Tag Archives: Thesis and internship possibilities

Leadership and regions: unlocking the potential of communities

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Every year the European Commission organizes Open days in Brussels, where EU Members of Parliament, national, regional and local policy/decision makers, Academics, students and researchers, can inform themselves on a variety of subjects. These Open Days host workshops and debates, and exhibition route, presentation of RegioStars -the most innovative projects co-financed by EU Structural and Investment Funds – and “Open Days University and Master Class”. See the programme.

open days 1The Regional Studies Association (RSA)  and the European Commission (DG Regio) organized 4 Master Classes, including a session for more than 100 participants on Oct. 9th 2013, on the topic of ‘Leadership and Regions: Unlocking the Development Potential of communities’, chaired by Prof. Dr. Andrew Beer. Besides Prof. Beer, Dr. Terry Clower (Texas), Dr. Henrik Halkier and myself were the speakers.  This report is based on the their presentations and the discussion with the audience.

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Sense of place in a neighbourhood in Groningen: request for a master student

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The Rural Sociology Group is looking for a master student who is willing to do his or her master student in the city of Groningen. In Groningen an urban working group of citizens aims to establish an ecological walking route in their neighbourhood Helpman/Wijert. This working group needs support in their process. A group of students from Larenstein has already helped them with a plan and communication.

The aim is to involve the neighbourhood in an action-based explorative research approach, gain insight in the sense of place, values and motivations of the citizens and analyse if this can lead to agency and participation in the green development of this urban area.

This project is part of the wider programme of KIGO, ‘Green education in the city’, aimed at cooperation between educational institutions to enhance green knowledge and green education in the city. This means that the plan is to combine the work of the student with complementary research and implementation activities by other students from for example AOC Terra in Groningen. For this research one or more master students in social sciences are requested. The implementation and starting date of the project is flexible and can be further discussed with the local commissioner, chairman of the Working Group and with Frans Traa, coordinator of the KIGO programme.

Interested students can contact L.G. (Ina) Horlings, Rural Sociology Group, lummina.horlings@wur.nl.

Internship: Regionaal voedsel rondom Arnhem: ‘lokale verkoop in kaart’

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buy localEr zijn tal van sites waar boerderijwinkels zichzelf presenteren en waar verkooppunten van boeren en tuinders verzameld staan. Maar geeft dit inderdaad een accuraat beeld? Is alle huisverkoop van boeren en tuinders echt in beeld? En wat is het volume dat door directe verkoop wordt afgezet? Is dit volume gelijk aan afzet in de regio? Welke kanalen zijn te onderscheiden? Logistieke problemen?

Deze vragen kwamen voort uit een verkenning van het regionale voedselsysteem door een ACT groep voor de opdrachtgevers Architectuurcentrum CASA en de Wageningen UR Wetenschapswinkel. Lokaal voedsel is hip, maar wat al gedaan wordt in een geografisch gebied is onvoldoende in beeld; hoe krijgen we huisverkoop dat nu ‘onder de radar’ verdwijnt in beeld?

casa arnhem CASA wil samen met andere partijen voedsel als stedelijk thema agenderen om het brede publiek te informeren over de wijze waarop onze voedselvoorziening georganiseerd is. Het in kaart brengen vormt één van de manieren om tot verduurzaming te inspireren. De verzamelde data kan leiden tot een (interactieve) kaart/website (zie transitiekaart.nl voor inspiratie).

De student (een duo van twee is ook mogelijk) wordt begeleid vanuit WING, de projectleider van het Wetenschapswinkel project. De student schrijft een voorstel voor de begeleidingscommissie van het project over hoe de directe verkoop binnen een geografisch gebied rondom Arnhem systematisch in kaart gebracht kan worden. En voert dit onderzoek vervolgens uit. Op de fiets de regio in? Maar dan wel volgens een methode. We zoeken hiervoor een inventieve student die mobiel en ondernemend is.

Meer informatie: Petra.derkzen@wur.nl

Set-up vegetable farm: Internship at PeerGroup

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Set up of small-scale vegetable farm in Donderen – Province of Drenthe

Location: the headquarters of the PeerGroup, Depot Donderen. The vacated ammunition Depot Donderen was built in the time of the Cold War and is working space of the PeerGroup since January 2011. The bunker complex sits in a small forest and has several ammunition buildings of varying sizes with open space in between. The PeerGroup shares the grounds with care farm Peest. The site, with the neighbouring farms is popularly called ‘Donderboerkamp’.

Commissioner: PeerGroup, a theatrical group that specializes in site-specific theatre in the northern provinces of the Netherlands working with themes of, in and for rural communities.

STA73745The PeerGroup is looking for a student who relates to the creative energy of the artist community of PeerGroup while bringing along collaborative skills, agro-ecology knowledge and an open mind for co-creation and learning. The student will be selected on the basis of an intake on the site. The student develops a plan and makes it happen with the support of the PeerGroup. The student can live on-site during the internship.

Applications with a motivation letter: Petra.derkzen@wur.nl

Master thesis possiblity on Insect Food Acceptance

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As the world population is growing and increasingly urbanising – the UN (2009) predicts 69% of the population to be living in cities by 2050 – the question of how to feed the world is becoming critical. Meat consumption is more and more the focal point in debates about worldwide environmental degradation, food security in developing countries and health costs in developed countries. Momentum is building around the topic of insects as alternative protein source in the Western world and in the Netherlands more in particular (see the recent article in the NY Times).

Lots of research in bio- and food technology is currently taking place on insect protein, yet, it is unclear if and how consumers will accept the various possible foods from insects. At the moment, insects are not regarded food and responses of disgust are common in the Netherlands. Disgust responses may indicate a food taboo and a deeper culturally bound rejection which may form a barrier for the acceptance of radical innovations.

The Research

This Master thesis opportunity will focus on the cultural level that informs or interferes with the acceptance of insects as food. The thesis research possibility is part of a larger interdisciplinary collaboration between the chairgroups of Rural Sociology, Management Studies and the Agricultural Economics and Rural Policy group on food culture, institutional adaptation and consumer acceptance of insect food.

The student will work within the interdisciplinary team and take part in the development of a theoretical framework. From the hypothesis formulated the student will develop a survey in order to gather empirical data on people’s willingness or rejection regarding insect food. Fieldwork will be done in various cities in the Netherlands depending time and resources.

There is space for more than one student, and for each student to do its own independent research. More information; petra.derkzen@wur.nl