Forests for the future: strategies for carbon sequestration ¶
Start: 16 August 2026, 16:00
End: 21 August 2026, 14:00
Location: Congressi Stefano Franscini at Monte Verità
Organization: SCENE, TriNational ForestLab, SwissForestLab and NFZ.forestnet
Language: English
Type of event: Course
Target audience: Early-stage researchers (PhD students and early PostDocs)
This interdisciplinary Summer School, jointly organized by the ETH-Domain Joint Initiative SCENE, the TriNational ForestLab, the SwissForestLab and the NFZ.forestnet, provides a holistic view on the strategies for carbon sequestration in forests, wood products and biochar. Experts share in-depth understanding of the novel concepts, approaches, and available data. Modelling and assessment approaches will be discussed considering the expectations for future forests from technological, forest management, and socio-economic perspectives.
The flyer of the Summer School is available here.
Program ¶
The Summer School offers a varied program with keynote speeches by internationally renowned experts, interactive workshops, poster sessions and plenty of time for in-depth discussions. In order to combine scientific questions with the practice of forest management, the program also includes two half-day excursions: one on forest regeneration, climate-resilient and invasive tree species and another that offers an insight into the production and processing of high-quality chestnut wood.
Participants reflect on how their own research is linked to other disciplines and discuss the added value of interdisciplinary approaches. By sharing different methods and perspectives, they gain a clearer understanding of how their work is embedded in broader scientific and practical contexts.
All participants will prepare an elevator pitch (one slide) and present a poster, which will encourage exchange with peers and experts and allow for constructive feedback.
A preliminary program with a detailed schedule is available here.
Application ¶
The summer school welcomes applications from early‑stage researchers, including PhD students and early PostDocs from around the world. Up to 35 participants will be selected. The program is held in English and the application deadline is 30 April 2026.
The registration fee is 1,000 CHF, which includes accommodation in shared rooms at the Congressi Stefano Franscini on Monte Verità, vegetarian meals from dinner on 16 August to lunch on 21 August, course materials, and the excursions. Travel costs are not covered.
Applications should be submitted as one single PDF file containing the following documents:
CV
Motivation letter (one A4 page)
Abstract of your PhD/MSc thesis or current project
Please send your application to swissforestlab_summerschool[at]wsl.ch. Decisions will be communicated by the end of May 2026.