DS²BE is a joint initiative of research groups working on sustainability issues at eight Belgian universities: Université libre de Bruxelles, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, KU Leuven, UCLouvain, Université de Liège, UHasselt, UAntwerpen and UGent.

 

Conceived as a platform for PhD researchers whose work engages the built environment at different scales in the framework of sustainability, the DS²BE seminars provide an excellent opportunity for the doctoral students of the partner institutions to present their ongoing research. They will get feedback from a broad panel of sustainability experts, including invited specialists and peers, for furthering their research.

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During the next DS²BE, which will be a two-day event on 25-26 May 2023 in Brussels, we invite two types of presentations differentiated along the stage of the PhD research:

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• Short Presentation / Poster session - PhD researchers at the beginning of their research (1st -2nd year of PhD) are invited to make a presentation and exhibition of their work in the form of a poster (A0 size). Candidates for this session are required to submit a draft poster before the deadline and to have the consent of their Supervisor(s). Each presentation will be given 10 minutes; 5’ for a concise presentation followed by 5’ of feedback.
   

• Long Presentation / Paper Session - PhD researchers at an advanced stage (3rd – 4th year of PhD) are invited to present a substantial part (case study, draft article or thesis chapter) of their research in the form of a full paper. Candidates for this session must submit an abstract of 300 words in English. Upon acceptance, they will be required to submit a full paper of 4000 words. The paper will be reviewed while providing written feedback to the PhD researcher via email. The paper will not be published to keep the paper confidential. This allows further development of the manuscript by the author after the seminar in order to be submitted as a journal paper or thesis chapter or even international conference paper. The added value of submitting a full paper is mainly related to the constructive feedback provided in a written format and the interactive feedback after the presentation.

 

All posters and papers will be reviewed by the scientific committee, consisting of senior researchers from the partner institutions. A book of proceedings will be published containing the extended abstracts. To presenters, Certificates of Participation will be issued, which can be used to gain credits for PhD course work.

 

During the DS2BE 2022, we will have keynote speakers presentations to provide insights about the central theme “Renovating the building stock”.

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PhD candidates can provide submissions that concern topics, such as:

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• Sustainable Buildings - Energy performance of buildings, Performance and durability of building elements and envelope, Energy efficiency and Sufficiency, Building Physics and thermal comfort, Indoor air quality (IAQ) and Indoor environmental quality (IEQ), Resource Use and Sustainable Design, Materials, Re-cycling / re-use, Vernacular architecture, Bioclimatic, biomimetic and integrated design...

 

• Sustainability Theory - Sustainability science, the 3 Pillars, Climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies, Resilience, Transition, Circularity, Systems and Complexity theories…

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• Sustainable Urbanism - Urban design, urban form & urban futures, Landscape and ecology, Green infrastructure and ecosystem services, Nature-based solutions, Land-use, Public space, Housing, Infrastructure and transportation, Retrofitting and regeneration, Research by Design….

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• Sustainability Analysis and Assessment - Sustainability / Environmental Assessment at building and neighbourhood scales, and at the scale of city and regions; Methodologically oriented PhDs focusing on issues related to LCA (Life Cycle Assessment), I-O (Input-Output Analysis), MFA (Material Flow Analysis), Simulation techniques, Scenario building (fore-casting and back-casting, etc.)…

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 Poster and Abstract Submission

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In your draft poster submission, please make sure not to exceed 5 MB size, and to provide your and your supervisor(s) names and institutional affiliation, including the title of your PhD. Paper abstracts should be no more than 300 words. Please include the author[s] full name, affiliation, and e-mail address on a separate page.

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Please name your submission as ‘poster DS2BE-2022 (your surname and university affiliation) or ‘abstract DS2BE-2022 (your surname and university affiliation)’ and send it before the respective deadline to info@ds2be.net

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For further inquiries, please contact info@ds2be.net

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Timeline:

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15/10/2021       - Launch of the Call for Papers

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14/01/2022       - Submission of paper abstracts and draft posters

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31/01/2022       - Notification of acceptance

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11/03/2022       - Submission of full papers and posters

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08/04/2022       - Notification of peer review feedback

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22/04/2022       - Deadline for DS2BE registration

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06/05/2022       - Submission of revised posters and paper abstracts

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24/05/2022       - DS2BE day ONE

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25/05/2022       - DS2BE day TWO

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Scientific and Organising Committees​

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Scientific Committee

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