ACT! Summer School Series
Observation, Modelling and Acting for Sustainable Land-Use in the Context of Climate Change and Biodiversity
Tartu, Estonia | August 10–17, 2026
Organized in the frame of the EU-funded projects Europe-LAND and SUNRISE, with further support from The Baltic University Programme (BUP), we invite PhD and Master’s students and other early-career researchers to apply for the ACT! Summer School 2026.
The ACT Summer School offers an intensive, interdisciplinary learning experience focused on land-use and land-cover change (LUCC). It integrates Earth observation, spatial data integration, and modelling approaches with the analysis of actors, policies, and governance processes shaping land-use decisions under conditions of climate change and biodiversity loss.
Concept and Program Overview
The School is grounded in a conceptual framework that links systematic land-use observation and modelling with decision-making and governance across scales. This framework draws in particular on approaches developed within the LAND project, including telecoupling and coupled human–natural systems perspectives, the use of harmonised LUCC datasetsja scenario-based and agent-based modelling tools for exploring land-use dynamics and policy impacts. These foundations are strengthened by contributions from SUNRISE, which brings experience in living-lab approaches and resilience-oriented training, and from CS4Change, which adds citizen science and participatory monitoring perspectives to enhance the societal relevance and uptake of land-use evidence. Collaboration with The Baltic University Programme situates the School within a long-standing tradition of sustainability education and regional academic cooperation.
Across the programme, participants will engage with:
- Land-use observation, including satellite remote sensing, in-situ surveys, and drone-based data
- Spatial data processing and modelling, including scenario analysis, agent-based models, and modelling cards
- Telecoupling frameworks for analysing multi-scale land-use dynamics
- Governance instruments and decision-support approaches connecting data and models with policy contexts
- Participatory research and living-lab methods, including citizen science and co-design
Structure of the Summer School
Phase 1 – Framing Sustainable Land-Use Challenges (Day 1)
This phase introduces participants to:
- Global and European LUCC dynamics and sustainability challenges
- Telecoupled land systems ja coupled human–natural systems frameworks
- Governance, management, and policy dimensions of sustainable land use
Participants are introduced to the Europe-LAND analytical logic, group research themes, and local case study landscapes through field excursions in and around Tartu.
Phase 2 – Observation and Analysis of Land-Use Change (Days 2–3)
This phase focuses on land-use observation and modelling, emphasizing:
- Satellite-based LUCC monitoring (optical and radar data)
- Big data, AI, and machine-learning approaches
- Integrated Agricultural Control System (IACS): technical, legal, political, and scientific perspectives
- Disturbance dynamics (forest fires, wetlands) and ecosystem resilience
- Drone-based data collection and spatial analytics
Hands-on sessions use QGIS, Google Earth Engine, modelling cards, and Europe-LAND datasets.
Phase 3 – Policies, Governance, and Research Methods (Day 4)
This phase connects land-use science with governance instruments and decision-making processes, covering:
- EU land-use and agricultural policies (CAP, IACS)
- Agent-based modelling for land-use scenarios
- Policy analysis and foresight methods
- Living labs and participatory research for socio-ecological systems
The focus is on translating scientific insights into policy-relevant and societally robust knowledge.
Phase 4 – Group Research Projects and Synthesis (Days 5–8)
Participants work in interdisciplinary groups on applied research projects addressing:
- Drivers and patterns of LUCC
- Scenario development for biodiversity and climate adaptation
- Decision-support interfaces for end users
- Remote sensing and drone applications in agriculture and landscape management
- Applications of Europe-LAND tools, models, and spatial datasets
Groups develop research or solution-oriented proposals, present results, and receive feedback from faculty.
