As one of the German partners in the NetCDA project, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), specifically the Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research – Troposphere Research (IMKTRO), pursues a long-term approach to strengthen and improve the academic education on climate change and climate change adaptation strategies in West Africa as part of the Graduate Schools of the West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL).
In the NetCDA project, KIT is the associated partner of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Nigeria, since the expertise of KIT in tropical meteorology and climatology strongly aligns with the focus of its doctoral research programme (DRP) in “West African Climate Systems (WACS)”. However, KIT also has had a long-lasting partnership with the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi, Ghana. One notable legacy is Kumasi high-resolution rain gauge network which was established in 2015 in the framework of the EU-funded DACCIWA project (Dynamics-aerosol-chemistry-cloud interactions in West Africa) and is about to celebrate its 10-year anniversary in the ongoing BMBF-funded FURIFLOOD project (Current and future risks of urban and rural flooding in West Africa – An integrated analysis and eco-system-based solutions) in 2025.
As part of several partnerships with African institutions, KIT has welcomed numerous junior and senior scientists of the Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellowship and PhD students of various African projects from West, East, and Central Africa. As such, KIT has committed itself to fostering and further exploring opportunities for collaborations with African partners, for instance, through the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) and the Helmholtz visiting researcher programmes. Within the DRPs WACS (of FUTA) and Climate Change and Land Use (CCLU; of KNUST), KIT has been co-supervising two PhD students with a strong focus on (opposing) climate extremes: drought-heatwave interactions and characteristics of multi-day wet spells over West Africa. An important component of their first visit to Germany and Europe in general was the cultural exchange not only within the several working groups at KIT, but also within daily life (and weather) in Karlsruhe.
The team at KIT consists of Prof. Dr. Andreas H. Fink, Dr. Marlon Maranan, and Alexander Jong.
Prof. Dr. Andreas H. Fink is the Principal Investigator within NetCDA. He has more than 25 years of experience in research, networking, and collaboration with and in Africa. He is a member of the Advisory Board of DRP WACS and has collaborated with FUTA and KNUST over many years. Currently, he is also the coordinator of the FURIFLOOD project.
Dr. Marlon Maranan is the project scientist for KIT within the NetCDA project. He graduated from KIT within the DACCIWA project and has gained experience in precipitation processes and remote sensing over West Africa. Currently, he is also the project scientist of the FURIFLOOD project.
Since May 2024, Alexander Jong has joined the team in a student helper role and will assist the team with several tasks in the background, such as preliminary scientific work and preparations for visits of African partners.