The second international tdAcademy Summer School took place in 2023 and found positive resonance once again. 19 Master and PhD students with very different disciplinary and geographic backgrounds came together in Bad Freienwalde from 17th to 22nd September to learn about transdisciplinary methods and to apply them in an exemplary way to questions in rural areas of north-eastern Brandenburg. For all participants, this was an exciting and enriching continuation of the Summer School cooperation between the tdAcademy team at the ZTG and the ISST of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC).
The Summer School was developed by Martina Schäfer, Emilia Nagy and Josefa Kny (tdAcademy/ZTG) as well as Gemma Tejedor and Jordi Segalàs (ISST/UPC). Annabell Lamberth (ZTG) and Na Liang (UPC) were involved in the organization. The project was developed as part of Gemma Tejedor's tdAcademy Fellowship at ZTG in 2022. See also Report on the Website of the UPC.
Source: Julia Margeth Theuer, 2023
Transdisciplinary research and practice is about bringing together knowledge and perspectives from different actors in science and society. The purpose is dual: to contribute to the solution of real-world problems and, at the same time, to provide new insights for science.
Source: Emilia Nagy, 2023
Collaboration across institutions and beyond the boundaries of one's own discipline and academia is not a self-evident or simple exercise. In order to better understand the challenges and to be able to address them in a more targeted way, expertise is required that can often only be acquired in transdisciplinary practice through learning by doing.
Comment of the participants: „Transdisciplinarity is not an easy and well understood thing for everyone. And there is not enough of transdisciplinarity in research and practice. We need building more bridges.“
The organizers of ZTG and ISST considered a one-week summer school as a possible short cut for gaining this expertise. During the summer school, the participants got familiar with the theoretical foundations and methods of transdisciplinary project design. Using the example of land use conflicts and innovative approaches for the rural, low populated, agricultural region in the northeast of Brandenburg, the participants formulated transdisciplinary research questions and tested methods for the design of the participation concept and for impact assessment in small groups.
Souce: Emilia Nagy, 2023
The Master's and PhD students focused their exemplary projects on a self-defined realistic regional problem. They worked in groups with mixed disciplinary and geographic background. To choose a region-specific topic, we organized a field trip to exciting places in the region where land use conflicts and good examples of solutions are evident. For example, we visited Gut Kerkow, which combines species-appropriate animal husbandry and meat processing with bio-energy production for self-sufficiency in a holistic approach. The estate supplies meat for Berlin's organic market and is also expanding its local tourism offerings. Ole Bernhardt and Manuel Pundt shared the vision and challenges of this organic farm with us in a very lively way.
Source: Emilia Nagy, 2023
At the NABU information center in Blumberg, the head of the Schorfheide-Chorin biosphere reserve, Dr. Martin Flade, gave us an introduction to the concept of the biosphere reserve and explained the reasons for land use conflicts in the region. In addition to a high proportion of protected areas and organic farming, the region is also characterized by numerous renewable energy production facilities and intensive pig and chicken farming.
NABU (Naturschutzbund Deutschland e. V.) has been committed to nature conservation and environmental protection for more than 120 years. The head of NABU Brandenburg, Björn Ellner, visited us one evening and provided the participants with insights on a current regional land use conflict. In Bad Freienwalde, an investor wants to clear 370 hectares of mixed forest with high biodiversity for the installation of a photovoltaic plant – demonstrating very clearly the trade-off between economic interests of the community and nature conservation.
In the House with a Future in Angermünde, the participants learned from Nadine Binias how a vacant house can be turned into a communitarian place in cooperation with the city management and via scholarships for start-ups and other local initiatives. Jan Lindenberg presented the relevance of the House with a Future and the Angerwerk for the continuation of the innovation management of the R&D alliance WIR! region4.0. The regional University for Sustainable Development in Eberswalde plays a central role in regional transformation processes. During a visit to the university, Ralf Bloch reflected on the question of whether organic farming in northeastern Brandenburg is a success story, and Uta Steinhardt gave an overview of the different concerns that are taken into account in regional planning when designating areas for the generation of wind energy.