On Monday, the 12th of October, the new Master Ecological Forecasting of the in the Elite Network of Bavaria (ENB) has welcomed its first generation of students to Bayreuth. The programme, a joint initiative between University of Bayreuth and University of Würzburg, integrates knowledge and skills from ecology, computational science, statistics, remote sensing, adaptive management, and the science of decision-making. Its goal is to equip graduates with the skills needed to produce quantitative insights into ecological systems, allowing the next generation of researchers and decision makers to generate knowledge that improves our understanding of ecosystem functioning and supports the adaptive management of ecosystems and their biodiversity.
A large variety of research perspectives
The Master Ecological Forecasting started with a two-day event where lecturers and students met for the first time. Prof. Dr. Steven Higgins, who heads the Chair of Plant Ecology at the University of Bayreuth and has lead and coordinated the development of the new Master programme, welcomed the students and lecturers and provided an overview of Ecological Forecasting. His talk was followed by an introductory talk on the Philosophy of Economics by Prof. Dr. Patricia Rich (University of Bayreuth), who researches human rationality from multiple perspectives such as philosophy or biology as how it manifests, e.g. in decision-making. After a joint lunch, Dr. Bert van der Veen (University of Bayreuth), researching multivariate statistical models for ecological communities, and Dr. Anna Walentowitz (University of Bayreuth), specialising in island biogeography, talked about their research, research perspecives and upcoming contributions to Ecological Forecasting. The final talk was given by Prof. Dr. Tobias Ullmann, who is Professor for Geographic Remote Sensing at University of Würzburg and co-lead the development of the programme, introduced the students to the method of remote sensing and the opportunities of remote sensing for ecology research and ecological forecasting.
What does ecological forecasting mean to you?
After the talks, a panel discussion and poster session followed to give the students an impression of the variety of research perspectives contributing to and involved in Ecological Forecasting. Students and lecturers had the chance to interact in a workshop on the second day, where they discussed the question of what ecological forecasting means for everyone.
We wish both students and lecturers of the ENB Master Ecological Forecasting a great start into an exciting winter term!
Photo credit: University of Bayreuth / University of Würzburg