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Policy makers should be aware of the differences between climate models

In David Abram’s enchanting The Spell of the Sensuous, he tells the story of how he lost the ability to commune with the more-than-human world. For me, one of the surest paths to losing connectedness was analysing my experiences for academic purposes.

I just returned from a train trip up north with my partner and two-year-old daughter. Specifically, to Kiruna and Abisko in Sweden. Partly, I wanted to meet one of Europe’s peripheries and, in so doing, better understand its centres. Most of all, I hoped to engage with the Sami, the EU’s only recognised indigenous group. I was sorely disappointed.

Looking back on the summer school that took place from 3 - 7 July 2023 at the UU Botanical Gardens, organised by Urban Futures Studio.

By 2050, between 10-47% of the forest becomes vulnerable to potentially irreversible local ecological changes, new research shows.

Five Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development researchers were recently awarded impressive grants by the European Research Council (ERC) and the Dutch Research Council (NWO).

From most people’s gut perspective, belonging is rooted in a kind of from-ness. Like a tree, you are rooted in a place. Though it’s not easily admitted in liberal society, one’s rootedness is usually detected by skin colour and facial features. Even amongst the most welcoming of insiders, there is an unspoken assumption that those here first get to decide how things ought to be. On a secondary level, cultural behaviour confers belonging. “Okay, their grandparents aren’t from here, but at least they get our way of life.”​​​​​​​ But what is this “our” anyway?​​​​​​​

Art-science collaborations are on the rise everywhere. Yet, what these relations constitute in practice is less clear. The very term “art-science” is itself limiting. Many collaborations seek to go beyond this simple binary, exploring the potential that exists at the intersection of artistic and research practices.

Would you like to gain more insight into the way your students learn? Then the SoTL Grant is probably for you.

Having spent much of my life in classrooms — as student or teacher, I have seen that learning goals and content only go so far. We must fundamentally reimagine the form of the classroom. Here I share my recent experiment in creating a utopian classroom.

Between November 2023 and January 2024, the Urban Futures Studio turned its’ annual Mixed Classroom into a fictive social movement. What can we learn from this experiment?

Freedom remains one of the most evocative political rallying cries around the world. It is central to the notion of humanitarian intervention, which has dragged Western nations into war since the 18th century. It was successfully mobilised to found the welfare state. And it is now a buzzword for the nativists being swept to power across the world…Even if the urge for freedom speaks to something deep within us, what it means changes from place to place, and from one generation to the next. Both lessons are crucial for those wishing to mobilise environmental action. Those who write the book of freedom gain huge political rewards.

When offered the chance to perform a live musical opening for the 14th International Sustainability Transitions Conference, Josie Chambers, Steve Williams & Noor Noor sought to connect emotionally to where we are with sustainability transitions, yet also offer a glimpse of what could be. In this first blog they explore the question: can music deepen our reflection and imagination in global spaces?

Researchers from the Copernicus Institute put together a performing and visual arts performance around the theme of hope in times of crisis.

Experimenting is an approach where radically alternative ideas can be tested and scaled up. But how transformative is it?

Last weekend, I cried at an academic conference. It’s not normal for me. I look back with part gratitude, part embarrassment. The experience has triggered me to transform how I carry myself in professional spaces. It started off pretty run-of-the-mill…

A group of Dutch academics release a manifesto with five key post-neoliberal policy strategies necessary to move in the post-Covid-19 future.

Smart Solar Charging (SSC) is helping Utrecht become the first region in the world that can balance its energy needs using bi-directional charging technology.

Nine outstanding academics, amongst whom Jarno Hoekman and Joost Vervoort, have been selected to join the Utrecht Young Academy in 2020.

What needs to happen to make consumers switch from meat and dairy products to plant-based alternatives?