About

The Graduate School of Sustainability and Transitions aims to train in research theories and tools for creating sustainable changes at different levels. These changes are grounded in a deep understanding of issues like risk, equity, and social and environmental justice.

Graduate_School_Sustainability_and_Transitions_about

The Graduate School of Sustainability and Transitions is backed by a network of labs in social sciences and humanities, closely tied to environmental sciences, in collaboration with Compiègne University of Technology and Sorbonne University.

The programs at the Graduate School encourage:

Exploration of case studies linked to specific territories by student groups using contextual and academic knowledge.

 

Collaboration between local approaches and broader considerations of ecological, economic, and social policies to support various forms of transitions.

This program focuses on understanding Socio-ecological changes and Earth System resilience in the context of the Anthropocene. It combines insights from the humanities and social sciences with collaboration from physical and environmental sciences, considering both local and global dynamics.

Socio-ecological changes


This scientific approach focuses on studying socio-ecological changes and resilience. It looks into complex systems involving bio-geo-physical elements, institutions, and actors. Life sciences and humanities, along with local stakeholders, explore these intricate and adaptable systems.

The term “resilience” is widely used by organisations like the World Bank, FAO, CGIAR consortium, and Agence Française du Développement, as well as the scientific community interested in societies and their environment. Actors often lean towards either adaptation or transformation, depending on their traditional approaches.

Earth System


The scientific approach centered on the Earth system emphasises studying how all geological parts of the Earth interact with the life they contain, including humans and their activities.

 

 Anthropocene


Popularised by Nobel Prize-winning chemist Paul CRUTZEN and biologist Eugène STOERMER, the term “Anthropocene” or “Age of Man” denotes a period in Earth’s history where human impact is now comparable in scale to certain geological forces.

Read more

Discovering the Ikigai Method

Discovering the Ikigai Method

On March 29th and April 19th 2022, the SMARTS-UP team gathered thirty graduate students for the “Ikigai” educational workshop. Led by Pascal Kolbe and Andrea Giraldo Sevilla, the workshop was based on the Japanese concept “Ikigai” of finding one’s purpose. It was…