Wadden Sea World Heritage Summer School 2025

Wadden Sea under Pressure

Solving wicked problems in times of climate change through interdisciplinary collaboration in international student teams

The transdisciplinary Wadden Sea World Heritage Summer School 2025 offers participants the chance to explore key topics and challenges related to ecology, nature conservation, tourism, management, and sustainable development within the Wadden Sea World Heritage Site. It provides both local and transnational perspectives on these issues.

Participants will attend introductory lectures from leading experts across various fields, such as environmental science, social science, economics, and law. They will also engage in group discussions and group work to explore potential solutions and develop new ideas. The learning experience will include classic lectures as well as on-site field visits and exchanges with local stakeholders.

A collaboration between academic institutions and practical organizations, the school aims to provide a deep understanding of the conservation, management, and governance of the Wadden Sea ecosystem.

The Wadden Sea World Heritage Summer School is a joint initiative of the Trilateral Wadden Sea Cooperation led by the Alfred-Wegener-Institute, FH Westküste University of Applied Sciences, the Waddenacademie, and the Common Wadden Sea Secretariat, with support from the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park Authority and the Danish Wadden Sea National Park.

Date, time, and place

18-29 August 2025. Main location of the summer school is Ribe, Denmark. Towards the end, the group will set over to the Island of Sylt, Germany, before travelling to Wilhelmshaven, Germany, to attend the Wadden Sea Day, the annual Wadden Sea-themed symposium.     

Learning objectives

Participants will gain an understanding of the challenges of conservation, management, sustainable development, and policy of the Wadden Sea World Heritage Site on a national and transnational level, both from a theoretical and practical perspective.

Participants

Bachelor and Master students in the field of marine environmental studies, marine resource management, tourism management, social sciences, sustainable management, geography or similar fields of studies in particular from Danish, Dutch, and German universities. Up to two spots will be reserved to international participants from countries with which the Trilateral Cooperation has a Memorandum of Understanding with (Mauritania, South Korea, United Kingdom).  

The summer school is limited to 16 students. Proficiency in English is required to actively participate in the discussions and to present their own work in English.

ECTS

Upon successful completion of the programme, the Summer School offers a Certificate of Attendance that mentions the workload of 60 hours. Students can apply for recognition of the credits at their home institutions and the final decision on awarding credits is at the discretion of their home institutions. To support the students in this process, the organisers will provide any necessary information that might be requested in addition to the certificate of attendance.

Registration

To apply for the Summer School please register here until 15 May 2025.

All applicants will be notified by end of May.

Please note that when applying you will be asked to provide the following:

• Curriculum Vitae including contact of reference (e.g. supervisor, professor)
• Letter of motivation or short video explaining your motivation to participate in the Summer School as your connection to the Wadden Sea (max 2 min, max 300 MB, MP4)

Note that these will be shared with the organisers during the selection process.

Accommodation and costs

A non-refundable participation fee of €150 is charged for accommodation, food, and travel among the three locations. Participants will be sharing rooms.

Please note that participants need to take care of their individual travel to Ribe and from Wilhelmshaven.

Please note that only after being selected you will be asked to pay the participation fee and send a confirmation of your payment. Details will be shared in due course.

Enquiries

For all enquiries regarding the Summer School please contact Anja Domnick, Common Wadden Sea Secretariat

Impressions from 2024