RIKS has extensive experience with a variety of manners of informing, teaching and training people with different backgrounds. At particular stages during the development cycle of models and/or Decision Support System and their practical application in the policy-making process RIKS provides different types of training. As a result of this we have build up a considerable amount of teaching and training material. We keep on improving this material constantly and develop new, dedicated material fitting the requirements of each course or training session. The latter is typically carried out in close collaboration with the organisation the material is intended for. Examples can be found in the EcoVisie Manual and the WadBOS Manual. To give the user hands-on experience with the models and DSS we organise workshops and put end-users in front of the computer to solve a number of typical problems taken from reality and fit to learn how to operate the system. In these workshops the trainees, usually in groups of two, work with the training material prepared for the occasion. The latter is sufficient for carrying out the work individually and at their own pace. RIKS staff members are present to facilitate the sessions and to assist the trainee on an individual basis. Examples of this kind of hands-on workshops organised in the recent past are the WadBOS Workshop and the EcoVisie Workshop. Because there is more to a DSS than just pushing buttons, we also organise policy workshops in which potential and actual end-users of the DSS learn what kind of policy questions the DSS can and cannot be used for, how to translate policy questions into information that can be used by the DSS, and how to interpret the information the DSS produces. In these workshops the focus is more on the use of the system as an instrument to support policy-analysis and policy-making and not so much on the actual hands-on experience. The system will typically be operated by RIKS staff members and will be explained to the participants. These workshops can take a day or can be organised as a series of sessions paralleling the activities of an actual policy exercise. An example of this type of workshop is the policy exercise carried out with the Province of Utrecht , The Netherlands RIKS provides also training for the technicians responsible for the maintenance and upgrading of the DSS installed in their organisation. These are fully custom-developed to fit the client’s requirements best. They may involve training on management-oriented tasks, but equally well on the use of GEONAMICA or on C++ programming in support of the redesign and recoding of parts of their software system. Also training on other subjects such as: the use of GIS in combination with the RIKS products, on tuning and calibration of the models, etc. is possible. As can be expected from a company as closely linked with a university as RIKS, there is also the following: RIKS presents on a very regular basis the results of its current work in scientific conferences, seminars and workshops on: Environmental modelling, Quantitative and Economic Geography, Regional Economics, Geographical Information Systems, Coastal zone management, Watershed management, Climate change, Information Systems, Software development, etc. RIKS is often hired to present invited courses and guest lectures as part of university curricula or at workshops on subjects such as: Decision Support Systems, Cellular Automata and Land use modelling, Modelling and model integration, Integrated Assessment, Policy support and policy-making, etc. Finally training and education can be provided as part of an internship at RIKS. If you are interested in learning more about our tailor-made courses or presentations please contact Hedwig van Delden for more information.