BUP PhD Students Training 2025

This workshop will be held on 26 November and it will explore how we can envision sustainable futures within our field of research and studies. The workshop invites participants to reflect and share on the different ways to approach futures as well as existing tools and methodologies we can use for interdisciplinary research and teaching. Hosting representatives of Baltic and Nordic universities, the aim is to enhance a multicultural exchange and to test sustainable futures’ tools in different cultural contexts. A specific focus on the BUP Symposium theme 'Climate Change in Times of Environmental and Geopolitical Instability' will be given in relation to futures literacy.

The workshop is a part of NordPlus funded project 'Enacting GreenComp: Co-creating Sustainable Futures in a Wicked World' led by Centre for Health and Sustainability of Uppsala University in cooperation with University of Tartu - Institute of Education, and Riga Technical University - Governance and Security Institute. The overall objective of the project is to create a community of practice around the competence area 'Envisioning sustainable futures' with three competences (futures literacy, adaptability, and exploratory thinking) as indicated by the European sustainability competence framework (GreenComp, 2022). The network members will share, test, reflect on, and use in their teaching practice innovative interdisciplinary pedagogical tools and methods related to envisioning sustainable futures.

This workshop is also open for interested teaching staff at Uppsala University and project partner universities.

The workshop will be held by Dr. Oleksandra Khalaim (Uppsala University), Liisi Pajula (University of Tartu), and Prof. Tatjana Tambovceva (Riga Technical University).

This workshop provides PhD students with the knowledge and tools to assess and reduce product/process/organization carbon footprint. Participants will explore methodologies for calculating environmental impact, discuss sustainable practices in research, and engage in hands-on exercises to apply these concepts. Through collaborative discussions, attendees will gain a deeper understanding of their ecological responsibility and learn practical strategies to minimize carbon footprint in academia and beyond.

The workshop will be held by Dr. Aleksandra Ziemińska-Stolarska (Lodz University of Technology).

Join in this hands-on session where you play the Planetary Plate Puzzle—a serious game designed to explore what ecologically and culturally sufficient diets might look like in the future. The game centers on the concept of dietary sufficiency, aiming to reduce the carbon emissions and land use of diets to stay within planetary boundaries, while still being nutritious and culturally acceptable.

In this session, you’ll learn about the design, purpose, and rules of the game, and get the chance to play-test it as a deliberation tool. The Planetary Plate Puzzle was created to support open dialogue around dietary change—a topic that has become increasingly polarized, especially when it comes to culturally acceptable transitions. Serious gaming offers a way to foster respectful participation and co-creation within safe spaces, and this session invites you to experience and shape that process.

The workshop will be held by Dr. Rachel Mazac (Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University).

Bridging research, society, and decision-makers

“We are not making science for science. We are making science for the benefit of humanity.”

To make an impact, research must be heard beyond academia. This session will highlight how to capture media attention and outline key principles for communicating with journalists. We’ll discuss how to engage directly with people in a peer-to-peer model and share real-life examples. The lecture will also provide a basic understanding of how researchers can share their voices with policymakers.
You have much to say. Let yourself be heard!

The lecture will be given by Dr. Maciej K. Szulc.