ERASMUS BIP Blended Intensive Programme:
Summer School “Sustainable Samothraki 2023” in Greece
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-the-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 Innovation 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 innovation and social capital 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 travelling and
accommodation are supported by Erasmus+.
Preparatory Online Meetings in May 4-5
You will receive introductory texts for this meeting upon your registration, as well as
your zoom invitation for the preparatory meeting.
Summer School on Samothraki, Greece: July 11 to July 21.
Useful links:
https://www.med.uevora.pt/pt/8th-summer-school-sustainable-samothraki-2023/
