The ITN SLATE enabled this research within 15 ESR projects. Four joint theme-focussed workshops have been arranged to provide research-through-training to these ESRs, by both academics and non-academics, and to foster collaborations across the network as well as with industrial partners. In addition, three technical workshops were offered which focussed on geophysical mapping of submarine landslides, coring techniques and core analysis as well as a field workshop at the Lake Lucerne. In addition, each ESR received an individual research-trough- training in the frame of Personal Development Plan Committee meetings and secondments at academic and non-academic institutions. Complementary soft skill training concentrated on outreach and communication activities as well as transferable skills, which were tailored to the ESRs individual requirements.
A wealth of data has been acquired to tackle the project’s objectives included comprehensive high-resolution and repeated seafloor surveys, novel direct monitoring, cutting-edge lab and in-situ measurements. New techniques were developed within SLATE, e.g. the semi-automatic detection of submarine landslides from bathymetric data, the implementation of new inversion techniques for geo-statistical analyses of seismic reflection images, or the development of geotechnical test procedures to assess the effect of seismic strengthening. Furthermore, SLATE also placed a strong emphasis on both the development and the application of newest numerical simulation techniques to gain a broader comprehensive description of landslide processes. These modelling approaches also benefitted from the development of multidisciplinary database in SLATE. Hence, SLATE served as a platform to develop large, multidisciplinary datasets compiling field and lab measurements as well as data from literature. Only such synthesising studies done in SLATE reveal a better understanding of fundamental landslide processes across scales and settings.
The newly acquired SLATE results have has already been published in 35 international peer-reviewed scientific publications and 13 PhD theses. In total 87% of all SLATE ESRs successfully completed their PhD in a mean of 3.75 years even under the unpredictable and difficult Corona pandemic conditions. They have all taken on new challenging jobs within and outside academia in various European countries, but also overseas; with seven of them in the non-academic sector. This clearly demonstrates the high quality of the training programme, the well-embedded and functioning management structure and the continuously high level of support and commitment of all SLATE beneficiaries and partners.
In addition to scientific publication, SLATE data has been disseminated in various ways, e.g. via more than 75 conference presentations, the SLATE webpage, newspaper articles, radio interviews, social media (e.g. via Twitter (@ItnSlate) or in public lectures. In addition, the newly implemented SLATE Webinar had particularly a high impact. This online webinar was developed to allow the ESRs to present and discuss their individual results with a wide international community, even during the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 12 webinars were delivered by ESRs and invites were extended far beyond the original list of attendees from the project. Attendances often exceeded 80 people for an individual talk, and included representatives from industry and academia from China, Indonesia, India, New Zealand, USA as well as across Europe; and therewith increased significantly the visibility of the SLATE ITN.
