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.
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
2009
Global Organic Food Chains - Agroecology, Environment and Livelihood
22-27 November 2009
Andreas de Neergaard, LIFE
Course teachers
Niels Halberg, ICROFS
Tor Arvid Breland, UMB Norway
Kathrine O'Doherty-Jensen, LIFE
Sander Bruun, LIFE
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
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
Professor Jan Bengtsson, SLU, Sweden
Professor Juha Helenius, Helsinki University, Finland
Course description
Programme (pdf)
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
Associate professor Vibeke Langer, KVL, Denmark
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
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
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
Associate professor Nadarajah Sriskandarajah, KVL, Denmark (now professor at SLU, Swden)
Associate professor Roger Packham, University of Western Sydney, Australia
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
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
Professor Peter Sandøe, KVL, Denmark
Excursion to farms
Øllingegaard, Morten Krohn
Hegnstrup, Allan Clausen
Fuglebjerggaard, Per Kølster
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
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
March 5th to 9th 2007 in Mikkeli, Finland
Further information from Jukka Rajala, email .