Courses and Summer Schools

SOAR arrages a thematic course every year in collaboration with our Nordic partners in Agroasis, the NOVA Network in Agro-Ecology. The topics are chosen to be relevant to any PhD student working within organic agriculture and food systems. The aim is to help PhD students broaden their perspective on their own research and understanding the wider contexts that the research is embedded in. We also engage in discussions on the values and principles of organic farming as the basis for research, and encourage a critical attitude to the basic principles. Another aim is to strengthen international networking among PhD students and researchers in organic agriculture. The NOVA University Network has supported the summer schools for a number of years. The summer schools are usually a one week intensive course supplemented by preparation and assignment, all together 4 ECTS or around 120 working hours.

 

Coming Courses

2010

Farming and food systems as social ecological systems:

integrated assessment for resilience and adaptive capacity

13-18 June 2010

Venue

Helsinki

Course responsible

Juha Helenius, Professor, Helsinki University

Course Teachers

Vibeke Langer, LIFE

Mette Vaarst, DJF/AU

Tor Arvid Breland, UMB

 

 

Previous Courses

2009

Global Organic Food Chains - Agroecology, Environment and Livelihood

22-27 November 2009

Course responsible

Andreas de Neergaard, LIFE

Course teachers

Niels Halberg, ICROFS

Mette Vaarst, DJF/AU

Tor Arvid Breland, UMB Norway

Vibeke Langer, LIFE

Kathrine O'Doherty-Jensen, LIFE

Sander Bruun, LIFE

 

 

2008

Research Methodologies in Organic Food and Farming Research 

2-7 November 2008

 

Course teachers
Professor Tor Arvid Breland, UMB, Norway

Senior scientist Charlotte Lagerberg Fogelberg, SLU, Sweden

Professor John R. Porter, LIFE/KU, Denmark

  

Keynote speakers

Senior scientist Mette Vaarst, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Aarhus University, Denmark

Senior lecturer Chris Blackmore, Open University, UK

Research director Henning Høgh Jensen, National Environment Research Institute, Denmark

 

2007

Scales and cross-scales in ecosystem services in agriculture and organic farming

27 May to 2 June 2007 

Course responsible: Associate professor Lennart Salomonsson, SLU, Sweden

Course teachers

Professor John R. Porter, LIFE/KU, Denmark

Professor Jan Bengtsson, SLU, Sweden

Professor Juha Helenius, Helsinki University, Finland

Course description

Programme (pdf)

 

2006

Potential for Organic Farming to contribute to Rural Development in Europe
28 May - 2 June 2006
This course was held as a joint event with the Organic Congress in Odense

Course responsible: Associate professor Henning Høgh Jensen, KVL, Denmark

Course teachers

Associate professor Vibeke Langer, KVL, Denmark

Keynote speakers

Senior lecturer Nic Lampkin, Organic Centre Wales, Aberystwyth, UK

Dr. Patrizia Pugliese, Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari (MAIB), Italy

Dr. Karlheinz Knickel, Institute for Rural Development Research, Frankfurt, Germany

Course description
Evaluation 

 

   

2005

Globalisation: Threat or Opportunity for Organic Farming?

3-7 October 2005

Course responsible: associate professor Henning Høgh Jensen

Course teachers
Henning Høgh Jensen, associate professor, head of SOAR, KVL
Katherine O’Doherty-Jensen, associate professor, KVL
Torbjörn Rydberg, associate professor, SLU, Sweden

 
Keynote Speakers
Lawrence Busch, Professor, Michigan State University, USA
Nadia Scialabba, UN Food and Agricultural Organisation, Rome, Italy
Lawrence Woodward, Elm Farm Research Institute, UK
Olof Thomsson, Biodynamic Research Institute, Sweden, BERAS project
Cathy Farnworth, Cornwall, UK
Chris Kjeldsen, Scientist, Danish Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Denmark
Michael Hauser, University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
Aileen Robertson, Public Health Nutritonist, Suhr's University College, Denmark

 

 

2004

Is Organic Farming the Key to Sustainability?

20-24 September 2004

Course responsible: Associate professor Vibeke Langer, KVL, Denmark

Course teachers

Associate professor Torbjörn Rydberg, SLU, Sweden

Associate professor Jesper Rasmussen, KVL, Denmark

Senior scientist Christian Gamborg, KVL, Denmark

Associate professor Niels Heine Kristensen, Technical University of Denmark

Senior scientist Niels Halberg, Danish Institute of Agricultural Sciences

 

Keynote speakers

Senior scientist Erik Steen Jensen, Risøe National Laboratoy, Denmark

Associate professor Alex Dubgaard, KVL, Denmark

Anders Borgen, Agrologica, Denmark

Senior scientist Hugo Fjelsted Alrøe, DARCOF, Denmark

Senior lecturer Stephen Roderick, Organic Studies Centre, Cornwall, UK

Associate professor Katherine O'Doherty Jensen, KVL, Denmark

 

 

2003

Values, ideology, science and organic farming

12-17 September 2003 in Falkenberg, Sweden

This course was held in connection with the Bertebos Conference: Ecosystem services in European agriculture - Theory and practice

Course responsible: Associate professor Jesper Rasmussen, KVL, Denmark

Course teachers

Associate professor Nadarajah Sriskandarajah, KVL, Denmark (now professor at SLU, Swden)

Associate professor Vibeke Langer, KVL, Denmark

Associate professor Roger Packham, University of Western Sydney, Australia

 

Keynote speakers

Reader John Barry, Queen's University, Belfast, UK

Associate professor Jesper Lassen, KVL, Denmark

 

 

2002

Research Methodologies in relation to Principles and Practice in Organic Farming

7-11 October 2002

Course responsible: Professor Stig Milan Thamsborg, KVL, Denmark

Guest teachers

Senior scientist Pernille Kaltoft, National Environment Research Institute, Denmark

Senior scientist Hugo Fjelsted Alrøe, DARCOF, Denmark

Professor Jacob Weiner, KVL, Denmark

Associate professor Jan Holm Ingemann, Aalborg University, Denmark

Research director Hans Siggaard Jensen, Learning Lab Denmark

Associate professor Nadarajah Sriskandarajah, KVL, Denmark

Associate professor Vibeke Langer, KVL, Denmark

Professor Peter Sandøe, KVL, Denmark

 

Excursion to farms

Øllingegaard, Morten Krohn

Hegnstrup, Allan Clausen

Fuglebjerggaard, Per Kølster

 

 

Other PhD courses with relevance for SOAR PhD students

 

Knowing Systems and the Environment

29-31 October 2007 in Uppsala, Sweden. 2 ECTS.

“…it is impossible to answer the empirical questions about sustainability without taking a systems view of agriculture, development or whatever practice is in question”.
Paul Thompson – agricultural ethicist
Course programme

Further information and registration:

Professor Nadarajah Sriskandarajah, Dept of Urban and Rural Development, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Please e-mail to

 

Animal Ethics

4-8 June 2007 in Mikkeli, Finland

Course web-site

Futher course information and registration:
Finnish Research School for Animal Welfare, University of Helsinki, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine,

Anna Valros, and Satu Raussi,  

Deadline for registration is 20th of April 2007
 

 

Sustainable Nutrient Management in Agri-Food-Systems - An Industrial Ecology Approach

March 5th to 9th 2007 in Mikkeli, Finland

Course web-site

Further information from Jukka Rajala, email  .