Danube:Future Interdisciplinary School Proceedings 2017: Cultural and Social Implications of Global Change on the Danube River Basin

By Christian Hanus (Editor) and Gerald Steiner (Editor)

Global change processes, such as climate change, digitalization, migration movements and economic crises, are among the greatest challenges of our time and also shape the Danube macro-region as a specifically challenging region of Europe. As part of the Danube:Future Interdisciplinary School 2017 in Krems 28 PhD-students and young scientists from Alps-Adriatic Rectors' Conference and the Danube Rectors' Conference universities discussed these questions and developed research proposals within this broad context. These proceedings offer a comprehensive overview of the generated work.

The Danube:Future Interdisciplinary School is part of the Capacity Building Module of the Danube:Future project, a Flagship Project of the EUSDR - the European Union Strategy for the Danube Region, in the Priority Area Knowledge Society. Danube:Future is a joint network project of the Alps-Adriatic Rectors' Conference and the Danube Rectors' Conference. It aims at capacity building in the Danube River Basin (DRB) and at providing networking to aid the development common research projects for a sustainable future of the DRB.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Edition Donau-Universität Krems
• Release date: Feb 7, 2019
• ISBN: 9783903150386

Book preview

Preface of the Rector

Following the successful three previous Danube:Future Schools in Gorizia, Italia, it was a great pleasure that the fourth edition of the Danube:Future Interdisciplinary School was organized in Krems (Austria) by our university, the Danube-University Krems – University for Continuing Education.

80 km from Vienna, Krems is located in the heart of Europe and on one of the connecting lifelines of our continent, the Danube. From a historical point of view, Krems was an important trading center, integrated into international networks and well-known far beyond the borders of Austria. Until today, Krems is still involved in international networks - in tourism, in politics, but also in science networks, especially since the foundation of our university.

In regard to our history, the Danube University Krems positioned itself in the early beginning as a Central European competence center for further education with special attention to aspects of the enlargement of the European Union. Therefore, in particular the Danube region plays an important role. On an institutional scale, the Danube University Krems is also strongly interlinked with other Universities of this region, especially via the Danube Rectors’ Conference (DRC).

Another reason why it was a great pleasure for the Danube University Krems to be the host of the 4th Edition of the Danube:Future Interdisciplinary School in 2017 is with the Summer School’s theme: Cultural and social implications of global change on the Danube River Basin. Placing societal challenges in the spotlight is a main principle at the Danube University Krems.

In this context, from the institutional point of view, it was a central aim to support young scientists of the Danube Region through the Danube:Future Interdisciplinary School and to strengthen the scientific networks in this region. Furthermore, the Danube:Future Interdisciplinary School also touched upon thematic and methodological priorities of Danube University Krems – especially the concentration on societal challenges and the concept of transdisciplinarity.

The articles in this publication show the success of the summer school. The many ideas that have been developed by participants not only point to the actual challenges of our time, but also show how they can be overcome through research and innovation. The project sketches of the participants are supplemented by wellfounded contributions from established researchers, in a way that the publication not only impresses with research ideas, but also has a handbook character that invites to an in-depth analysis of the concept of transdisciplinarity and the societal and natural changes in the Danube basin.

At this point I would also like to express my gratitude to all those who made the summer school and this publication possible. First the organizing committee consisting of Prof. Gerald Steiner (Danube University Krems), Prof. Christian Hanus (Danube University Krems), Dr. Gertrud Haidvogl (University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna) and Prof. Juliana Popova (University of Ruse).

Thanks to Prof. Verena Winiwarter as well as to all speakers who shared their knowledge and know-how. Special thanks go to Stefano Brumat, who was instrumental in the preparation of the Summer School, and to Filippina Risopoulos and Porfirio Guevara, who accompanied the participants through the event. Richard Sickinger is to be thanked for the finalization of this publication. Representing numerous people at the Danube University Krems, who were responsible for the event on site, I would like to thank Andrea Höltl, Florian Kerschbaumer, Ingrid Muthsam, Martina Placht and Heidemarie Weinhäupl.

