TRANSMOUNT – Transitions in mountain environments

^{*recognition of ECTS depends on your home university}

Physical mobility

The physical mobility section of the BIP will take place between 1st - 5th June 2026, in Sion, Switzerland:

The five-day program follows the three axes of the CIVIS BIP TRANSMOUNT course. Each day includes around 8 hours of learning activities, split into two parts:  

• Field activities: from morning to early afternoon (9:00 – 15:00 CEST). These activities will include walking and hiking in mountain environments to reach field sites, so participants should be prepared for outdoor physical effort in varied terrain. 
• Classroom activities (such as group work, workshops, seminar, practical presentations by professors and researchers) or site visits: in the late afternoon (16:00 – 19:00 CEST) 

The week is organized in three parts:  

Day 1 is dedicated to the discovery of the geography, geomorphology, hydrology and biogeography of the Rhone River valley and its tributaries, in the surroundings of Sion, in an integrated approach, combining field recognition (in the morning and early afternoon) and specific lectures in the late afternoon. Guiding in the field and lectures will be given by the UNIL staff.  

Day 2 to 4 will be dedicated to thematic group works. Each group of students will realize during the 3 days a thematic survey on one socio-environmental problem in one study site, under the supervision of staff members, both local (University of Lausanne) and from the three other organizing universities. The groups will be organized based on the three TRANSMOUNT course axes:  

- Axis 1: Hydrogeomorphological processes and risks  

- Axis 2: Landscape changes in agro-sylvo-pastoral mountain systems  

- Axis 3: Mountain heritage and tourism economy  

Each group will work during the three days on one specific precise research question and will work on the research question definition, data collection in the field (using specific techniques under the supervision of the staff members), data processing (mainly during the late afternoon seminars in the classroom), and elaboration of a preliminary communication to the public (to be presented in Day 5).  

Day 5 will be dedicated to project presentations and interaction with local stakeholders. The day will begin with group presentations, during which each group will present the scientific problem, the data acquisition and processing, and the first results. In the late afternoon, a public event will be organized by CIRM in collaboration with one mountain municipality and the cantonal administration. It will include a roundtable with representatives of local authorities and student groups, encouraging dialogue on the relevance of the work carried out during the week. The day will conclude with a public guest lecture on resilience of mountains communities to increasing risks related to climate change. 

During the week the following techniques will be mobilised based on the expertise of the staff members from the 4 organizing universities: geomorphological mapping, drone flight image collection, GNSS surveying, computer data processing of field surveying in GIS, photogrammetric product extraction like DEM and orthoimagery, hydrological measurements, meteorological and climatological data processing, qualitative methods (interviews) and their interpretation; landscape change mapping and modelling based on data from different sources, change detection analysis based on satellite imagery as an application of Earth Observation on a mountain valley system; geoheritage assessment methods.  

Note: depending on weather conditions the program 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.  

Virtual part

The course will run online between 23rd February - 15th June 2026. 

The virtual component of the CIVIS BIP TRANSMOUNT course 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) – overview key concepts with visual examples 
2.  Methodological overview (1 hour) – exploration of approaches related to previously identified issues 
3. Case study analysis (1hour) – interactive format: discussion of problems and solutions 
4. Discussion on scientific literature (1hour) – based on readings shared before the session 

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.  

Note: There will be no recording of the virtual sessions and there will be a break during Easter holiday (April 3-14, 2026).  

Virtual Part Schedule

The virtual sessions will take place on Monday from 15:00 to 19:00 (CET), 16 :00 to 20 :00 (EET).  

Week 1 – Introduction and Mountain Research Challenges in the Himalayas  (23 Feb. 2026) 

• Course overview, objectives, activities, outcomes, presentation from professors and participants 

Prof. Emmanuel Reynard (UNIIL), coordinator and Prof. Bogdan Mihai (UB) 

• Lecture : Current Mountain Research Challenges in the Himalayas 

Assoc. Prof. Binod Dawadi (Tribuvan University, Nepal) 

Week 2 – Geomorphic risk typology and analysis (2 March 2026)  

• Morphodynamic features in the mountain areas. Definitions, methodologies, assessment, risk modelling and representation 

Prof. Niki Evelpidou and Dr. Anna Karkani, NKUA 

Week 3 – Hydrological processes in mountain regions (9 March 2026)  

• Risks and river management. Mountain water resources between natural parameters, usage and sustainable solutions.  

Prof. Liliana Zaharia, Dr. Gabriela-Ioana Toroimac, UB 

Week 4 – Climate change and ecological impact on biodiversity on mountain areas (16 March 2026)  

• Ecological consequences, biodiversity and future scenarios.  

Dr. Christophe Randin, UNIL 

Week 5 – Mountain geoheritage and tourism (23 March 2026)  

• The specificities of mountain geoheritage, conservation and tourist promotion.  
• Short overview on physical part activities 

Prof. Emmanuel Reynard, UNIIL 

Week 6 – Field techniques and photogrammetry to study mountain processes (30 March 2026) 

• High resolution field spatial data collection and interpretation in mountain landscape analysis and modelling.  

Assoc. Prof. Emmanuel Vassilakis, NKUA 

Week 7 – Mountain risks: management and perception (20 April 2026)  

• Definition, representation and search for solutions of specific issues for a sustainable development.  

Assoc. Prof. Aurélie Arnaud, AMU 

Week 8 – Mountain ecological features (27 April 2026)   

• Mountain fauna. Between zonation, adaptation and protection issue. 

Dr. Christos Georgiadis, NKUA 

Week 9 – Mountain agro-sylvo-pastoral system transitions (4 May 2026)  

• Traditional mountain activities and current changes in an adaptive context, between climate change and a sustainable usage of resources.  

Assoc. Prof. Brigitte Talon, AMU 

Week 10 – Mountain landscapes: trajectories and their perception (11 May 2026)  

• From natural features to historical and current dynamics. From scientific to citizen perception.  
• Organization of the physical week 

Mélanie Clivaz, MSc, UNIL 

Week 11 – Remote sensing and GIS integration in coping for mountain regions (18 May 2026) 

• Earth Observation of Mountain Areas: Between Models and Interpretation of Environmental and Socioeconomic Changes.  

Prof. Bogdan Mihai and Dr. Marina Vîrghileanu, UB 

Monday, 15 June 2026 : Concluding virtual meeting  

• Workshop with presentations of group works/projects  

Assessment

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 (1/3): A visual synthesis of the project outcomes. 
• Online Presentation (of the poster) (1/3): Delivered in the style of a scientific conference contribution. 
• Report (1/3): A concise written report (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. 

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

The final evaluation will be based on these criteria :  

• 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.