The researchers of SaC³ work together in several research projects evolving around the defining topics health and climate. The wide expertise in applied mathematics, numerical analysis, optimization, scientific computing, machine learning and data science is brought together to tackle challenging problems in the context of UN Sustainable Development Goals in Germany and the partner countries. The doctoral programme is the core of the research programme, and it is complemented by a number of associated projects that are funded externally.

At the heart of SaC³ is an international doctoral programme in which German and South American partner universities jointly educate young researchers in scientific computing. The doctoral projects address mathematical questions arising in the two application areas of the network – health and climate: the modelling and control of infectious diseases and their vectors, and the simulation of water resources such as groundwater, rivers and glacier melt in the Andes. All projects are rooted in the local context of the partner countries and contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Joint supervision. Each doctoral project is supervised by a team of principal investigators from at least one German and one South American partner university. Where useful, further expertise from the network is included, for example from partners working on epidemiology or engineering. The principles of supervision are laid down in supervision agreements, following the practice of structured graduate schools in Germany and adapted together with our partners to the local context. In this way, the programme strengthens the structures of doctoral education at the partner universities.

Exchange and training. Doctoral researchers spend research stays of one to two months with their supervisors at the partner universities in Germany, and doctoral researchers associated from the German side visit the partners in South America. The annual summer schools and workshops bring the whole group together and give the students the opportunity to present their research. Results are published in international peer-reviewed journals. For outstanding candidates, co-tutelle agreements between the universities are envisaged.

Funding. Selected doctoral projects at the South American partner universities receive funding from the project, which is supported by the DAAD within the programme SDG-Partnerships with funds from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Further doctoral projects with external funding are associated with the programme and take part in all its activities.

Doctoral researchers

Tatiana Giron Carabali Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia

Modeling and simulation of Wolbachia-carrying mosquitoes for dengue control

Supervisors:

• Stefan Frei (University of Konstanz)
• Carmen Alicia Ramirez (Universidad del Valle)
• Heliana Arias Castro (Universidad del Valle)

Project funding: 01/2025 – 12/2027

Abstract:

We develop mathematical models to simulate the dynamics of dengue virus transmission, considering the release of Wolbachia- carrying mosquitoes into populations of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Initially, a model based on ordinary differential equations (ODE) will be employed, and it will later be extended to a model with partial differential equations (PDE). The model will integrate spatial and temporal factors, considering the heterogeneity of habitats and mosquito mobility. Additionally, imperfect vertical transmission of Wolbachia will be modeled, a crucial factor in understanding infection dynamics in natural populations.

Rocío del Pilar Rojas Jara Universidad Nacional de Trujillo, Peru

Finite element simulation of groundwater flow in unconfined and anisotropic aquifers

Supervisors:

• Thomas Wick (Leibniz University Hannover)
• Obidio Rubio Mercedes (Universidad Nacional de Trujillo)

Project funding: 01/2025 – 12/2027

Abstract:

Numerical simulation applying finite elements for the groundwater flow of a coastal, unconfined and anisotropic aquifer

Gabriel Schmökel Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil

Deep Learning Simulations of the Solow-Swan Economic Growth Model in the Brazilian Territory

Supervisors:

• Thomas Richter (Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg)
• Pedro Konzen (UFRGS, Porto Alegre)

Project funding: 10/2026 – 12/2027

Associated doctoral researchers

Completed theses

Beyond the doctoral programme, the SaC³ network also fosters further research collaborations between the partner universities. These collaborations are based on joint research projects and publications, and they contribute to the overall goals of the network in the areas of health and climate.

Research projects