Programme

Academic Coordinator:
Prof. Nicolò Merendino
University of Tuscia - UNITUS, Italy

Programme Coordinator:

Dr. Angela Fattoretti
University of Tuscia - UNITUS, Italy

IT Manager:
Irakli Gedevanishvili
Georgian Research and Educational Networking Association - GRENA, Georgia

Dates:
6 September – 13 September 2021 

Official Course Language:
English

Credits:
2 ECTS

Target Group:
This course organized by the team of MENVIPRO project is open to Training and Teaching Staff, Master and PhD students of the academia and to participants originating from Ministries, Government Commissions and Regulatory Authorities, as well as researchers concerned with the fields and thematic of environment, pollution, food safety and risk assessment.

Prerequisites:
Excellent command of English
Students must have completed a Bachelor's Degree.
Base Knowledge in the Environmental protection, GIS and Remote Sensing and Food Safety.

Maximum enrolment:
Maximum 200 participants. If there are more eligible applicants than available places, they will be distributed according to first-come, first served basis in the Application Form.

Application deadline:
3 September 2021

Content
Humanity faces an exponential growth of world population and the associated increasing demand for food production. Simultaneously, environmental impacts from anthropogenic activities, ranging from air, soil, and water contamination to global climate changes, threaten our ability to produce safe and sufficient food and endangers human health and sustainable development. 

The production of food depends upon soil and water quality and agronomic techniques, and must embrace food security, i.e., the supply of nutritious food in sufficient amounts, and food safety, i.e., food without contaminants and toxins, which could creep up human health. 

Current threats to environmental and human health include pollution by toxic metals, such as mercury, arsenic and lead, organic contaminants, such as pesticide residues and hydrocarbons, and enhanced radioactivity resulting from nuclear and non-nuclear industries. The development of methods to monitor and control environmental pollution and to ensure adequate protection of human health has been achieved and is in continuous development. Furthermore, geographic and remote sensing techniques have been developed and become important tools in the environmental monitoring of pollution and resources management. Today, the success of environmental management policies and human health protection rely on adequate environmental monitoring and food quality surveillance and control programs.

This Environmental Science Education for Sustainable Human Health summer school will provide students with theoretical lessons and hands-on, field and laboratory experience to perform environmental sampling, analyses of environmental and food samples, and assessment of anthropogenic impacts on soils, vegetation, aerosols and foods. Students will acquire analytical skills on the determination of organic, inorganic, and radioactive contaminants and will acquire skills on remote sensing techniques, environmental data mapping, and geographic information systems.  At the end of the summer school, students will better understand the anthropogenic, climatic, and geographic factors that contribute to modifications in our environment and the long-term implications of such modifications, as well as the scientific methods to monitor and counteract them.

Method
A great part of the teaching is based on the pedagogical concept: Problem-oriented project work.
Fieldwork is used as an important method of bringing data into the classroom.
The methods of working are based on webinars, discussions and dialogue.
Full attendance and active involvement in the teaching, videos, presentations etc. is expected as a prerequisite for taking the examination and passing the course.

Agenda of the Summer School is here: agenda.pdf