IALE Europe PhD course report
PhD course is another traditional event organized by IALE Europe, often but not necessary together with European congress. PhD course is focused on the progress of PhD projects of students in every stage of their study.
This year, 11 students attended very intensive course. Students first met each other and lectures on Monday September 1 at an introduction session. Then student participated on the congress and finished by 5 very intensive days (September 5-10) in Lednice in Southern Moravia. All students submitted draft of research papers and prepared posters about their research projects. Students together with lecturers discussed their papers and posters in the whole group as well as in small groups. The questions how to formulate the research questions and research gap were discussed as well as the publication strategy. The course stressed and supported the team and group work when students could learn from each other.
Besides the above mentioned team work and papers and posters reflection, lectures about paper writing, epistemiology of science (limits of human and scientific knowledge), ecological history, landscape ecology methods, landscape planning methods, and hazards in cultural landscapes were presented by Veerle Van Eetvelde, Emilio Padoa-Schioppa, Isabel Loupa Ramos, Luis Inostroza, Alena Salašová, and Markéta Šantrůčková. Each lecture was followed by reflection and discussion. We had also time for afternoon field trip to Lednice manor park where question and limits of cultural and natural heritage management were vividly discussed and demonstrated.
It was fascinating to take part in the PhD course and shifted the mental limits of the research questions and projects in vivid and friendly discussions with all participants.
Written and photographed by Markéta Santrůčková
IALE 2025 PhD course – concluded
The next PhD Course Landscape Ecology – From Pattern and Process to People and Action will be
organised on the occasion of the IALE 2025 European Landscape Ecology Congress in Bratislava
(Slovakia).
The course will take place on the days before and after the European congress; participants of the
course will also have to participate in the congress (2-5 September 2025, see iale2025.sav.sk). We will
meet the days before the congress in Bratislava (SK) and afterwards move to Lednice (CZ):
- 1 September 2025 (Bratislava, Comenius University – Faculty of Natural Sciences)
- 5-10 September 2025 (Lednice, Mendel University of Brno – Faculty of Horticulture)
This PhD Course fits in the series of PhD Courses in Landscape Ecology facilitated by IALE-Europe.
Previous editions were organised in 2012 (Évora), 2013 (Manchester), 2015 (Copenhagen), 2017
(Ghent), and 2019 (Milan), each in collaboration with a local university and with around 24 participating
PhD researchers.
The course aims to set the stage for the participants to reflect on their PhD research within the wider
landscape ecological thinking by interacting with young and notably senior researchers. It will consist
of a mixture of lectures on scientific concepts and tools, coaching sessions in groups according to
research topics, feedback sessions on students’ papers, discussion time as well as a field trip to explore
the area of the PhD course.
Deadline for the 1st stage registration is 18 July 2025
You can find more information about the IALE 2025 PhD course in the following files and link: