Current Courses
Current Courses
Joern Fischer
Colloquium Social-ecological system research
Das Kolloquium wird inhaltlich verschiedene Methoden, Ansätze und Ergebnisse sozial-ökologischer Forschung behandeln und unterschiedliche Formate anbieten: Studierende präsentieren ihre Forschungsvorhaben und/ oder Ergebnisse, die dann mit den Betreuuenden und anderen Forschern diskutiert werden können
Ziel: Ziel der Veranstaltung ist ein Austausch zwischen den Forschenden und Promovierenden, aber auch eine Präsentation des Promotionsvorhabens und eine Reflexion über die Fortschritte der Promotion
Conservation ecology
The conservation of species and ecosystems to support both the proper functioning of ecosystems and the provisioning of natural resources to humans is a major sustainability challenge. This course provides an introduction to conservation science and its importance to sustainability. Topics covered will include background on the science of conservation biology; key drivers of biodiversity decline; and challenges of biodiversity conservation in the real world. Specific topics, among others, include habitat loss, habitat fragmentation, the effects of climate change, and invasive species. Underpinning ecological concepts such as metapopulations and connectivity will also be discussed. The course will make links to core concepts/frameworks of sustainability science such as ecosystem services, social-ecological systems, and governance throughout.
The course will be taught through a combination of lectures and student-led discussion. For the discussions, students will organise in groups, select a current 'hot' topic, provide relevant literature for the other students to read before the class, and facilitate a structured discussion including a short presentation. Students will also write individual research papers on the significance of conservation biology for a specific sustainability topic.
A particular highlight will be three guest lectures and discussions that will be presented via zoom and in-person, focusing on: (1) conservation case studies around global amphibian declines driven by a fungal disease affecting many species worldwide; (2) land use change and biodiversity conservation in the Chaco ecoregion; and (3) the contribution of forestry to biodiversity conservation in Sweden.
Ziel: The course picks up one of the key cross-cutting challenges affecting human societies in the 21st century -- the rapid loss of biodiversity. By the end of the course, the students will have a clear understanding of the drivers of biodiversity decline, as well we key ecological concepts relevant to halting this decline. Students will also learn to present scientific information in English.
restoration
Ecological restoration is set to be one of the cornerstones to counteract the current climate and biodiversity crisis. With countries pledging to restore millions of hectares worldwide, the United Nations declared 2021-2030 the “Decade on Ecosystem Restoration”. However, on a planet where human influence reaches almost every location, “ecosystem restoration” actions actually take place in complex social-ecological settings. To address this complexity, we can no longer plan or report on restoration actions using only biophysical approaches. Global change challenges push us to make ecosystem restoration a social-ecological endeavour, where restoration goals also consider the effects on human benefits, landscape multifunctionality and resilience, and are underpinned by diverse knowledge systems, worldviews and values.
In this seminar, students will (1) be introduced to ecosystem restoration, (2) get to know basics of social-ecological systems thinking, and (3) apply a social-ecological systems perspective to restoration case studies.
This seminar will follow a project-based learning approach. The learning process will revolve around the assessment of a real-world ecosystem restoration project, through different case studies that are selected by the students (in groups). The instructor’s role will focus on providing a series of knowledge inputs (conceptual and methodological) at the beginning of each class that allow the students to move forward in the development of their group and individual assignments. At the same time, the partial outcomes of the students' work will enable the instructor to provide new inputs and to guide the students towards the next steps until the completion of their assignments. Invited speakers will bring dynamism to the course and enrich its content by providing key expert knowledge on key topics for ecosystem restoratio for the development of the students’ work.
Ziel: By the end of the seminar, the students will have a sound understanding of ecosystem restoration and its ecological, social and social-ecological components as well as of the basics of social-ecological systems thinking. The course will provide the students with tools and knowledge to participate in the planning, assessment, and monitoring of restoration projects in the future.
More specifically, students will be able to apply a social-ecological systems approach to characterize and understand the performance of a real-world ecosystem restoration project, by:
1. Analysing the goals, approaches and actions that define a restoration project from a comprehensive social-ecological perspective.
2. Analysing the multiple human and environmental dimensions that influence, and can be influenced by, a restoration project.
3. Identifying the social-ecological parameters that play a key role in a restoration project, within each identified dimension.
4. Developing a knowledge integration exercise and a critical assessment of the multiple dimensions and parameters analyzed.
Further information about courses you will find the academic portal myStudy.Current Courses
Sarah Gottwald
Sustainable urban transformation of a cross-border city - a social-ecological systems approach
CONTENT:
Currently there are two apparently opposing trends regarding national borders: growing nationalism demanding for more border protection or even border closure, and simultaneously very high cross-border mobility. While sometimes treated as rather abstract concepts or pass-through/transition areas within the European Union, cross-border regions are home to almost 40% of Europe’s population. This means, living close to the border or even cross-border is part of their everyday life, and tangible as well as intangible values are attributed to various places along and across the border. A specific case is the double city of Słubice and Frankfurt(Oder) at the Polish-German border. Every day, thousands of people cross the border at the inner-city bridge over the Odra river. Here, abstract border and cross-border debates become very concrete and localized. The city governments aim for a sustainable cross-border city center that integrates the border bridge as the central points in an urban area of a ca. 1km radius, which is the focus of current planning activities.
Our course connects directly to these activities. In a participatory process citizen came up with four main topics of interest for future urban development: mobility, urban green, places of encounter, and social activities. Together with the research project Move’n’Sense, based at Leuphana and the University of Life Science in Wroclaw, these key topics have been further explored using a participatory mapping survey. Additionally, this course draws on the activities and results of a previous Master TD project (summer term 24 and winter term 24/25). These entail insights on (1) the relation between cross-border identity and perception of common challenges and conservation intention of the Odra river; (2) more-than human perspectives and diverse value frames; (3) different perspectives for a specific urban planning case; (4) visions for a pedestrian Odra border bridge to foster social cohesion and human-nature interaction. In this course, students will work together with different local practice partners contributing to solve local challenges associated to the above-mentioned topics.
PROCESS:
Part 1 Definition of research objective and design
The objectives of the first part are to gain an overview of all preceding work, form groups according to the students’ individual interests, to develop a basic understanding of project management, and to establish a first contact with local practice partners. At the end of this part, the students are set up in their team, know their (potential) practice partners, have developed fist research questions and/or hypothesis, and have designed their transdisciplinary study. Tentative 3 sessions until end of April.
Part 2 Co-creation of knowledge
The aim of the second part is to create some solution-oriented and transferable knowledge through cooperative research. The students will apply a method of choice that fits the research questions, their expertise and practice partners’ capacities and needs, and analyze and evaluate data. At the end of this part student groups have gathered data based on sound scientific research methods that responds their research questions and are valuable for practice partners. This part will include an excursion of 2 to 3 days. Tentative 7 sessions (including excursion) until mid June.
Part 3 Knowledge re-integration
The aim of this part is to interpret your results in cooperation with practice partners and peers to develop a knowledge re-integration strategy. At the end of this part the students have finalized their data analysis and received feedback. Tentative 2 sessions until beginning of July.
Part 4 knowledge communication and dissemination
The aim of the final part is to develop an artifact (end product or strategy for communication and dissemination) and present this to practice partners and/or local community, and peers. Tentative 2 sessions, until end of lecture time.
Ziel: COURSE OBJECTIVES:
1. Students are able to co-create visions with local stakeholders for the study area through the application of transdisciplinary knowledge and methods.
2. Students are able to understand and evaluate the process through critical self-reflection to learn from their experience and to improve the process in future projects.
Further information about courses you will find the academic portal myStudy.