The aim of the so-called action "Réseau Formation Recherche" was to help the student from different countries of Central and Eastern Europe to perform their research at Météo-France/CNRM/GMAP with the final goal to reach the PhD degree.

The first "Réseau Formation Recherche" supported the funding of the PhD studies between November 1992 and December 1995. These studies, besides their theoretic and scientific contents, have induced very important concrete outcomes for the use of ALADIN. The four PhDs have been defended.

On February 1996, the French Ministry of "Education Nationale, Enseignement Supérieur et Recherche" accepted another "Réseau Formation Recherche"; it consisted in financing five new PhD studies. A final report has been prepared for the Ministery in February 1999 by Prof. Joze Rakovec (external co-ordinator of the Réseau).

The first four studies had many outcomes in the ALADIN project :

• Radmila Bubnova worked on "Use of the Hydrostatic Pressure Coordinate for Integration of the Elastic Model of the Atmospheric Dynamics in the Framework of the Numerical Weather Prediction System ARPEGE/ALADIN", this is important for the use of ALADIN below 10 Km resolution and to maintain the compatibility with a Hydrostatic operational model.
• Mihaela Caian compared two solutions for fine scale modelling ("Variable Mesh or Limited Area Model : Which Solution to Choose for the Forecast on the Fine Scale") and justified the ALADIN development for fine scale modelling by determining the limit of applicability of the stretching, method used operationally in ARPEGE.
• Elena Cordoneanu : "Study of the Thermal Circulations above the Carpathian-Black Sea Area by Using the Model ALADIN"; she demonstrated the ability of ALADIN to reproduce breeze effects and verified the consistency of its response.
• Andras Horanyi performed some "Sensitivity Studies"; at this occasion, he developed the adjoint and tangent linear parts of ALADIN (adiabatic part) and used it for sensitivity studies such as detection of critical areas (amplification of frontal waves).

These four studies contributed to ALADIN model, but in a quite independent way from one another. The next five PhD projects are more linked together.

• Doina Banciu (Romania) : Specific Small Scale Diabatic Forcing in ALADIN at the Limit of the Hydrostatic Assumption,
• Marta Janiskova (Slovakia) : Realization of a Simplified Physical Parametrization for Incremental Four-dimensional Data Assimilation,
• Mark Zagar (Slovenia) : Forecasting of the High Resolution Wind and Precipitations with Dynamic Adaptation,
• Filip Vana (Czech Rep.) : The Dynamical and Physical Control of Kinetic Energy Spectra in a NWP Spectral semi-Lagrangian Model,
• Ilian Gospodinov (Bulgaria) : Conservation Properties of 2 Time Level semi-Lagrangian.