DERISC: Deep learning based Extreme Rainfall and flood warnIngs through Seamless foreCasting​

Call for Applications

Dear pySTEPS community,

The long-imagined “let’s rent a house in the woods and hack together for a week” is becoming reality! From Monday 8 → Friday 12 September 2025 we’ve reserved Château d’Avin (Hannut, Liège province) — a 19-century estate with plenty of space, Wi-Fi and 200-year-old trees just north of the Ardennes.

Key dates

• Applications open: today (28 May 2025)
• Deadline to apply: Monday 16 June 2025, 23:59 UTC+2
• Acceptance emails sent: Friday 20 June 2025

What we’ll work on

• Closing open pull requests & issues
• Prototyping new features (importers, neural nowcasting, docs, tooling …)
• Lightning talks, mini-tutorials & evening demos (board games + local cheese included)
• Final project list set via the GitHub board “Hackathon 2025 – Ardennes Edition”

How to apply

1. Outline your idea(s): add proposed issues/features to the GitHub discussion board and tag them ardennes-2025.
2. Fill in the application form (5 min): https://forms.gle/Ge7wxq4j3t4TJh526
3. Tell us what you’d like to hack on, your skills, and any logistics (dietary needs, accessibility, travel windows).

We will select participants based on:

• Relevance and impact of the proposed work
• Diversity of skills & backgrounds
• Ability to collaborate in an intensive, in-person setting

Unfortunately, completing the form does not guarantee a place. We’ll confirm the final line-up by 20 June and create a waiting list in case of cancellations.

Logistics

• Accommodation, venue & food covered; shared cooking rota in place
• Towels not provided – please bring your own
• Best public-transport option from Brussels: direct IC train Bruxelles → Landen (± 50 min); we’ll organise shuttles to the château
• Solid Wi-Fi promised, but bring large datasets locally just in case
• Climbers: a crag is nearby – pack your gear!
• Tech needs? If you require specific hardware, drop us a line at pysteps.2025@meteo.be and we’ll try to make it happen.

Because the château has only 16 beds (7 en-suite rooms), participation will be by application rather than automatic registration. We’ll select a balanced group that collectively covers the highest-impact tasks for the pySTEPS ecosystem.

Funding

• We gratefully acknowledge the support of the Belgian Science Policy Office (BELSPO) under contract number B2/233/P1/DERISC.
• Are you—or do you know—an early-career scientist who’d like to combine the hackathon with a longer scientific stay at RMI? Let us know! It’s possible to apply for a short-term scientific mission funded by EUMETNET to cover your travel expenses.

Questions or special requests? Email pysteps.2025@meteo.be or note them in the form.

We’re excited to review your ideas and craft a focused, high-energy week of coding, learning and north-of-the-Ardennes adventure together!