Overall theme and context

The Sustainable Development Goals “summer school” programme, which was co-developed by the IRD French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development, Aix-Marseille University, and the AFD, and supported by the Learning Planet Institute, aims to respond to the challenges of sustainable development through an interdisciplinary, intercultural, and intersectoral approach.

For one week, a group of approximately one hundred scientists (researchers, professors, managers of research centres, doctoral students, post-doctoral students, etc.) and those involved in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will identify a problem and then work collectively to find solutions. Working together and using methodologies and tools for collective exploration and collaborative design, the participants become “sustainability scientists” in the service of the SDGs.

Learning objectives

• To assess the global nature of the SDGs and their interrelationships while enhancing participants’ knowledge of the subject.
• To create a group dynamic that allows each participant to identify their specific expertise and make the most of their skills to establish cooperation in a spirit of understanding and goodwill.
• To practice interdisciplinary research and sprint work to find solutions to current and future global challenges.

Teaching and activities

The summer school offers a comprehensive teaching programme based on co-construction that combines theoretical instruction on the challenges of the SDGs, individual and collective reflection to identify each person’s skills, and collective exploration and collaborative methodologies. The groups of participants are supervised by an interdisciplinary and intercultural team of coaches and receive mentoring from university researchers and professors.

Registration details

This training course takes place every summer for one week. A call for applications will be issued in spring 2024.

Target audience

Researchers, PhD students, and professionals.

Partners

French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD), Aix-Marseille University