UPWr Intensive Course Summer School

The summer school programme was designed to meet the needs of doctoral students interested in the life sciences, offering four specialised courses: ‘Food sciences and nutrition’, “Biology and veterinary sciences”, “Environmental sciences” and an interdisciplinary course, open to all PhD students, regardless of their scientific discipline. Each course was structured to include both theoretical lectures and practical workshops, led by experts.

The three-day event was divided into two distinct parts: on the first day, participants attended intensive lectures on the UPWr campus, gaining theoretical knowledge and the latest research information. The following days were dedicated to interactive workshops where students applied their theoretical knowledge in practical scenarios, fostering a deeper understanding of the topics.

The ‘Food sciences and nutrition’ course included workshops such as ‘Urban sprawl vs ridding farmers of farmland’, which explored the impact of urban sprawl on farmland and highlighted the importance of urban agriculture. Another workshop addressed the issue of promoting innovative methods of agricultural commodity exchange between urban and rural areas. Additionally, one session focused on the integration of homeless communities into urban food production and the maintenance of green spaces.

The ‘Biology and Veterinary Science’ course included an exploration of biodiversity at the Wrocław Zoo and Botanical Garden, promoting the importance of biodiversity and environmental protection. The course included a workshop on the role of non-coding RNAs in the early detection of cancer, offering hands-on experience in advanced molecular biology techniques.

The ‘Environmental Science’ course offered workshops such as ‘Revitalising Betonosis’, where participants developed urban revitalisation concepts to counter the phenomena of betonosis and heat islands. And another session focused on urban water management, among other topics, where participants created plans to improve water quality.

The interdisciplinary course included a session led by Professor Jan Kazak, which introduced the concept of public involvement in research projects. Participants analysed different projects to identify ways to involve the public in research and developed concepts for involving the public in their research topics. In a subsequent workshop on AI tools for research innovation, participants learned how to use ChatGPT, among others, to improve research processes, covering techniques for literature reviews, data analysis and hypothesis generation.

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  Next edition of Staff Week at UPWr

  In mid-June, the Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences hosted representatives from Ukrainian universities participating in the INTERACT 2.0 project. This year's edition saw two additional universities joining the group of 10 Ukrainian institutions: the National Aviation University from Kyiv and the Ivan Puluj National Technical University from Ternopil.

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  SEASONED Summer School of Advanced Sensory Methods

  At the end of June, the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) in Odense hosted the second edition of the Summer School of Advanced Sensory Methods, organized as part of the SEASONED project. The event brought together experts, professionals, and students from various parts of the world, creating a unique platform for learning and exchanging experiences in advanced sensory analysis techniques. Among them were participants from UPWr.