IAHS Academy 12-18 January 2026 in Ningbo, China
(last page update, 15 October, 2025)
The International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS) is proud to announce the venue and dates of the first edition of the IAHS Academy, the newly established advanced training and educational programs to advance and promote hydrological sciences globally.
Dates and venue
The dates of the 2026 IAHS Academy are set for 12-18 January 2026 and will be hosted in Ningbo, China.
This first edition is organized by International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS), UNESCO Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme (IHP), the Eastern Institute of Technology, Ningbo (EIT) and Tsinghua University, Beijing, and further supported by International Water Management Institute (IWMI), the Global Water Partnership (GWP) and the Partnership for Research & Innovation in the Mediterranean Area (PRIMA).
The IAHS Academy features five short courses in parallel fostering a critical mass of lecturers and students in the same week and venue. This coming January 2026, in Ningbo, you will have the chance to select among five topics providing advanced scientific, applied research training and hands-on.
Lecturers and topics
- Fuqiang Tian: Hydrological modeling and digital twin technology
- Salvatore Manfreda: Advanced hydrological monitoring
- Simon Michael Papalexiou: Analysis and simulation of rainfall
- Michele Lancia: Aquifer dynamics and groundwater modeling
- Cyndi Vail-Castro & Malena Orduna Alegria: Assessing Coupled Human-Water Systems
How to apply
PhD students and young researchers are invited to apply to join the 2026 IAHS Academy by completing and submitting this application form. Applicants shall provide the selected topic, all biographical information, and attaching a resume for the Academy steering and LOC committees to evaluate and consider your applications. Applications will be evaluated and the applicants will be assigned the selected short courses until maximum capacity of 25 participants per topic is reached. Application deadline is 31 October 2025.
Course fees
The course fee is EURO 650.00. The fee includes the course lectures and materials, accommodation, lunches and dinners, and coffee breaks during classes as well as the transportation to/from Ningbo airport. Please note that the course fee does NOT include the flight ticket to China/Ningbo, VISA for China, or health insurance during the course period. Participants from Financially Disadvantaged Countries have access to a reduced fee of EURO 350.00. The list of countries based on UN indicators is published here.
Financial support by IAHS SYSTA awards
Applicants who have been notified of their acceptance for the IAHS Academy may apply to the IAHS Sivapalan Young Scientists Travel Awards (SYSTA), if they meet the requirements for the SYSTA scholarship (details below). To ensure sufficient time for application evaluation, IAHS Academy applicants who are eligible for, and also wish to apply for, SYSTA must submit their IAHS Academy application by 10 October 2025.
The aims of SYSTA are to:
1. strengthen attendance of IAHS meetings from financially disadvantaged countries (FDCs) to address the currently low attendance,
2. foster high quality science among a new generation of hydrologists.
SYSTA awards are available to eligible early career scientists attending IAHS events. The SYSTA initiative is named in recognition of the hydrologist Prof. M. Sivapalan. More information is available here.
2026 Ningbo IAHS Academy Steering Committee
Fernando Nardi (IAHS Academy Chair), Salvatore Grimaldi (IAHS President), Christophe Cudennec (IAHS Vice-President), Abou Amani (UNESCO IHP), Stefan Uhlenbrook (WMO), Moctar Dembélé (IAHS ECS Chair), Antonio Annis (IAHS), Fuqiang Tian (IAHS, Tsinghua University), Chunmiao Zheng (EIAS)
Local Organizing Committee (LOC)
Lan Song (Eastern Institute for Advanced Study), Khosro Morovati (Tsinghua University), Xiaojun Wang (Chinese National Committee for International Association of Hydrological Sciences, CNC-IAHS)
For more information contact IAHS Academy Chair: Fernando Nardi