Tangible Outputs and Certification
The Summer School concludes with group presentations, synthesis discussions, and graduation. Successful participants will receive an ACT Summer School Certificate of Completion ja 2 ECTS. Participants and faculty are encouraged to further develop outputs into scientific publications, policy briefs, or project proposals, particularly within the Europe-LAND and SUNRISE research ecosystems.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the ACT Summer School, participants will be able to:
- Understand land-use and land-cover change as a telecoupled socio-ecological process
- Apply Earth observation, GIS, and modelling tools to LUCC analysis
- Critically assess policy, governance, and institutional drivers of land-use change
- Design actionable, policy-relevant research at the science–policy–practice interface
- Work collaboratively in interdisciplinary and international research teams
- Communicate land-use research results to policy makers, practitioners, and stakeholders
Faculty
- Prof. S. Jayakumar, Pondicherry University (India) – Fire ecology, remote sensing and GIS
- Dr. Natalia Morandeira, Universidad Nacional de San Martín (Argentina) – Wetlands, landscape connectivity
- Prof. Danka Moravčíková, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra (Slovakia) – Coupled human–natural systems, telecoupling
- Dr. Łukasz Nazarko, Białystok University of Technology (Poland) – Policy analysis and foresight
- Dr. Māris Nartišs, University of Latvia (Latvia) – Agent-based modelling
- Prof. Alexander Prischepov, Aaurhus University and Copenhagen University (Denmark) – Land-use systems science, land abandonment, LUCC data and modelling
- Dr. Raul Sampaio De Lima, Estonian University of Life Sciences (Estonia) – Remote sensing, drones, ecosystem resilience
- Prof. Kalev Sepp, Estonian University of Life Sciences (Estonia) – Landscape ecology, biodiversity, field studies
- Prof. Anton Shkaruba, Estonian University of Life Sciences (Estonia) – Sustainable land-use governance, telecoupling, LUCC
- Dr. Přemek Štych, Charles University (Czech Republic) – Copernicus data, LUCC modelling
- Prof. Nicolaos Theodossiou, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece) – LUCC decision support tool, LUCC data
- Dr. Ferdinando Urbano, Joint Research Centre, European Commission (Italy) – IACS, CAP, land-use policy
- Ruthi Veibiakkim, Estonian University of Life Sciences (Estonia) – Living labs, participatory research
- Franziska Wolf, Hamburg University of Life Sciences (Germany) – Europe-LAND project lead
Application process
Details about the application procedure are available from the ACT! Summer School website www.europe-land.eu/event/summer-school. The application form is open and available from www.europe-land.eu/event/summer-school. Important dates:
Application Deadline: 15 March 2026
Acceptance Notification: 15 April 2026
Participant Confirmation Deadline: 30 April 2026
Financial information
Accommodation shall be covered by participants; rooms in the university residence (https://rohemucampus.ee/en/dormitories/#rohemu-torn, 2 persons per room) will be available at 30 EUR/night/person.
To cover expenses, participants are recommended to apply for Erasmus+ grants or other grants from their home university. Please contact an International/Erasmus coordinator at your home university. Documentation support (Letter of Acceptance etc.) will be provided upon request by host university. There is a limited possibility for students from BUP participating universities to have their accommodation covered, if they cannot receive other funding.
Coffee breaks and lunches during the classes will be provided for free. Other meals shall be covered by the participants. All the relevant information will be available soon from the summer school website https://www.europe-land.eu/event/summer-school; some practical info is available from https://www.emu.ee/en/campus-and-life-in-tartu, and information about Tartu can be found on https://visittartu.com/.
Contributing projects
The ACT! Summer School is organised in the frame of the Europe-LAND and SUNRISE projects. Europe-LAND is funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme. The SUNRISE project is funded by the European Union’s Erasmus+ programme through the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). The Summer School also benefits from support by The Baltic University Programme (BUP) and from the CS4Change project (Transformative Impact of Citizen Science on Environmental Governance: a systematic analysis of Perspectives and Pathways), funded by the Estonian Research Council (grant no. PRG2632).
Contacts
Most of the details will be available from the School’s website https://europe-land.eu/event/summer-school/. For any remaining inquiries, please contact:
For questions related to the online registration: Ms Minami Tsuchikira (Europe-LAND/Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Germany)
For programming, accommodation and site specific questions: Dr. Anton Shkaruba (Estonian University of Life Sciences, Estonia)
Photo credit: Kaarel Kõvatu