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The University of Aveiro, Portugal, welcomed 23 participants from 16 countries to the Third GEM–EGU Summer School on Geohazards Risk Assessment from 7 to 11 September 2026. The five-day programme combined lectures and group exercises on earthquake scenarios and geohazard risk assessment.

The Summer School was organised jointly by the University of Aveiro and GEM, with financial support from the European Geosciences Union and the European Facilities for Earthquake Hazard and Risk (EFEHR).

Participants worked in groups throughout the week, using GEM’s OpenQuake Engine to calculate earthquake scenarios and incorporating exposure and vulnerability information to estimate damage and losses. Each group developed an assessment and presented its results on the final day.

Lectures and practical exercises covered ground shaking, liquefaction, landslides and tsunamis, examining how different hazards contribute to earthquake impacts. Sessions on artificial intelligence in exposure modelling examined approaches to developing the building datasets used in risk calculations.

Examples of risk reduction in Lisbon and disaster impact assessment at the EU Crisis Management Laboratory (ECML) of the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre connected the technical exercises to preparedness and practical decision-making.

Sessions on risk communication and augmented reality in earthquake engineering also examined how technical information can be shared with different audiences. The formal programme concluded with group presentations, where participants explained the assessments they had developed using open tools, models and datasets, and compared approaches with other groups.

At the end of the course, participants also had the opportunity to take an assessment and qualify for the OpenQuake Engine User for Scenario Assessment certification, demonstrating their ability to use the software for earthquake scenario analysis.