Over the past two decades Alternet has successfully created a sturdy platform for addressing environmental challenges in Europe, fostering collaboration and communication with policymakers and the public.
Alternet has advanced scientific understanding and fostered collaborations to address environmental challenges in Europe over the past two decades. NINA has played a leading role in developing the network, with Jiska van Dijk as the driving force. Photos: Tyler Kulfan and Allan Watt
Looking back 20 years, Alternet's contributions to biodiversity and ecosystem research have been substantial. Driving forward our understanding of complex environmental issues and informing both policy and practice for the preservation and sustainable management of natural resources. In collaboration with the European Commission and Biodiversa+ Alternet has contributed to form research agendas and research priorities.
Today Alternet brings together researchers from 33 research institutes in 21 European countries, fostering a dynamic, international, and interdisciplinary research community in ecosystems and biodiversity.
Jiska van Dijk, Senior Research Scientist in NINA. Photo: Allan Watt
“Our motto is if you want to go fast you go alone, but if you want to get far you go together”, says Jiska van Dijk, Alternet Network Council Chair.
“We have seen that by building and maintaining a European broad and stable collaboration we create excellency. It’s especially through project collaboration at the European level that new knowledge has been created. Several projects funded under different EU framework programmes are a direct proof of collaboration among our partner institutes.”
Network of Excellence
Alternet started as a pioneering EU-project, actively promoting interdisciplinary biodiversity and ecosystems research.
After the EU funding ended in 2009 funding from the Research Council of Norway enabled Alternet to continue as a Network of Excellence. NINA took a leading role in the continuation of the network, and Jiska van Dijk headed the secretariat.
"From serving as the chair of both major governing bodies to chairing conferences; and from contributing to the Summer School programme in Peyresq to leading collaborative scientific projects and publications alongside consortia of Alternet partners—Jiska van Dijk has consistently lent robust leadership, insightful perspectives, and broad-sweeping expertise to the Alternet community. We are so grateful to have her at the helm through so many chapters of changes and growth," says Tyler Kulfan, Alternet Secretariat.
Summer school for next generation scientists
Key activities include establishing and managing significant European research infrastructures, hosting the Alternet Summer School, and organizing the Alternet conference every two years.
In addition we organize summer schools to train our next generation of natural and social scientist. “This year we will organize our 17th Alternet Summer School to train our next generation of natural and social scientist. With that, more than 500 young researchers have participated.”
The Alternet summer school focuses on the challenge of biodiversity management and conservation by exploring drivers of biodiversity loss, and the role of ecological knowledge and social science approaches.
More about Alternet: Home - Alternet (alterneteurope.eu)
Contact: Jiska van Dijk