Potsdam Summer School 2024 Focuses on Ecosystems

Humankind faces a huge challenge: With climate change threatening the foundations of life on our planet, the era of fossil fuel use must come to an end. This will lead to profound changes in our ways of producing goods, our means of transportation and, ultimately, our way of life. We are at the beginning of a great transformation that can bring benefits as well as new inequalities. It is important that this transformation towards sustainability secures and fosters humane living conditions for all people worldwide, in the present and future, while restoring and preserving the environmental foundations of life. 

We are responsible for the future of the planet and its ecosystems. We do not own nature, but we have the capacity to change it irreversibly. We must therefore accept that this capacity to influence the Earth system carries with it a responsibility for the future of the planet and its ecosystems.  

Accelerating rates of environmental change and the continued loss of global biodiversity threaten to undermine functions and services delivered by ecosystems. On the other hand, new technological developments such as advanced genetic sequencing and the digitalisation of agriculture hold out the prospect of creating a sustainable bioeconomy. But what are the trade-offs and drawbacks? Would these developments provide for the wellbeing of all people in all places? 

Against the backdrop of these findings and questions, Potsdam Summer School 2024 will delve deep into the interactions between biodiversity, bioeconomy, digitalisation and sustainable development, with the aim of gaining a holistic view of their connections and interdependencies.

The topics for discussion include:

• The role of nature in the Anthropocene
• Biodiversity and resilience of ecosystem functions
• Interactions of biodiversity and bioeconomy
• Landscape ecology
• Sustainable land use
• Digitalisation of agriculture

Participants will engage in discussions and group activities and learn to apply effective strategies to solve the challenges they face in their daily work.
 
Potsdam Summer School is a series of transdisciplinary and interactive events that has been held annually in Potsdam, Germany since 2014. Each year, the summer school brings together talented early-career scientists and young professionals from around the world to discuss frontier research questions, fostering international cooperation and providing opportunities for networking. 
 
Empowering participants to act as science communication ambassadors in their home countries, Potsdam Summer School strengthens science awareness and enhances the transferable skills of participating researchers and practitioners. Experts, stakeholders, and guest lecturers from national and international institutes and organizations will contribute their knowledge to the programme, which consists of lectures, various discussion formats and interactive group work. 

The 2024 Potsdam Summer School is jointly organised by the Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy; the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), the Research Institute for Sustainability – Helmholtz Centre Potsdam (RIFS), and the University of Potsdam in partnership with the City of Potsdam.

The call for applications will open on 1 January 2024. The deadline for submitting applications is Tuesday, 30 April 2024, 23:59 UTC.

The week-long programme will be held on location in Potsdam and conducted in English.

Further information:

• Website of the Potsdam Summer School