State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

summer field placement

  • Student Helps Engage Youth in Nepal’s Earthquake Recovery

    Student Helps Engage Youth in Nepal’s Earthquake Recovery

    Karolina Walęcik, a recently graduated MPA-DP student from the class of 2016, spent her summer field placement on a post-earthquake aid transparency project with the Accountability Lab in Kathmandu, Nepal.

  • Connecting the Dots with a Summer Placement in Lesotho

    Connecting the Dots with a Summer Placement in Lesotho

    The Masters of Public Administration in Development Practice “offered a program that allowed me to explore potential paths in a career of development by having the flexibility to connect the dots with my previous experience.”

  • In the Middle East, Discovering the Aspirations of Youth

    In the Middle East, Discovering the Aspirations of Youth

    “I was on the ground collecting data in Jordan, and worked with data collection teams in Syria and Palestine. Within Jordan this involved traveling across the country to speak with Syrian youth refugees, as well as Jordanian and Palestinian youth. I was deeply struck by how candid the respondents were.”

  • Taking Flight (Remotely) over East Africa

    Taking Flight (Remotely) over East Africa

    “Despite an early love affair with technology encouraged by my computer scientist, Silicon Valley-based parents, even I had a hard time envisioning a world in which I would spend a summer flying fixed wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) over pastoral East Africa.”

Photo of the Earth from space with the text "Lamont at AGU25" on top.

AGU25, the premier Earth and space science conference, takes place December 15-19, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. This year’s theme—Where Science Connects Us—puts in focus how science depends on connection, from the lab to the field to the ballot box. Once again, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and Columbia Climate School scientists, experts, students, and educators are playing an active role, sharing our research and helping shape the future of our planet. #AGU25 Learn More

  • Student Helps Engage Youth in Nepal’s Earthquake Recovery

    Student Helps Engage Youth in Nepal’s Earthquake Recovery

    Karolina Walęcik, a recently graduated MPA-DP student from the class of 2016, spent her summer field placement on a post-earthquake aid transparency project with the Accountability Lab in Kathmandu, Nepal.

  • Connecting the Dots with a Summer Placement in Lesotho

    Connecting the Dots with a Summer Placement in Lesotho

    The Masters of Public Administration in Development Practice “offered a program that allowed me to explore potential paths in a career of development by having the flexibility to connect the dots with my previous experience.”

  • In the Middle East, Discovering the Aspirations of Youth

    In the Middle East, Discovering the Aspirations of Youth

    “I was on the ground collecting data in Jordan, and worked with data collection teams in Syria and Palestine. Within Jordan this involved traveling across the country to speak with Syrian youth refugees, as well as Jordanian and Palestinian youth. I was deeply struck by how candid the respondents were.”

  • Taking Flight (Remotely) over East Africa

    Taking Flight (Remotely) over East Africa

    “Despite an early love affair with technology encouraged by my computer scientist, Silicon Valley-based parents, even I had a hard time envisioning a world in which I would spend a summer flying fixed wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) over pastoral East Africa.”