Jyväskylä Summer School: research, technology, and expertise in Jyväskylä this summer
The 33rd international Jyväskylä Summer School brings students and respected researchers interested in science and information technology from all over the world to Jyväskylä. The summer school offers high-level courses to master’s degree students, postgraduate students, and young researchers. The summer school’s programme includes intensive learning but also offers opportunities to network, enjoy various activities and create unforgettable memories.
The Summer School is organized from 5 to 16 August at the Ģֱ’s Ylistönrinne and Mattilanniemi campuses. This year, most of the courses are arranged as contact teaching, but a few courses are also being organised also in a hybrid format.
Learning about science and technology through experimentation and listening
Jyväskylä Summer School offers 19 different courses in various fields of natural sciences, mathematics, and information technology, such as nanoscience, cognitive science, and cyber security. This year, the course programmes feature cross-cutting themes: Self-assembly in biological and molecular materials, circular economy and sustainability, and data optimisation.
“The themes reflect current trends in academic research and society and also the Ģֱ’s own areas of focus,” says Jani Moilanen from the Ģֱ, chairperson of the Jyväskylä Summer School.
Applied Functional Materials Based on DNA Nanotechnology focuses on the application of self-assembled DNA structures in nano and material sciences research. During the course, the field’s top researchers give concrete examples of how to use the method, for example, in photonics and medical applications.
Critical Raw Materials in Circular Economy explores the circular economy from the perspective of chemistry and familiarises students with the challenges and opportunities we face regarding the limitations of raw materials and the necessary transition to a circular economy. Introduction to Sustainability Transitions: A Social-Ecological Perspective will focus particularly on those actions which will be required for the transition to more sustainable human-environment interaction.
During Beyond Conventional Optimisation: Data-Driven Multi-Objective Bayesian Optimisation, students will have a chance to hear about solving complex optimisation challenges with the latest data-driven and AI-based methods. The course uses examples of real-life situations, through which the use of these methods becomes more familiar on a more practical level as well.
“In addition to lectures, the courses include workshops, laboratory work, discussions and exercises,” says summer school vice-chairperson Tatu Kumpulainen from the Ģֱ. “This year, a total of 41 top experts in their fields will give lectures, of which 30 will be from outside JYU.”
“The majority of participants of the Jyväskylä Summer School are international students,” explains the coordinator of the Jyväskylä Summer School Sanna Liimatainen. “Due to this reason, English is used as the main language for organising the event. This year, we are expecting an estimated 150 international students from about 37 countries.”
Public lecture to provide an overview of PISA results
A public lecture is also included in the summer school’s programme, which focuses on the PISA results and the changes in those results. The lecturer is, Arto K. Ahonen, PhD, the national research director of PISA.
During the lecture Mitä PISA-tutkimus kertoo osaamisen muutoksesta Suomessa?, Ahonen will present the 2022 PISA survey’s results and explain how competence is assessed in the survey. In the first decade of 2000, Finnish 15-year-olds performed extremely well in the international comparison, but their results have been in decline ever since. The lecture will provide an overview of the changes and discuss those factors that are linked to competence from the perspective of the PISA survey.
The lecture is open to the public and will be held on Wednesday, 14 August at 6 p.m. in the Martti Ahtisaari hall of JYU’s Agora building. The lecture is a hybrid format, so it can be attended both on-site and remotely. The lecture is held in Finnish.
The summer school is organised by JYU’s Faculty of Mathematics and Science and the Faculty of Information Technology.
