Agricola Summer and Winter Schools

Are you eager to expand your understanding of sustainable development? Our annual Summer and Winter Schools bring together global experts, students, and professionals for a dynamic learning experience precisely designed for this purpose. You can immerse yourself in interactive workshops led by top specialists, participate in discussions, join sailing trips in the Wadden region, meet local organizations, solve challenges with your peers and establish lasting networks. Whether you're a student or a professional, join us for an impactful journey to deepen your knowledge and contribute to shaping the future of our planet!

Check out next year's Summer and Winter Schools

Taking place in January :

Discourses of Sustainability Transitions

Over the course of this winter/summer school, participants will study the relationship between discourse, worldview, ontology and ethics, particularly in regard to questions of just sustainability transitions (in particular just water / food / energy nexus transitions). How are arguments for more sustainable ways to live on this planet being mediated to audiences? Who is doing the mediating, and how does the message change, depending on the speaker and audience?

Taking place in June:

Hermes Summer School

Cultural narratives shape behaviors, worldviews, and societal practices. The Hermes Summer School will explore narratives of degrowth and sustainability, examining their potential to inspire new ways of thinking about social and economic structures. Key topics include the framing of economic growth in relation to social and ecological well-being, the contradictions within sustainability narratives, and their intersections with posthuman and decolonial theories. By analyzing literature and other cultural products, the program aims to develop alternative economic and social organizations that prioritize ecological sustainability, social justice, and human well-being over economic growth.

Islands as Laboratories for Sustainability (ISLAs)

Islands serve as ideal 'laboratories' for examining the intricate interplay of environmental, social, and economic sustainability. During the summer school, participants will delve into key topics, encompassing the challenges and facilitators of cultural, economic, and social wellbeing, environmental and urban planning, tourism, and happiness on islands. The main teaching activities will take place on Bali and the smaller neighboring island Nusa Lembongan, with excursions on both islands. This immersive experience provides a unique blend of academic exploration and real-world insights, offering a nuanced understanding of the intricate challenges surrounding sustainability, quality of life, and happiness on islands. The Summer School is open to master students, PhD students, postdoc, and practitioners.

The Next STEP - Summer School on Theories in Environmental Psychology

The Next STEP will help PhD students to bridge the gap between environmental psychology theory and practical applications. Through a series of workshops, group exercises and guest lectures by prominent experts in the field, participants will acquire knowledge and tools needed to effectively address pressing environmental issues in practice. Sponsoring organizations will provide the PhD  students to solve under the supervision of senior researchers. The Summer School is open to PhD students in environmental psychology and related fields.

SuRe - Sustainable and Resilient societies

SuRe aims to bring together scholars and students from different disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences and humanities whose work is related to resilience issues at the micro-level of individuals, the meso-level of collectivities (organizations, communities, families), the macro-level of societies and their institutions, as well as its conceptual or ethical dimensions. Equipped with this knowledge, participants will be trained in an inter- and transdisciplinary learning environment combining theory, methods and practice into group projects. The Summer School will take place in the beautiful city of Rome and it is open to (excellent) REMA students, PhD students, post-docs and policy makers.

Taking place in July:

Polarisation

Around the world, societies are suffering from an increasingly polarised public sphere. This polarisation of the public sphere diminishes the space for constructive and collaborative processes, and thereby undermines democracy, as well as our ability to collectively address the enormous challenges of our time, such as the climate crisis and societal inequality. During this summer school students will learn about and engage with current debates and emerging scientific insights which address and analyse our polarised times, and will work together in mixed groups (both in terms of discipline and country of study) on developing an intervention to mitigate against processes of polarisation in a specific context, brought in as a challenge by external societal partners.

Re/Making: ecologies of care in art and heritage

From socks to entire landscapes and artworks to buildings, repairing is an increasingly essential feature as well as skill at all scales of cultural heritage. Re/Making examines the comprehensive integration of ecological considerations into curatorial work and the conservation of cultural heritage. Together we will consider the various relationships between art and ecology and the diverse methods through which artworks can be conceptualized and cared for in environmentally compatible ways. Welcoming lectures and workshops from internationally esteemed researchers and practitioners, this week-long programme offers essential expertise for future curators, conservators, architects and artists.

Illicit Trade

Delve into the intricate realm of illicit trade at the University of Warsaw from July 8 to 12, 2024, through a comprehensive Summer School organized by GI-TOC, the Illicit Trade Group, and the Agricola School for Sustainable Development. This immersive learning experience offers a deep dive into the global issue of illicit trade, featuring lectures, workshops, and case studies led by renowned experts. Participants will explore the economic, social, and security implications of illicit activities, gaining insights into strategies for combatting them. Hosted at the prestigious University of Warsaw, this program promises a dynamic exploration of illicit trade's impacts on industries, communities, and global stability.

Corporate Governance and the Effectiveness of Boards

What do boards do? What factors influence what they do and how they do it? How do they perform and contribute to the overall performance of the company they represent? This summer school aims to answer these questions taking a multi-disciplinary approach, discussing research from economics, finance, management and sociology and psychology. During this Summer School, participants will also discuss datasets and methodologies, and will be invited to present their own research (ideas) in the field of board effectiveness. The Summer School is open to research master students, PhD students, postdoc, academics and practitioner with clear interest in academic research.

