: development, importance and prospects

13. Port of Jade-Weser: development, importance and prospects

14. Inland port of Duisburg: development, importance and prospects

15. Ports on the Lower Rhine: development, importance and prospects (excluding Duisburg)

16. Canal port of Dortmund: development, importance and prospects

17. Port of Dubai: development, importance and prospects

18. Ports in functional change: urban development and waterfront development projects

Lecture (please see dates above):

As part of the module on transport geography (6 CP), a compulsory seminar is offered in addition to the lecture for students of Master TLog (UDE) and Geography (RUB). For this purpose, a preliminary discussion with presentation topic assignment will take place in the lecture on 04.11.24. Attendance is compulsory. The seminar will take place as a 2-day block event on February 11 + 12, 2025 (10 a.m. - 4 p.m.; room SM 102), focusing on presentations that will be prepared, presented and then discussed by the participants.

• Preliminary discussion with distribution of presentation topics: as part of the lecture: Monday 04.11.2024, 13:15, room SM 102 - compulsory attendance!
• Discussion of the main points of the topic (literature, outline, key points) until the beginning of the Christmas vacations 2024 in the office hours (Mon 11-12; appointments by e-mail)
• Block date with presentation and discussion of the papers: 11.02.+12.02.2025, 10:00-16:00, room SM 102; compulsory attendance on both days

Performance requirements in the seminar (partial module performance):

• Full personal attendance and active participation in preliminary discussion and block seminar
• Preparation of an academic term paper on the topic (max. 12 pages incl. bibliography), submission as PDF by e-mail no later than February 4, 2025 (12:00 noon) - i.e. before the block seminar!
• Presentation/lecture: 15-20 minutes with subsequent discussion
• Abstract (copies) of the presentation: maximum two pages, including illustrations and literature
• Please note: The geographical, i.e. spatial or spatial science perspective is obligatory for the term paper and presentation.
• The seminar performance results from: Term paper, collaboration, presentation with abstract.

The above requirements are mandatory without exception. Non-compliance will result in exclusion from the seminar.

At the end of the seminar, students should be able to: 

• Distinguish between different concepts and subject areas of AI
• Understand and be able to use "ready to use" tools from the field of machine learning.
• Understand concepts and basics of Deep Learning
• Be able to build, train and apply their own simple neural networks in Python.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer science fiction, but an integral part of the digitalised world. Even in ancient times, myths dealt with artificially created beings whose ways of thinking were modelled on those of humans. However, the development of computer-based AI algorithms began at the latest with the founding of the research field "Artificial Intelligence" in 1956. Today, artificial intelligence algorithms can be found in almost all fields of study. The terms "artificial intelligence", "machine learning" and "deep learning" seem ubiquitous and differentiation often difficult. At the same time, the terms have been strongly mystified in recent years, so that their functioning may seem like magic. This seminar aims to eliminate such prejudices and provide an introduction to the topics of machine learning and deep learning.
The course covers the theoretical foundations of various approaches to artificial intelligence, ranging from established machine learning algorithms to neural networks from the field of deep learning and distributed artificial intelligence techniques for geosimulation of cells and agents. In the course of the course, different approaches will be learned and applied with a focus on geographic and especially geodata-related problems using GIS environments and Python scripts. From the field of machine learning, established algorithms (e.g. Random Forest and Support Vector Machines) will be discussed and applied.
The topic area of Deep Learning will be taught by means of joint programming of simple neural networks in the Python programming language.

Contents of the seminar are:

• Pattern and object recognition in data (e.g. traffic observation, ship detection in radar images, etc.)
• Prediction of natural and economic phenomena (e.g. modelling of the housing market, weather forecasts etc.)
• Geosimulation (e.g. spatiotemporal prediction of urban growth processes)

Theoretical basics, basics of Python programming, Hands-On practical examples, independent processing of data sets

• Géron, A. 2019: Hands-On Machine Learning with Scikit Learn Keras and Tensorflow
– Concepts Tools and Techniques to Build Intelligent Systems
• Canty, M. 2019: Image Analysis, Classification and Change Detection in Remote
Sensing: With Algorithms for Python
• Douilliard, A. 2018: Object Detection with Deep Learning on Aerial Imagery

Try your hand as a consultant and develop recommendations for action and future concepts for universities together on the basis of analyses and discussions!
We all spend most of our time in and at university, but what makes a university what it is and how does it influence the entire city and region? What challenges does the university management face and what can development prospects look like for them? And last but not least: Why are you, as a geographer, particularly well suited to advising companies, cities or universities? There are answers to these questions in this seminar.
You will acquire

• an understanding of consulting, including the opportunity to gain your own experience
• Knowledge of the German academic system
• Knowledge of the connections between universities and regions
• Knowledge of the framework and market conditions that influence universities in Germany
• the ability to reflect critically, counseling methods and various soft skills
• Application of many of the skills learned during the course to a practical example

The main topics of the seminar are:

• How does the German science system work?
• How do universities and regions influence each other?
• How does consulting work?
• How do I put the methods I have learned into practice?

