Workshop I: Contemporary research in the Nordic countries.

2-3 April 2020 at the University of Helsinki, Finland

Programme

The first workshop of the series focuses on the current research in consumption and daily life, and the ways to understand and direct social change. One of the aims of the workshop is to understand the ways inter- and transdisciplinarity could be better utilised in research to understand contemporary consumption and social life. Time is also devoted for the participants to express their expectations regarding the workshop series. The preliminary programme of the workshop will be added soon.

Keynote speakers

Mikko Jalas is a Docent of Management Studies at Aalto University. He currently works on sustainable consumption and the use of renewable energy technologies and energy efficiency technologies in households. Jalas is also interested in time use and rhythms in everyday life. His responsibilities in teaching and administration relate to the Creative Sustainability – Master’s programme.

Mika Pantzar is a Professor at the Centre for Consumer Society Research, University of Helsinki. His current research interests focus on big data and large data sets of various forms (human physiology, netnography, social media etc.). Everyday life: The dynamics of social practice (2012, co-authored with Elizabeth Shove and Matt Watson) has been one of the “guidebooks” of practice theory.

Who can apply?

We invite applications from Nordic early-career researchers (i.e. from doctoral students to PhDs of maximum five years at the time of application, holding at least 50% employment for at least a year at a Nordic Higher education institution). It is possible to participate in as few or many workshops, however, due to the objective of establishing a strong research network, applicants with the ambition of participating in all three workshops will be given priority.

25 participants will be accepted in the workshop. The participants for the workshops will be selected on the basis of the following criteria:  (1) correspondence between your research interests’ connection to the aim of the workshop series; (2) consideration about theoretical and methodological questions related to sustainable consumption to be discussed in the workshop;  (3) intention to participate in all three workshops. In addition, we aim for a balanced representation from different Nordic countries.

Practical information

The venue of the workshop is Urbarium at Porthania, University of Helsinki. The venue is provided by Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science HELSUS. The workshop starts at 10 am on Thursday and ends at 5 pm on Friday. More information will be sent to accepted participants.

Funding

NOS-HS funding is used to cover the travel and accommodation costs up to ca. 360 eur per participant, depending on the place of residence. To support participation of young researchers from across Nordic countries, we wish that the participants try to avoid any extra costs and book their travel as soon as possible. Travelling by train and ferry is encouraged to minimise the carbon emissions of the workshop series. Vegan lunch and coffee will be served during the workshop.

Important dates

    • 30 January 2020 Deadline for applications
    • 7 February Notification of acceptance
    • 2-3 April Workshop