Learning Labs

Providing students with the opportunity to learn and apply professional, relational, and intercultural skills in the field

Hear about the mini-TILL from student participant Danielle Spence

TRANSECTS Hubs in Canada, Germany, and South Africa will host experiential TILLs in UNESCO Biosphere Reserves/Regions, providing selected students with the opportunity to learn and apply professional and relational skills in the field. With support from the local PDF, each year, one country hub will develop and deliver a TILL with relevant BR partners and academics, including the foundational course.

In the summer of 2022, TRANSECTS and the Elbe River-Landscape Biosphere Reserve piloted a two-week mini-TILL in Germany. Since then, TRANSECTS has hosted TILL 2023 with Schorfheide-Chorin Biosphere Reserve and TILL 2024 with the Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Region.

Kataya Ulrich, student participant, tells us about her experience at the mini-TILL

Following the online and onsite components of the foundational course, students will work in small groups over 6-12 weeks to meet a research need identified by the partnering BR (and Indigenous nation, where relevant). Trainee project groups will be supported by the mentor team of TRANSECTS academics and practitioners from Canada, South Africa, and Germany, both onsite and online throughout the TILL. Depending on student needs, research conducted through the TILL may form the basis of their project, thesis, or dissertation, or it may be a supplemental learning experience.