We are reorganizing IRSAE somewhat,  into smaller and more functional working groups, to facilitate discussions and exchanges of ideas among PhD candidates within similar sub-fields of applied ecology. The themes reflect what the PhD candidates in the network identify their research with.The working groups will be organized by experts from the different member institutions. We believe this reorganization will strengthen the cooperation among the PhD students from the different partners, and enable PhD students to lead discussions, exchange ideas, promote their research and create a strong research network that will persist after their PhD project. Our plan is to direct more resources toward working group activities in the future.

We will use the summer school this year to “kick-off” these themes, and for the PhD candidates to get to know other members of the network with similar research interests. The summer school will take the form of a conference, with, for each theme, a keynote speaker, presentations and workshop-like discussions. Each theme will be spread over the whole week (i.e. no parallel session) and participants are encouraged to attend all presentations and discussions, including those from other themes.

All PhD candidates within the IRSAE network should decide on a theme, or suggest a new theme, including those who will not attend the summer school. The theme-restructure is not restricted to the summer school, but is part of the restructure of the IRSAE network. However, the summer school will be a great opportunity to familiarize with the different themes and get to know the other members of your working group.

Preliminary themes for the restructure of IRSAE:
1. Movement and Population Ecology. Theme leaders: Francesca Cagnacci (Fondazione Edmund Mach), Øyvind Steifetten (University College of Southeast Norway) and and Erlend Nilsen (Norwegian Institute for Nature Research).
2. Ecosystem Services. Theme leaders: Harry Andreassen (Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences) and Anna Gudrun Thorhallsdottir (Agricultural University of Iceland).
3. Freshwater Ecology. Theme leaders: Jon Museth (Norwegian Institute of Nature Research) and John Piccolo (Karlstad University).
4. Understanding and Managing Biodiversity Conflicts. Theme leaders: Steve Redpath (Aberdeen University) and Henrik Andrén (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences).
5. Climate Change Ecology. Theme leaders: Toke Thomas Høye (Aarhus Univeristy), Jane Jepsen (Norwegian Institute for Nature Research) and Rolf Anker Ims (The Arctic University).

Do not hesitate to contact Henriette if you have any questions regarding the restructure, themes or summer school 🙂