Aalto University to organize a symposium on sustainable development in June
26.05.2010
A multidisciplinary research group of Aalto University, Helsinki University and Oulu University will organize an international crossdisciplinary symposium for doctoral students from 14 to 17 June in Sannainen. A total of 73 applications were received, and 46 participants admitted, among them participants from Yale and Cambridge.
The goal of the 4S Summer Symposium on Sustainable Systems is to create something new through collaboration. It does not try to find an answer to a single question, but to think about the entity in a brand new way. The theme of 4S, sustainable systems, will be looked at from the viewpoints of legislation, technology, product development, economy, leadership and resource management. The participants invited to the symposium are researchers and professors who approach similar research questions from different angles; the organization committee of the symposium also includes a multidisciplinary team of Aalto University professors and researchers specialized in the topic.
The event is also an important networking opportunity for doctoral students. The participants of the symposium come from India, Spain, Ireland, Great Britain, Venezuela, Australia, Nepal, the USA, China, the Dominican Republic, Canada, Holland, the Philippines, Portugal, Sweden, Japan, Germany, Egypt, Cameroon, Brazil, Mexico and Finland.
The original idea for the symposium came from Professor of Mechanical Processing and Recycling Kari Heiskanen, Head of the ProDOE research group and now Chairman of the entire symposium. The research group started to develop the idea further at a brisk pace and as soon as one year from the birth of the idea, the first symposium has become a reality.
The multidisciplinary research group works in the ProDOE (Pro-environmental Product Planning in a Dynamic Operational Environment Now and in Future - Methods and Tools) research project funded by the KETJU Research Programme on Sustainable Production and Products of the Academy of Finland. The projects of the KETJU research program aim at generating new knowledge particularly in the field of green chemistry, industrial ecology and eco-efficiency. The main goal of the Programme on Sustainable Production and Products is to strengthen the basic research on process engineering and chemistry to support the research and development of the field in the future. The program is expected to generate new research knowledge, for instance, of the utilization of raw materials, reducing waste and new ideas for products and production.
Professor Kari Heiskanen states that global issues such as the waste problem must be tackled with the help of a systemic approach. Far too often, researchers fail too see beyond the boundaries of their fields and focus excessively on details.
The symposium is organized in cooperation with the UNESCO Chair on Sustainability.
For additional information:
Kari Heiskanen
Professor
Mobile +358 50 5552789
Phone +358 9 470 227892
kari.heiskanen [at] tkk [dot] fi
Maaria Wierink
Researcher, Ph.D. Student (M.Sc. Tech)
Mobile +358 50 368 1802
Phone + 358 9 470 22821
maaria.wierink [at] tkk [dot] fi
Nani Pajunen
Researcher, Ph.D. Student (M.Sc. Tech)
Phone: +358 50 301 0742,
nani.pajunen [at] tkk [dot] fi
