[rohrpost] Call: Potsdam Summer School 2022: „Towards a Sustainable Transformation – Climate, Energy and Nature in a Changing World” (August 22-31, 2022)

[Ingeborg Reichle]

CALL

POTSDAM SUMMER SCHOOL 2022

Towards a Sustainable Transformation – Climate, Energy and Nature in a 
Changing World

August 22-31, 2022 in Potsdam, Germany

The deadline for submitting applications will be April 30, 2022.

With its overarching theme - “Towards a Sustainable Transformation – 
Climate, Energy and Nature in a Changing World” – the Potsdam Summer 
School will in 2022 continue the transdisciplinary and interactive 
series of events that has been held annually in Potsdam, Germany since 
2014.

Humankind is facing a huge challenge: Climate change threatens the 
foundations of life on our planet. To preserve these foundations, the 
fossil era must come to an end. This will lead to profound changes in 
our ways of producing goods, our means of transportation, and 
ultimately the way in which we live. We are at the beginning of a 
great transformation, which can bring benefits as well as new 
inequalities. It is important to shape this in a just and sustainable 
manner, while protecting the environment and thereby securing future 
life for people in all regions around the globe.

Participants of the Potsdam Summer School will be engaged in 
discussions and group works and will be provided with tools to develop 
effective strategies to solve the challenges they face in their daily 
work, while also gaining a comprehensive perspective and overview 
surrounding the three aspects of a sustainable transformation:

• Climate
• Energy
• Nature

Action on climate change needs a joint and strong collaboration of the 
entire international community. The burdens and causes of climate 
change are unevenly distributed over the world, and future generations 
will suffer much more.

The transformation of energy systems is obviously one of the key 
factors of climate mitigation. Fossil fuel-free means of producing 
energy must be developed and implemented. But this transformation also 
involves a societal change. The loss of biodiversity and climate 
change threaten human living conditions on our planet. The
examples of polar and marine regions or the amazon region illustrate 
the importance of nature conservation.

The aim of the Potsdam Summer School is to bring together talented 
early-career scientists and young professionals operating in the 
private sector, governmental agencies, and non-governmental 
organisations from many different parts of the world to discuss 
frontier (research) questions on future sustainable development. This 
call is also open for artists and curators.

The organisers also intend to enable participants to engage with 
various sectors of the public in their home countries. Our goal is to 
improve science awareness and help to develop informed opinions and 
enhance the transferable skills of researchers and practitioners. 
Experts, stakeholders, and guest lecturers from high level national 
and international institutes and organisations will contribute 
knowledge and insights to the Summer School programme which will 
comprise lectures, various discussion formats, and interactive group 
work activities.

Thus, the Potsdam Summer School provides a unique opportunity for all 
participants to foster international cooperation and an 
interdisciplinary exchange of ideas. In partnership with Geo.X and the 
City of Potsdam, the 2022 Potsdam Summer School will be jointly 
organised by the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar 
and Marine Research (AWI), the Helmholtz-Centre Potsdam – GFZ German 
Research Centre for Geosciences, the Institute for Advanced 
Sustainability Studies (IASS), the Potsdam Institute for Climate 
Impact Research (PIK), and the University of Potsdam.

The call for applications has started on February 1, 2022.

The organisers intend to conduct the 10-day programme in a format 
whereby all participants and speakers will be present in Potsdam. The 
entire programme will be conducted in English.

Should it be the case that the overall situation regarding the current 
pandemic precludes in-person attendance the organisers will revert to 
a virtual format.

The organisers are looking forward to receiving applications from 
young professionals from various backgrounds.

The deadline for submitting completed applications is on Saturday 
April 30, 2022 at 23:59 UTC.

For further information, please contact
angela.borowski(at)iass-potsdam.de

https://potsdam-summer-school.org/