Finally, I would like to wish the readers interesting hours with the present publication and congratulate all participants once again for their research ideas, some of which I hope will be realized.

Rector Friedrich Faulhammer,

Rector Danube University Krems,

President Danube Rectors’ Conference

Preface

The European Strategy of the Danube Region in 2011 was a major impetus for transnational cooperation in the river basin. Stimulating excellent research, strengthening research infrastructure and fostering collaboration between research and education centers are targets of the EUSDR-Action Plan. Sustainable development of the region is a prime goal, but particularly challenging as the 19 countries sharing the river basin have diverse environments, societies, economies, cultures and histories. Joint visions of the future, harmonized targets and approaches to address existing challenges and to benefit from the simultaneously existing cultural and environmental assets require tailored solutions and adequately trained people.

The EUSDR Flagship Network Project Danube: Future supports this endeavor by offering interdisciplinary training for young scholars of the Danube region’s universities. After three international schools held from 2013 to 2015 at the Gorizia campus of the University of Trieste, Danube University Krems agreed to organize and host the Danube: Future International School 2017. We were very grateful about this decision and would like to thank Rector Friedrich Faulhammer, Dean Gerald Steiner and Dean Christian Hanus and their teams for their commitment.

With experience gained, the structure of the DF-Schools evolved over time, but the major goals did not, Danube: Future International Schools are dedicated to bringing together PhD-students and young post-doc researchers from a variety of scientific disciplines and from different Danube countries to jointly work on a specific topic. With lectures and group work participants are encouraged to exchange and to develop interdisciplinary project ideas for the future sustainable development of the Danube region. The 2017 school was centered on the cultural and social implications of Global Change on the Danube River Basin. Thematic and methodological lectures, excursions and introductions to funding schemes fed into four promising project drafts which were developed in working groups during the 2017 edition.

Danube: Future, managed by Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt, BOKU-University Vienna and the Universities of Trieste, Novi Sad and Ruse, is a joint endeavor of the Danube Rectors’ Conference and the Alps-Adriatic Rectors’ Conference and can thus tap the largest pool of knowledge in the River Basin as the two organizations currently unite almost 100 universities. As a flagship project of the EUSDR Priority Area 7, Knowledge Society, it offers training, a knowledge base, and support for research development. As coordinators, we would like to thank all financial and intellectual supporters, among them Project Administrator Stefano Brumat of Ethic Solutions, and last but not least, the students, coming to learn more about the possibilities arising from the challenges of the DRB.

Verena Winiwarter,

University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna

Gertrud Haidvogl,

University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna

Project Coordinators for the Danube: Future Project

Introduction

Christian Hanus

Gerald Steiner

The stream that generates and holds Central Europe together (Magris) or the European river par excellence (Weithmann): The fact that the Danube and its associated cultural and natural area are of elementary importance for Europe, is evident. For this reason, the scientific examination of the Danube region plays a central role, especially at the Danube University Krems, which bears its name, and especially when it comes to questions of global challenges such as climate change, food security, digitalization, migration movements and economic crises and its reference back to the region. For this reason, it was a special pleasure and honour for the Danube University Krems to organize The Danube: Future Interdisciplinary School 2017 and welcome young researchers from all over the Danube region to the Wachau Valley.

Danube:Future

The Danube:Future Interdisciplinary School is part of the Capacity Building Module of the Danube:Future project, a Flagship Project of the EUSDR - the European Union Strategy for the Danube Region, in the Priority Area Knowledge Society. Danube:Future is a joint network project of the Alps-Adriatic Rector’s Conference and the Danube Rector’s Conference. It aims at capacity building in the Danube River Basin (DRB) and at networking to aid the development common research projects for a sustainable future of the DRB.

The last three editions of the Danube:Future Interdisciplinary School were organized in Gorizia (Italy) and concentrated on interdisciplinarity (2013) and the natural (2014) and cultural (2015) heritage of the Danube Region. Following those very successful three previous Schools, the fourth edition of the Danube:Future Interdisciplinary School was organized in Krems (A).