The roots of inequality, poverty and deprivation in Africa

This five-day summer school provides participants with a multidisciplinary grounding in the roots of inequality, poverty, and deprivation in Africa. Held at the University of Nairobi, home to the Kenya node of the African Centre of Excellence in Inequality Research (ACEIR), the program features lectures on historical and financial determinants of inequality, poverty measurement, and social mobility. Topics include pre-colonial and colonial inequality, financial inclusion, and international poverty measurements. The summer school delves into the roles of social institutions and norms, democracy in pluralistic societies, and the impact of financial development on sustainable development.

Finding Your Way in the Education-Work Transition

The transition from education to work raises diverse uncertainties worldwide. Young people grapple with questions about livelihoods, career aspirations, necessary education, and gaining meaningful experiences. In Uganda, youth often turn to entrepreneurship, with some becoming social entrepreneurs supporting themselves, families, and communities, despite the lingering impact of past conflicts in Gulu city. The Summer School at Gulu University integrates fieldwork exploring youth entrepreneurship and resilience, blending interactive lectures, interdisciplinary group work, and presentations to foster educational innovations informed by UNESCO Chair expertise.

Taking place in August:

Sustainable Landscapes - The Wadden Experience

How to steer towards sustainability at the landscape level? In the Northern part of the Netherlands lies the World Heritage Wadden Sea Region, which has a strong drive towards sustainable development. The goal of this Summer School is to explore the challenges of steering towards sustainability at the landscape level. Join us for a five day sailing trip with lectures by leading experts showing you scientific perspectives from different fields. You will explore the themes of cultural heritage; coastal tourism; landscape stewardship; regional food production; and sustainable entrepreneurship.

Watch the video about the Agricola Wadden Experience

Taking place in October

Land Acquisition, Resettlement and Social Sustainability

This two-week summer school focuses on developing skills in managing social risks and impacts associated with the development of investment projects and particularly issues related to land acquisition and resettlement. The Summer School is delivered by some of the world’s leading social assessment and resettlement practitioners. It is targeted to an international audience of current and intending social performance and resettlement practitioners, and people involved in the governance of projects from public and private institutions or from international financial institutions. It is also open to advanced students (Advanced MA students and PhD students) interested in the practical management of social issues associated with development.

Check out our previous Summer and Winter Schools:

Anthropocene. How humans shaped the earth

How significant is our impact on the earth? How did our interaction with other species evolve to today’s reliance on industrial agriculture? Understanding how the Anthropocene emerged, evolved, and how its many facets manifest themselves in ‘natural’ and ‘social’ phenomena is critical to dealing with our current global challenges. During this Summer School, participants learn how archaeologists, geographers, and ecologists study our impact on landscapes and oceans, and how legal and political scientists, psychologists and anthropologists implement the Anthropocene knowledge to improve environmental policies and behavior. By the end of the week, participants have a toolkit to apply these theories within their own discipline.

Cascading Disasters, Institutions and Organizations (CAINO)

How can we build disaster-proof societies for future generations? How do political institutions shape resilience to the cascading effects of disasters? What are the challenges that organizational networks face when coordinating during multiple disasters? This summer school intends to shed new light on such questions by providing advanced knowledge and skills in the field of social sciences and disaster management. Participants are trained in an inter- and transdisciplinary learning environment combining theory, methods and practice into group projects.

Creating a Climate for Change

The program is designed for lecturers and policy makers in higher and vocational training who want to tackle challenges in sustainable education. At the end of the three-day summer school, participants will leave with a concrete plan and knowledge on how to lead in sustainable education. Among the different topics, the Summer School addresses the following: Defining and measuring sustainable education, Incorporating sustainability as a central element of a course, Creating multi- inter- transdisciplinary education on a program level.

Designing Sustainable Landscapes Within Regional Food Systems

With this Summer School, participants learn all about designing sustainable regional food systems and agroecological landscapes for the north of The Netherlands. The north of The Netherlands is a region that has the potential to become an example and lead the way towards sustainable food production, playing a key role at national and international levels. During this Summer School, participants have the opportunity to study this region by, for example, visiting farms, conducting interviews with various stakeholders (farmer organizations, advisors, food industry, retailers, local government, academia, etc.) and attending lectures by specialists from various disciplines (agriculture, ecology, geography, economics, nutrition, political and social sciences).

Interdisciplinary Perspective on Micro- and Nano-plastics

Microplastic problem is getting more and more attention: from alarming news articles to Doctor Who episodes. But what do we know about microplastics' causes? How can we solve the problem? Complex global challenges such as microplastics need an interdisciplinary approach.

With this Summer School participants gain insights into causes and solutions on the microplastic issue from various disciplines including medicine, environmental sciences, social sciences, political sciences, philosophy, waste engineering, and the creative industry. The programme is designed to balance theory, practice and fun: participants attend a week of lectures, group works, workshops, hands-on activities, excursions and social events.

Heritage, Identity and Inclusivity

The Leeuwarden Summer School on Cultural & Linguistic Diversity is a five-day interdisciplinary program for graduate students, PhD students, and professionals interested in diversity management and social justice.

Winter School: Our connection with a fast-changing Arctic

Global warming is most prominent in the Arctic with visible changes in ice and snow and enormous challenges for ecosystems and people to adapt to the new situation. Sustainable solutions require multidimensional knowledge and a prudent approach when coming from outside the Arctic, as new business opportunities should take account of the sensitivities of the natural environment and local and indigenous people.This Winter School is aimed at (inter-) national civil servants and policy makers, politicians, managers, financial experts, (young) academics and PhD students who are looking for a comprehensive understanding of the Arctic region. Participants are introduced to various topics related to the Arctic and its inhabitants.