PhD Defence Catalina Jaime Sanchez

Monday the 25th of August 2025, Catalina Jaime successfully defended her PhD thesis at the University of Twente’s Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC). Her research focused on Early Warning and Early Action in conflict-affected areas, addressing one of the most pressing challenges at the intersection of climate, conflict, and humanitarian action.

Catalina’s work is already making a global impact. In addition to her PhD achievement, she has been appointed as a Lead Author for the IPCC Seventh Assessment Report, contributing to the chapter on Poverty, livelihoods, mobility and fragility.

With over 20 years of experience in humanitarian action, Catalina leads climate and conflict initiatives at the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre and the Anticipation Hub, shaping policy and practice to protect vulnerable communities.

Professor Maarten van Aalst, her PhD supervisor, highlights:
"Catalina’s leadership and research have made a critical contribution to advancing early warnings for the most vulnerable populations – a key element of the UN Early Warnings for All initiative."

👏 We are proud to celebrate this milestone and look forward to seeing Catalina’s continued contributions to science and humanitarian action.

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