ERASMUS BIP Blended Intensive Programme:

Summer School “Sustainable Samothraki 2023” in Greece, July 11 to July 21

Cooperation between Democritus University of Thrace, Komotini (Coordinating and Receiving Institution), University of Life Sciences and Natural Resources (BOKU Vienna) and University of Èvora, Portugal.

8th summer school on the Greek island of Samothraki, accompanying an effort at a sustainability transition in collaboration with local actors and supporting the island to become a member of UNESCO‘s international Man and Biosphere community.

Module 1 – Sociometabolic Research (SMR) on Islands: This module builds on sociometabolic data about the island with a focus on reuse and recycling practices. Students will investigate if the remote and bounded character of islands results in extended lifetimes of certain materials regarding creative and/or pragmatic solutions in the construction sector and/or appliances and machinery.

Module 2 – Water stream hydro-morphological and physicochemical parameters analysis:
In the context of this module, participants will have the chance to implement field measurements that occurred in a stream concerning several hydromorphological and physicochemical parameters.

Module 3 – Social Transformation on Islands: This module aims at investigating how islandness is reflected in the social organisation of the island community in order to overcome socio- economic or environmental problems. Is islandness a hindering or promoting factor for driving social transformation toward sustainability in rural communities?

Why should you be part of this summer school?
The aim is to learn and apply social ecology and environmental science approaches in a local setting while supporting an ongoing research and transition process. The course gives students the opportunity to engage in a real-life project and utilize their respective scientific competencies to support the process, cooperate with local “citizen scientists” in gathering missing information in fieldwork, and contribute to a local sustainability transformation process. This will provide you with the experience of a transdisciplinary process, supporting a search for local solutions, coping with development challenges, and learning to interact with stakeholders in a culturally challenging environment. The course will conclude with a joint reflection on the experiences and written student reports on the findings of their specific research group (module). You will receive a certificate amounting to 6 ECTS to use at your home university.

20 students can be a part of the summer school, expenses for traveling and accommodation are supported by Erasmus+.