Resilience Autumn School 2026 for early-career researchers

We live in a time of interconnected sustainability challenges, including biodiversity loss, geopolitical instability, a growing mental health crisis among young people, and climate change. Addressing these complex problems requires cross‑disciplinary research and new ways of thinking beyond traditional academic boundaries. This course examines the concept of resilience from multiple social science perspectives. After a brief introduction to resilience in the context of sustainability, the course presents short lectures on how resilience is applied in disciplines such as psychology, education, political science and sociology, human geography, Indigenous studies, and business, highlighting its relevance for today’s environmental and sustainability crises.

The Resilience Autumn School will offer a blend of lectures, seminars, and collaborative group work. We look forward to your participation and contributions to this important and timely discussion.

Register here by 15th of June.

Dates:

October 2, 2026, 12.00 PM - 1.30 PM (online intro)

October 13-15, 2026, Nordic Art Hotel Lasaretti, Oulu, Finland (in-person participation only)

Accommodation: Accommodation at the Nordic Art Hotel Lasaretti will be covered for participants who are not employed by the University of Oulu and do not reside in Oulu. Please note that travel costs are not paid.

Study credits: Participants will receive a document certifying the completion of the course, worth approximately 5 ECTS.

Course literature: 10–15 scientific articles

Examination: Taking active part in a seminar (group work), writing a short individual perspective paper after the autumn school

Responsible organisers: Course leader: Prof. Satu Nätti, FRONT, Oulu Business School, University of Oulu, Course coordinator: Dr Lotta Haukipuro, FRONT, University of Oulu

Please register by 15 June 2026 to express your interest. As places are limited, participants will be selected from among the registered. Applicants will be informed of the selection results by 15 August 2026.

Program highlights

Oct 2, 2026

Online intro with an overview of multi- and interdisciplinary approaches and a lecture discussing resilience from a sustainability perspective.

Oct 13-14, 2026

Short lectures by interdisciplinary researchers covering topics such as Psychology and resilience, Education and resilience, Business and resilience, Sami studies and resilience, Human geography and resilience, and Political science/sociology and resilience. Lectures will be given by

• Associate prof. Hanna Komulainen, Oulu Business School, Marketing, Management and International Business
• Associate prof. Tapio Nykänen, Faculty of Humanities, Giellagas Institute
• Prof. Satu Nätti, Oulu Business School, Marketing, Management and International Business
• Prof. Maria Ojala, Faculty of Education and Psychology, Global Education and Gender Studies
• Associate prof. Aleksi Räsänen, Faculty of Science, Geography Research Unit
• Prof. Jarkko Saarinen, Faculty of Science, Geography Research Unit

*List of lecturers will be completed later

Oct 15, 2026

Seminar day with the aim to tackle a real-world sustainability issue or the broader polycrisis through multidisciplinary group work. Participants will use their acquired knowledge to prepare a perspective research article, drawing on lectures, course literature, and additional articles to argue for the importance of either a multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary approach in addressing the problem.

Read about last year's participants' experiences here.