{"id":2816,"date":"2026-09-16T15:34:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T13:34:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/europe-land.eu\/?p=2816"},"modified":"2026-09-17T15:34:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T13:34:15","slug":"act-summer-school-retrospective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/europe-land.eu\/pt\/news\/act-summer-school-retrospective\/","title":{"rendered":"Learning, Exploring, Connecting: Looking Back at the ACT! Summer School"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The ACT! Summer School \u2013 Observation, Modelling and Acting for Sustainable Land-Use in the Context of Climate Change and Biodiversity<\/strong> took place from 10 to 17 August 2026 at the Estonian University of Life Sciences (EMU) in Tartu, Estonia. The interdisciplinary, research-intensive learning event brought together 36 early-career researchers from 20 countries to explore land-use and land-cover change and approaches towards more sustainable land-use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The event was organised by the Estonian University of Life Sciences in collaboration with Hamburg University of Applied Sciences and the Baltic University Programme (BUP) Coordinating Secretariat<\/strong>, within the framework of the EU-funded Europe-LAND <\/strong>and SUNRISE projects<\/strong> and with contributions from the CS4Change project<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first three days of the ACT! Summer School provided participants with a broad interdisciplinary foundation in land-use and land-cover change. Through lectures, parallel sessions and hands-on methodological training, they explored different approaches to observing, modelling and understanding changing land systems \u2013 from remote sensing and spatial data analysis to land-use modelling, policy analysis and Living Labs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“The 8-day summer school in Tartu was a really nice mix of learning, working together, and meeting new people. We covered different topics around land use, including 3D remote sensing data and an introduction to the Europe-LAND toolbox.
For the group work, I joined Dr. Lukasz Nazarko to refine a scenario exploration game about land use change on Saaremaa Island, which was a fun way to approach complex land development topics.<\/em>” <\/p>– Phillip, University of Milan<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Building on this input, the participants moved from learning to applying their newly acquired knowledge. They formed interdisciplinary research groups and developed research proposals addressing concrete land-use challenges in and around Tartu. Following a field excursion, the groups spent three days conducting collaborative research, combining different methods, perspectives and disciplinary backgrounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“The summer school was an amazing experience that introduced me to European ecosystems for the very first time. It gave me valuable new perspectives and approaches that I am very excited to apply to my research back home in Brazil.”<\/em>
<\/p>– Camila, Federal University of Paran\u00e1<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The group work was designed to connect theoretical and methodological training with practical research. The projects resulted in concrete research outputs and, in several cases, laid the foundation for further collaboration between participants and faculty beyond the Summer School. Some groups are continuing to develop their work, including towards potential research publications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The research-intensive format helped connect lectures and methodological training with collaborative application. […] The international composition of the participant and faculty groups supported exchange across disciplines, institutions and national contexts. <\/p>The organiser<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n


The group work produced concrete research outputs and established new collaborations between participants and faculty. Several groups continued developing their work after the Summer School, including towards potential research publications. In particular, the Living Lab group developed and tested a framework for applying Living Lab approaches in research training, with a related publication under development.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The following projects illustrate the range of questions, methods and perspectives that emerged from this collaborative research:<\/h3>\n\n\n
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Group 1: IACS vs. remote sensing data \u2013 verification of reported agricultural uses and management implications<\/p>\n\t\t\t

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Group 1 explored the future of Estonia\u2019s semi-natural grasslands. Once widespread across the country, these species-rich habitats have declined dramatically over the past century due to agricultural intensification and land abandonment. The students explored how satellite data, remote sensing and Google Earth Engine can help identify and monitor these changes, while highlighting that effective conservation ultimately depends on combining technological solutions with field-based knowledge, adaptive policies and sustainable funding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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