Previous Winter Schools

The 10^th and final TdLab Winter School took place in January 2020. 17 Master’s and PhD students from around the world and 1 local resident of Wislikofen came together to better understand how transdisciplinary methods, frameworks and mindsets could be used to bridge the divide between science and society. For the third year, the Winter School centered around the topic of community amalgamation in the Zurzigebiet in the Canton of Aargau. This year, following the successful fusion of eight communities in the autumn of 2019, the Winter School designed a community interaction for the region to kickstart a problem framing process to identify where there are concerns and possible points of action in the implementation of the merging process. The participants will be producing a report to document these outcomes in the coming months.

The TdLab Winter School “Science meets Practice” was held for the 9^th time in January 2019. A total of 20 participants (all of whom were PhD students except for 2 postdocs and 1 master’s student) from 17 nationalities and speaking 11 languages came together to discuss the topic of “community development” (Gemeindeentwicklung) in Switzerland. The task for participants was to help the community of Wislikofen to design a vision for the future that is still rife with uncertainty, and as a part of the larger process of municipal amalgamation ongoing in the region. The participants spent 8 days understanding the concerns of the community and then designing a community problem framing event at the conclusion of the programme. The aim of this community workshop was to provide local residents with a forum to exchange perspectives and develop new ideas for the future with the help of transdisciplinary and participatory methods. In addition to the event, a Download report (PDF, 473 KB) was also produced and presented to the community board of Wislikofen that captured some of the outcomes of the evening. The ideas that were explored during this evening have spurred and supported new activities, for example, how to integrate new residents into the community.

Once again, the TdLab Winter School took place at Propstei Wislikofen, in Canton Aargau, continuing a tradition that has yielded many fruitful collaborations and exchange with the local community. A total of 19 participants attended and completed the TdLab Winter School program in 2018. The 2018 cohort consisted of 17 PhD candidates, 2 MSc students and 1 postdoc from Swiss and international universities. This year, like the previous year, the theme was “municipal amalgamation”. The task for participants was to help the community of Wislikofen and nearby residents to identify existing tensions and reflect on how this process of political administration could have implications for decisions on matters related to sustainable development. This theme was decided upon based on a mutual agreement through discussions with the mayor of Wislikofen, Heiri Rohner and the community secretary Andi Meier. First hand observation and informal interviews (attendance of community meetings “Echogruppen”, “Kaffee und Kuchen”) formed the basis of the participants’ understanding of the theme. This was supplemented by scientific sources of information provided to them prior to the start of the programme. The participants used this information to brainstorm and design the type of interaction that would help to clarify or further discuss this tension for the community. These interactions took place during the evening prior to the last day of the programme, where about 18 community members from Wislikofen and surrounding communities that are also a part of the community amalgamation process joined. More about winter school 2018

Now in its 7^th year, the CCES Winter School "Science meets Practice" took place in early January and February 2017 at Propstei Wislikofen (AG). A total of 19 participants, PhDs and postdocs from institutions of the ETH domain and internationally, took part in proceedings. During the first block in January, participants learned about theories, methods and practices in managing and facilitating a dialogue between scientists and practitioners, including a new module on team dynamics and collaborating at the science-practice interface. A team of motivated and experienced coaches facilitated the inputs and guided the implementation tasks. More about Winter School 2017

Now in its 6^th year, the CCES Winter School "Science meets Practice" took place between 11-14 January and 1-4 February 2016 at Propstei Wislikofen (AG). A total of 23 participants, PhDs and postdocs from institutions of the ETH domain and internationally took part in proceedings. In addition to the diverse disciplinary backgrounds present, the gathering also benefited from a diverse mix of cultures and languages that participants found complemented a very enriching experience in learning to bridge the science-practice interface. More about Winter School 2016

28 PhD candidates and postdocs from ETH Domain institutions and universities in Germany, Romania and Northern Ireland participated. They worked during two blocks of four consecutive days each in January and February of 2015. The 2015 cohort self-organized into two groups, each hosting a stakeholder workshop to trial methods in 1) consultation and 2) co-production of knowledge. An innovation trialled at the 2015 CCES Winter School centred on a new approach for presenting workshop results, where stakeholders and their guests were invited by the participants to partake in an "open-space" display of results on posters and other properties prepared by the participants, accompanied with an apéro. More about Winter School 2015

19 participants from five ETH Domain institutions and 4 participants from German, Austrian, and Dutch universities attended and actively engaged in the program of the CCES Winter School 2014. They organized a focus group and a stakeholder workshop for an accompanying group on the topic of the "World Food System”, and a panel meeting on the topic of “Science Meets Practice". They produced two fact sheets, organized the first CCES Winter School Science Slam, and produced a ETH rap video (in post-production). More about Winter School 2014

23 participants from three ETH Domain institutions and seven Swiss, German, Austrian, Italian, British, Chinese, and Japanese universities took part in and actively contributed to the CCES Winter School 2013. They organized a focus group and a stakeholder workshop on the topic of the "Swiss Energy Transition" and produced a video and a newsflash. More about Winter School 2013

25 students from seven Swiss and German universities joined the Winter School 2012 in Männedorf. They organized stakeholder meetings on the topic "Energy" and produced information material about the Winter School. More about Winter School 2012