Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems

Bio2Future course "Wood construction in climate change mitigation"

Turn your research into practice with our two-week EIT Climate-KIC Summer School on wood construction in climate change mitigation. In the future, we will think of wood buildings not just as living or working places, but also as “temporal carbon storage” that will ideally be recirculated into new buildings. The wood mate¬rial contained will be a valuable resource that not only per¬forms its technical function in the building but it will also store carbon and substitute energy intensive materials, thereby helping to mitigate climate change.
To reflect this value, great care will be taken to analyse the entire wood supply chain, to understand the stakeholder ecosystem and to design the wood products, structures and buildings so that wood can be used in the best overall way to help combat climate change.

Wood Constructon — How can we fully harness the climate change mitigation potential of wood construction? (Image: Sibelius Hall, Lahti)

We warmly invite post-graduate and PhD students as well as professionals interested in climate change related matters to come and learn more about the potential of forests and wood products to combat climate change. We anticipate that this summer school will be of interest to students and professionals working in, for example, materials, architecture, civil engineering, forestry, political and social studies etc. Other post-graduate students who are interested in climate change topics as well as professionals with outstanding skills and motivation to participate are also invited to apply.

Come and join our program to learn about the unique potential that wood has to mitigate climate change!

School: Chemical Engineering, Aalto University

Department: Bioproducts and Biosystems

Level of study: Postgraduate

ECTS: 6

Responsible professor: Mark Hughes ([email protected])

Knowledge building (e.g. students understand the role of forests in climate change mitigation, the wood value chain, wood building system etc.)

Transdisciplinary learning (e.g. students learn to work in a transdisciplinary context applying a holistic “systems thinking” approach to problems)

Systemic solutions development (e.g. students develop the ability to create tangible solutions)

The course will comprise a series of inspiring lectures from leading academics and experts in the field of building with wood, together with workshops, technical training sessions and challenge-based group activities.

Interested candidates should apply through Climate-KIC's PhD catapult by visiting the application form. Please note that the deadline for application is May 31, 2019. The selected candidates will be informed by e-mail on June 15, 2019.

Coordination:

This course will be jointly organized by Aalto University, Espoo, Finland and Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden.

Aalto University – Wood Material Technology

One of the key focus areas of the Wood Material Technology group is the use of wood in materials- and energy-efficient buildings that enhance the health and wellbeing of people. With increasing concerns about climate change and the need to reduce the environmental impact of buildings, wood construction is undergoing a renaissance and this is stimulating research in areas such as wood in the circular economy, and the health and wellbeing benefits of using wood in buildings. The group has strong links with a range of stakeholders in the wood value chain in Finland and elsewhere as well as having collaborations with other research groups both nationally and internationally.

Chalmers University of Technology – Sustainable Building

The research group Sustainable Building is working with concepts, tools and strategies to enhance the sustainability performance of the build environment, approached at different scales (single building, district, city, countries). The research is related to ecological and economic life cycle assessment of construction materials, buildings and infrastructures, sustainability assessment tools for buildings, social-cultural and climate adapted design concepts, as well as building stock modelling based on energy and material resources.

The research group actively cooperates with small and medium enterprises (SME), leading global industries, different level of public authorities and renowned research institutes in all fields mentioned. Research funds stem from industry grants, European Commission (Horizon 2020, EIT Climate-KIC), as well as competitive funding programmes from national research councils.

Teaching:

Norwegian University of Science and Technology – NTNU Wood

NTNU Wood, a cross-disciplinary centre that advances projects, studies and initiatives at NTNU with wood and forests as their primary resource base.

Lund University - Centre for Environmental and Climate Research (CEC)

Expertise lies in applied systems analysis, system dynamics modelling and facilitation of stakeholder participatory group modelling process.

Aalto University: