This event offers an intensive, interdisciplinary learning experience focused on land-use and land-cover change (LUCC). All PhD and Master’s students and other early-career researchers affiliated with BUP participating universities are invited to apply.

The summer school is organised in the frame of the EU-funded projects Europe-LAND and SUNRISE, in collaboration with the BUP, and it takes place on 10-17 August 2026 in Tartu. Event hosts are the Estonian University of Life Sciences. The subject is ‘Observation, Modelling and Acting for Sustainable Land-Use in the Context of Climate Change and Biodiversity’. The event will integrate 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. 

Across the program, 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

There is no participation fee for the event, and lunches and coffee breaks will also be covered.

Participants are, however, expected to cover their travel and accommodation. Students are encouraged to explore funding options through their home universities, such as Erasmus+ mobility grants.

There is a limited possibility for students from BUP participating universities to have their accommodation covered, if they cannot receive other funding.

The summer school concludes with group presentations, synthesis discussions, and graduation. Successful participants will receive a certificate of completion and 2 ECTS.

The application deadline is 15 March 2025. Online application is available here.

Read more about the summer school on the Europe-LAND website.