PhD Study trip 2016: Germany and Switzerland

The third PhD trip organized by the Environmental Policy Group, from 18-28 February 2016, will visit Germany and a smaller group will visit Switzerland. More specifically they will visit the cities of Bonn, Freiburg and Zurich. The PhD students have selected leading institutions working on diverse environmental and sustainability issues that match their research interests. In total 16 PhD students will participate.

In Bonn the focus will be on interdisciplinarity and international networks. Therefore the PhD trip will visit the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, the United Nations University, the Forest Stewardship Council and the University of Bonn.

The workshop at the University of Freiburg will rather focus on social theories, with a particular emphasis on environmental governance. As Freiburg is known as eco-city, the PhDs will visit the Vauban district and the Green City Cluster for more practical insights.

The visit to Zurich and to the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETHZ) and the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (EAWAG) will bring yet another dimension to the PhD trip, stakeholder participation and transdisciplinarity.

This trip provides an opportunity to build and strengthen international networks between Wageningen University and German researchers and policy makers who are addressing similar environmental issues. It will stimulate new insights for environmental theories, methodologies and applications for both parties.

This Phd trip became feasible due to financial support of the Environmental Policy Group, the research schools WASS and SENSE, and the LEB fund of Wageningen University and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) with funds from the Federal Foreign Office (AA). We therefore would like to thank all funding bodies.