1) Expectations, getting to know each other, structure of the seminar, overview of the German science system
2) Importance of scientific institutions for the region, university and urban development (input Adler); distribution of topics (2-3 people per team for 6 short presentations)
3) Work phase - digital exchange with the lecturer
4) Input from other people, e.g: RUB science management; Bochum Economic Development Agency; RUB management, person from a university of applied sciences, other experts
5) Input short presentations (students) Topics: Teaching, research, transfer, region, administration, construction
6) Work assignment “Make a SWOT analysis for university XY and develop recommendations for action based on this!” (Input Adler); current challenges of universities, development of example universities by the students / formation of groups (3-5 people per group; 3 groups)
7) Basic knowledge of counseling as a professional field; basic knowledge of project management, communication management, data management (input Adler)
8) Concrete analysis approaches, possible formats, quantitative and qualitative approaches, interviews (input Adler)
9) Work phase: digital exchange with the lecturer
10) Work phase: exchange with the lecturer on site
11) Work phase: digital exchange with the lecturer
12) Presentation and discussion; internal
13) Presentation and discussion; introduction to which university representatives of the analyzed universities are invited
14) Review of the discussions and results; review of the procedure and results of the seminar, lessons learned, mutual feedback

Will be announced in the seminar.

The research workshop at the GI is intended to enable students to work on research projects both individually and in small groups, not bound to a specific seminar, or to initiate their own small projects outside of a project seminar. The projects can be carried out in a wide variety of subject areas, can be regional or international, purely geographical but preferably interdisciplinary.
Involving students in research practice as early as possible offers them both a broader and deeper horizon of learning and experience, which will have a positive effect on the choice of a topic for their Master's thesis as well as their later career decision. The practice of self-organization, independent work and the assumption of responsibility are important goals that should lead to greater motivation and a stronger commitment to their studies and geography.

The contents vary and must be requested individually from other lecturers.

Andreas Pflitsch:

I will be offering the following topics and locations:

Hawaii and Alaska: 
As part of the Regional Geography excursions for the Bachelor's program, Master's students can work on their own research question or project as an elective module in the research workshop. Some places will be kept free for this. 

Cave climatology: 

• Schellenberg Ice Cave near Berchtesgaden (May to October)
• Dechen Cave Iserlohn
• Hawaii

Various cave research projects are currently being carried out or are in the process of being set up. As soon as the coronavirus situation allows, separate projects can be carried out at the above-mentioned locations. 

The investigations focus on the following topics:
Microclimatology such as, air and rock temperatures, humidity, wind currents. In addition, the recording and assessment of microorganisms (microbiology) and cave surveying using laser scanners are also involved. These projects are carried out in cooperation with the University of New Mexico, the Nuremberg University of Applied Sciences and the local caving associations.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me by e-mail (andreas.pflitsch@rub.de).

If you are interested, please contact the respective lecturer personally and discuss the further procedure individually.

Will be announced by the lecturers.

• To be able to discuss how soils and urban ecosystems are interlinked in both the past and the present.
• Get in touch with ongoing and emerging concerns for urban soils and critically assess remediation options.
• Based on a sound understanding of soil physical and chemical properties discern soils as essential resourcesfor sustainable urban populations

• Formation and properties of urban soils
• Urban soil functions
• Contaminants in urban soil
• Urban soils as sources and sinks

Seminar with input lectures

Students should acquire knowledge in the field of geographical health research and deepen this using the broad spectrum of global change research as an example. This includes a better understanding of global crises as well as an examination of the planetary health concept.

The seminar addresses different aspects of global change, the geography of crises and the planetary health concept with regard to their health and spatial relationships and provides an insight into geographical health research. The following topics will be available for selection: 

• Globalization and health - an introduction
• One Health, Global Health, Planetary Health - all the same?
• Global crises: a topic for geographical health research?
• Global biodiversity and health - more than a gene pool for pharmaceuticals
• Health effects of climate change
• Global approaches for more climate protection - health in focus?
• Climate adaptation and health in the context of development cooperation
• Global waste recycling and disposal and their impact on health
• Energy production and health
• Global mobility and health
• Health aspects in development cooperation (e.g. hygiene, education, gender addressing, health care)
• Global health markets (e.g. pharmaceutical production)
• The World Health Organization: scope and limits
• Urban health in the Global North versus the Global South
• Global food security and health
• War conflicts and health
• Refugee dynamics and health
• Infectious diseases on the rise?
• Pandemics in world history
• Cultural identities and health

• Brown, T., Andrews, G.J., Cummins, S., Greenhough, B., Lewis, D. (2018): Health geographies: a critical introduction. Wiley.
• Crooks, V.A. , Andrews, G.J., Pearce, J. (Hrsg.)(2020): Routledge Handbook of Health Geography. Routledge.
• Gatrell, A.C., Elliott, S.J. (2014): Geographies of Health: An Introduction. 3. Aufl., Wiley.
• Kistemann, T., Schweikart, J., Butsch, C. (2019): Medizinische Geographie. Westermann-Verlag, Braunschweig (Das Geographische Seminar).