11^th European Geothermal PhD Day was concluded successfully on 24^th to 26^th of February 2020

European Geothermal PhD Day was hosted for the first time in Turkey on 24^th to 26^th of February 2020. Around 30 PhD candidates around the world had a chance to share their research findings and to exchange with young scientists. The selected venue;  Geothermal Application and Research Center of Pamukkale University enabled participants to experience ‘geothermal’ in the well-developed geothermal site of Turkey; Kızıldere and to visit one of the most naturally beautiful sites of Turkey; Pamukkale Travertines and Hierapolis ancient city.

With promotions in local and international press, as well as the digital billboards located on highways in Denizli, the event attracted great interest not only from the academic community but also from companies actively operating in geothermal market and from the state as Denizli Metropolitan Municipality.

The program started with icebreaker in Pamukkale University on 24^th February. On 25^th February, the event started with the welcome speech by the head of the centre; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ali KAYA.

 After the welcome speech, Assist. Prof. Dr. Maren BREHME from the Technical University of Delft was the first keynote speaker. Her talk focused on perspectives for the sustainable use of geothermal resources based on her experience in various international projects. She concluded her talk by giving advices to PhD candidates, emphasizing the importance of communication and networking. 

Morning session continued with the talk of Prof. Dr. Ali KOÇYİĞİT, retired from Middle East Technical University, on the significance and usage of Earth science data in geothermal exploration. This presentation enabled the audience to get a better insight related to the structural geology of the region with a focus on grabens utilized in geothermal sites in the vicinity. 

 The presentation of Prof. Dr Franco TASSI, from Universita Degli Studi di Firenze in Italy, on hydrothermal-magmatic gases was the last one in morning session. He emphasized the importance of geochemical monitoring and suggested the young scientists who work in chemistry of volcanic gases to subscribe to CCVG IAVCEI: the commission on the chemistry of volcanic gases (CCVG) international association of volcanology and chemistry of the earth’s interior (IAVCEI).

Afternoon session started after the conference lunch with the talk of assistant manager of Geothermal Application and Research Center Dr. Taylan AKIN. He mentioned the recent status of Turkey in geothermal energy market and the historical process of EGPD. 

The director of Iceland School of Energy Dr. Juliet Newson gave a talk on the importance of geothermal education by introducing the recent statistics related to international geothermal training courses, student nationalities and job prospects. She also emphasized the importance of collaboration between the industry and the universities.

Prof. Dr. Serhat AKIN from Middle East Technical University presented the results of a World Bank financed project on characterizing the declining CO₂ emissions from Turkish Geothermal Power Plants.

Keynote speeches were ended with the talk of Prof. Dr. Ahmet Tuğrul BAŞOKUR from Ankara University, Department of Geophysical Engineering on the use of electrical resistivity models in geothermal exploration.

PhD candidates introduced themselves with oral presentations and continued technical discussion with other young scientists through the poster sessions.