Science Explorer
Tieza Mica Santos
Tieza Mica Santos is an “accidental scientist” wearing multiple hats as a researcher, social innovator, development professional, and specialist in the cross-cutting fields of climate change, environmental and natural resource governance, sustainability, systems transformation, and public policy.
Her work centers on key areas including climate mitigation and resilience, water-food-energy nexus, sustainable and climate finance, facilitating low-carbon and just transitions for cities and urban regions, implementing nature-based solutions for climate-vulnerable communities, and fostering social enterprises and startup innovation. She has collaborated on projects with governments, multilateral institutions, civil society and grassroots organizations, as well as the private sector across the Philippines, Southeast Asia, and Europe.
She holds an M.Sc. in Environmental Sciences and Policy from Central European University and M.A. in Political Science (Global Politics) and A.B. European Studies (International Relations) from Ateneo de Manila University. She is currently a Research Fellow and Doctoral Candidate at the Dresden Leibniz Graduate School and Faculty of Environmental Sciences (Geosciences) at Technische Universität Dresden in Germany.
She is a distinguished scholar, having received prestigious international awards and fellowships, including the International Climate Protection Fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung in Germany, Australia Leadership Awards, and Australia-ASEAN Emerging Leaders Fellowship. She has also taken up leadership roles in various organizations such as Environmental Committee Head for Manila Hub and one of the Asia Pacific Regional Leads for Climate and Environment Committee of the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Community. She also served as the 2021-2022 Section B Spokesperson for Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften, Raumwissenschaften of the Ph.D. Network of Leibniz Association in Germany, among others.
Her current research interest lies at the intersection of water governance, climate change impacts and resilience, social-ecological and socio-technical systems as complex adaptive systems, and urban transformation, using inter- and transdisciplinary perspectives and epistemological approaches.
Tieza is a Filipino from Southeast Asia and the Pacific region.