EGU announces the 2025 Higher Education teaching grant recipients
The European Geosciences Union (EGU) is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2025 Higher Education teaching grant program, whose purpose is to enable the preparation of teaching resources that will be freely available to everyone who teaches university-level geoscience.
This year EGU awarded three grants to recipients from four different countries. Brief summaries of the 2025 awarded teaching resources are provided below:
Soil-based paint and geomaterials: a self-guided trail for geoscientist educators
(Federal Institute of Minas Gerais, Brazil; Federal University of Viçosa, Brazil; University College Cork, Ireland)
This self-guided educational e-book introduces an interdisciplinary trail through the world of geomaterials, focusing on soil as both a scientific and creative resource. Designed for use in formal and non-formal learning environments, the material provides step-by-step guidance for observing, analysing and transforming soils into natural paints. Through modules that integrate Pedology, Geography, Environmental Education and Art, students engage in active learning that connects scientific inquiry with sustainability and local identity. The resource includes printable worksheets, reflective prompts and access to short instructional videos to support classroom implementation and community outreach.
Contributors: Caroline Delpupo, Alex de Carvalho, Cristine C. Muggler, Aaron Lim
Using Urban Geology to enhance the student's learning outcome: A Guide for Designing a Geochase through a City
(TU Delft, the Netherlands)
The wide range of minerals and rocks used for façades, pavements and decorations in a city provide valuable resources for teaching students about mineral identification and the rock cycle. However, planning a thoughtful treasure hunt around the city is time-consuming. To save time and provide inspiration, this teaching material serves as a guide for lecturers looking to set up a pen-and-paper or app-based chase to improve student learning outcomes and develop an additional fun activity that has a meaningful impact on student motivation. This guide shares experience and advice on designing a treasure hunt, from initial preparation and location selection to balancing and designing questions, using technical support and organising fun activities and a final evaluation.
Contributor: Thorben Schöfisch
Modeling the Hydrological Water Balance in Response to Climate and Land Use/Land Cover Change: Case Study of the Blue Nile Basin in East Africa
(Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, India)
The teaching material provides a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to hydrological modeling using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) with applications to climate and land use/land cover (LULC) change analysis. Focusing on the Blue Nile Basin in East Africa, the material introduces students to data preparation, watershed delineation, HRU generation, and model setup in Arc SWAT. It further covers calibration, and validation using SWAT-CUP, enabling learners to build scientifically robust hydrological simulations. A key feature of the material is the construction and comparison of multiple SWAT models using historical LULC maps (2005, 2010, 2015), demonstrating how land cover assumptions influence the hydrological water balance. The material also includes future climate modeling using CMIP6–NEX-GDDP projections, allowing learners to assess potential hydrological responses to future climate scenarios. Additionally, MOLUSCE in QGIS is used to predict future LULC, with validation using observed 2025 LULC. Overall, this teaching package equips students and early career professionals with practical, analytical, and computational skills to apply hydrological models in research, watershed management, LULC change, and climate impact assessments.
Contributors: Siddig Mohammed Ali Berama, K. S. Kasiviswanathan, Ashutosh Sharma, N. K. Goel