The Danube: Future Interdisciplinary School 2017 focused on the cultural and social implications of global change on the Danube River Basin and the core topics of interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity. Global change processes, like climate change, digitalization, health and wellbeing, migration movements as well as economic and financial crises, are among the greatest challenges of our time and also shaping the Danube macro-region as a specifically challenging region of Europe.

Up to now, global change research has largely focused on natural, environmental, and economic aspects. Considering the fact that Horizon 2020 has determined the social sciences and humanities as a horizontal subject to be considered in all Grand Challenges, the 2017 DIS put a special focus on the cultural and social implications of global change on the Danube River Basin. Against this background the DIS 2017 School offered a program of high-profile lectures, methodological inputs regarding interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity, thematic excursions and professionally supervised working phases for proposal writing. Science as well as different stakeholders from society, politics and economy are obliged to think about a sustainable future and resilient societies. For this task we need an inter and transdisciplinary approach, sound methods and strong scientific networks.

The Training School gives PhD-students and young scientists from Alps-Adriatic Rector’s Conference (AARC) and the Danube Rector’s Conference (DRC) universities the opportunity to discuss these issues – with a particular focus on the Danube region and the question of resilience and social peace – and to develop their own research proposals within this broad context.

In this occasion, 25 participants representing 17 Universities both from EU (Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy and Romania) and non-EU (Serbia) attended the Danube: Future Interdisciplinary School edition 2017. 14 PhD students and 11 junior researchers had the opportunity to gain knowledge about the cultural, social, economic and ecological implications of global changes on the Danube River Basin. Following an introduction on the core topic of the Interdisciplinary School – global changes – and lectures on the natural heritage of the Danube river region as well as the EU Strategy for the Danube Region, the School covered a wide range of subjects, such as tourism, cultural heritage, energy management and innovation as well as sustainability and governance. Two half-day excursions (to the Wachau Region and the power-plant Simmering in Vienna) deepening the discussed topics offered a unique opportunity to deal with the challenges of the macro-region.

The participating students had the opportunity to discuss and revise their topics and ideas and to participate with their respective competences. This process was supported by scientific staff of the Danube University Krems, the Faculty of Interdisciplinary Studies (IFF) at the Alpen Adria Universität Klagenfurt, the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna and the Medical University Vienna, as well as by the two facilitators, Dr. Filippina Risopoulus-Pichler from the Department of Geography and Regional Science at the Karl Franzens-University Graz and Porfirio Guevara, PhD as a freelance collaborator of the Faculty of Business and Globalization at Danube University Krems and the organizational team of the Danube University Krems.

The second part of the school was dedicated to group work by students. Participants worked in groups with support of two facilitators and seven experts, identifying common ideas for a future project and writing proposal drafts. Group presentations with direct feedback by the international Jury were taking place at the end of the programme.

Proposal Writing

During the project work, the participants of Danube: Future Interdisciplinary School were applying creativity and problem-solving methods (see the article of the facilitators, Porfirio Guevara and Filippina Risopoulus-Pichler in this edition for more details). Four interdisciplinary project groups were cooperating in designing and writing their project proposals. Three of them are presenting their work within this edition. All four groups have not only mastered the interdisciplinary collaboration in the groups but have also integrated aspects of transdisciplinarity into their research designs.

From this point of view, the project of Danube: Future and especially the Danube: Future Interdisciplinary School can be seen as a model of handling the challenges of the future, on how to deal with complex topics in scientific research. Topics we meet today in research, and especially when it comes to sustainability, are typically interwoven and complex. Therefore, apart from a broad thematic range, the Danube: Future Interdisciplinary School put a special focus on the concepts and methods of inter- and transdisciplinarity.

Transdisciplinarity

Transdisciplinarity (Td) can be seen as a third mode of doing science, complementing disciplinarity and interdisciplinarity (see Scholz / Steiner 2015a, b). Transdisciplinarity integrates not only different scientific disciplines (interdisciplinarity), but also experts and stakeholders from practice. As Scholz and Le (2011: 118) put it, "Td starts from the assumption that scientists and practitioners are experts of different kinds of knowledge where both sides may benefit from a mutual learning process. Thus, co-leadership among science and practice based on equal footing on all levels of the project (i. e., the umbrella project, the nodes