Flagship 4 "Environmental transitions" is inviting all students from 4EU+ universities to educational pathway on Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution.
Educational pathway is a complementary programme built out of a set of courses offered by 4EU+ universities. Since it is not a curriculum, you are not obliged to take all courses offered – it is your choice which you select and what exactly you want to study. A pathway is a new and flexible way of completing your education with abilities and skills you find interesting and/or beneficiary.
With ongoing climate change and increasing human impact on the environment, biodiversity studies is one of the global priorities, reflected also in the upcoming EU 2030 Biodiversity Strategy. Understanding trends and drivers of biodiversity shifts allows us to identify appropriate conservation measures but is impossible without easy access to the research-grade data on the species distribution, and skills in big biodiversity data analysis. The knowledge and skills about ecological and evolutionary processes are crucial to understanding and interpreting observed patterns.
An efficient fight against biodiversity loss pointed out in the European Green Deal document, needs international and interdisciplinary efforts. Currently, systems of biodiversity monitoring are usually country-specific and often incomplete due to a lack of professionals in specific disciplines. Additionally, analytical skills for big-data analysis are usually not included in the biological academic curricula.
The Biodiversity, Ecology, and Evolution learning pathway is part of the educational offer of the 4EU+ Alliance, with the aim to mitigate current limitations. By promoting data literacy, critical thinking and entrepreneurship, we want to educate biodiversity researchers and policymakers for the future on common biodiversity monitoring standards beyond national borders. By innovative teaching and learning methods, we wish to profit from a wide range of experts in specific taxonomic groups from different universities, using modern analytical tools, often needing an interdisciplinary approach, in an international environment.
On completion of an educational pathway you will obtain a certification in the form of the Letter of Attendance with a supplement listing the skills and abilities you have acquired. The Letter of Attendance is issued on behalf of the European University 4EU+ Alliance.
In order to successfully complete the pathway you need to:
spend at least 1 semester at another 4EU+ university
receive at least 15 ECTS points in courses included in Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution Learning Pathway (see below)
achieve defined learning outcomes defined in Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution Learning Pathway description
*the decision whether a given course that is part of your regular curricula fits into the pathway belongs to the pathway coordinator
So, follow the steps:
Select a course from the 4EU+ Learning Pathway offer (announced each year in January)
Apply for Erasmus exchange (or its equivalent for Switzerland; contact International Relations Office or Academic Exchange Office of your home institution for more details)
Contact Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution Learning Pathway coordinator at your home University
University of Copenhagen: Rasmus Kjøller rasmusk@bio.ku.dk
University of Warsaw: Julia Pawłowska julia.z.pawlowska@uw.edu.pl
Charles University, Prague: Adam Petrusek petrusek@cesnet.cz
University of Milano: Gianalberto Losapio [e-mail]
University of Geneva: Daniel McGinnis [e-mail]
Sorbonne University: Julien Gasparini [e-mail]
If you need more information or advice, contact: Julia Pawłowska julia.z.pawlowska@uw.edu.pl