International Summer School SusES-future

Sustainable Energy Systems

Interdependencies between Technical Design and Social Acceptance September 23rd 28th, 2013, Dresden, Germany
Interdependencies between technical design and social acceptance are relevant to most discussions about the shaping of our future energy system. Up to the end of the last century, in most cases new technologies were introduced to the market (not only in the energy sector), regardless of whether they were desired or socially tolerated. For several years, social acceptance of new technologies and infrastructure projects plays a crucial role beside their technical feasibility. Examples on national levels are nuclear power production or genetic engineering, while on local level the NIMBY (Not in my backyard) dilemma is a well-known phenomenon. The interdisciplinary summer school of the BoysenTUD-graduate program responds to the situation that social acceptance plays an important role in shaping future energy systems in addition to technical feasibility. Technical, environmental, social and economic consequences can only be estimated on a high scientific level through the cooperation of different disciplines. The TUD International Summer School on Sustainable Energy Systems aims to bring excellent students and young researchers in the broad-based fields of engineering, economic and social sciences together in order to discuss current and future research questions relating to the shaping of our future energy systems. The summer school will provide comprehensive insights from diverse disciplines including various methods aiming at addressing these interdisciplinary research questions. The focus lies on scientific interaction and an exchange of ideas. Especially relevant research questions with regard to energy systems should be discussed in the intersection of the different disciplines. Thus, participants from all disciplines, e.g. mechanical and electrical engineering, economics, communication and political sciences, with an interest in the shaping of our future energy systems are welcome to participate. Programme The summer school consists of three parts: Lectures from well-known experts by TU Dresden and international partners from various disciplines, in particular engineering, economics, communication and political sciences, Participants workshops on interdisciplinary issues and presentations of group results along example case studies, and Field trip to a regional institute of power engineering and applied research institutes in the area.

Educational objectives The summer school will promote an interdisciplinary view on the challenges of the shaping of our future energy system and will introduce the methodological approaches from the different disciplines. The broad spectrum of educational objectives contains: Participants will get familiar with innovative technical designs on sustainable energy systems. Participants will get an overview about energy policies in various European countries and understand their influence on the shaping of the energy system. Participants will get an overview of dimensions in and distributions of peoples attitudes and behaviors on energy-related subjects and to which extent media can affect public opinion.

Thereby, the following learning transfers should be achieved: Participants have formed their scientific approach while participating in the interdisciplinary discourse about the shaping of our future energy system. Participants have gained interdisciplinary skills in the topical thematic field of sustainable energy systems. Participants are capable of matching disciplinary methods towards a method-mix addressed to their fields of research interests and case studies.

Applicants Young and senior researchers are eligible, who are interested in the thematic field of sustainable energy systems. Young researchers (PhD students, post-Docs) should preferably be in the second year of their studies or post-doc, have conducted research and have already written a research paper. Participants from the disciplines mechanical and electrical engineering, economics, communication and political science with strong interest in sustainable energy systems and the interdependence between technical design and social acceptance are especially encouraged to apply. The work effort of the summer school corresponds to two ECTS points and a certificate will be provided for successful participation. If you or your colleagues are interested in participating SusES-future, please submit a short CV including your own fields of scientific interest, a motivation letter (1/4 A4 page), a publication list and th one main paper relevant to the summer school thematic field by August 12 , 2013 to boysen-grk@tust dresden.de. You will be informed about acceptance until 21 of August 2013. Costs and Financial support The participation in the courses is free of charge. A limited number of grants covering a lump-sum for travelling and accommodation are available. Please indicate in your application whether you wish to apply for a grant and why it is needed. Location The summer school will be hosted at the Technische Universitt Dresden. The TU Dresden is one of the nine most prestigious, oldest, and largest universities (TU9) focusing on engineering and technology in Germany and has been awarded the excellence status within the German Excellence Initiative. The city of Dresden has been called "Elbflorenz" (Florence of the Elbe), due to a very pleasant location and a mild climate on the Elbe. It offers a Baroque-style architecture and numerous world-renowned museums as well as art collections. Organisation and Contact Prof. Dr. Dominik Mst, Chair of Energy Economics, Technische Universitt Dresden Dipl.-Ing. Kirsten von der Heiden, Sc. Coordinator, Boysen-TUD-research training group, Email: boysen-grk@tu-dresden.de, Tel.: +49 351 463-43133 Internet: http://tu-dresden.de/forschung/forschungskompetenz/graduiertenkollegs/boysen/aktuelles/bgkiss