This Summer School is intended for Doctoral Researchers of Architecture and Affiliated disciplines. The course is targeted mainly to the first- and second-year doctoral researchers. Participating doctoral researchers are invited to hold short introductory presentation concerning the theme of their doctoral thesis including presenting conceptual frame, methods, material and the main research question/-s of his/her forthcoming thesis.

Dr. Pia Fricker, Professor of Computational Methodologies in Landscape Architecture and Urbanism (Aalto University and ETH Zurich) and Docent, Architect Emilia Rönkkö from Locia Oy will both have keynote lecture and arrange structured small group and shared discussions touching upon the set sub-themes. The preliminary title of Pia Fricker is “Envisioning Future Systems as Computational Agents for Design and Research”. The preliminary title of Emilia Rönkkö is “Supporting strategic planning processes and systemic resilience with dynamic urban forecasting tools”. - Active participation to the event is expected.

However, the general theme concerns systemic thinking the approach is applicable for all doctoral researcher participants regardless of his/her own research theme. Dr. Aulikki Herneoja will attend as coordinator behalf of University of Oulu, Oulu School of Architecture and provide general methodological supportive lectures concerning architectural research. Course is free of charges for doctoral researchers.

Dr. Pia Fricker, Vice Head of the Department of Architecture, holds the Professorship of Computational Methodologies in Landscape Architecture and Urbanism at Aalto University. Her interdisciplinary research is focusing on defining novel ways technologies are fusing boundaries and transforming traditional design methods and workflows. Currently she is exploring new types of sustainable urban development, developing future-oriented strategies for global challenges like sea-level rise, densification and loss of biodiversity, supported by cutting-edge computational design thinking.

Dr. Emilia Rönkkö is a Docent of Urban Planning at the Oulu School of Architecture, University of Oulu. Her field of expertise covers a wide range of interdisciplinary research topics related to urban health and evidence-based planning of smart cities. She is particularly interested of a wider theoretical and conceptual understanding on decision-support systems, integrative policies and boundary mechanisms in the urban planning sector. She is also a co-founder of Locia Solutions Oy, a Finnish UrbanTech company promoting digital transformation and development of new data-driven tools which support anticipatory and integrative planning of land use and service networks (www.locia.fi).