Summer in Erken Laboratory

The main objective of the Research School is to let the students work with scientific research. This was done in the projects, which were coupled to on-going research at the Erken Laboratory.

In the summer of 2003, the Erken Laboratory had a course for 16 students from Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus and Poland. The course included a strict introductory week with lectures in general limnology and a concluding week where we summarized the students' work. In between, the students worked independently with their Research Projects at the frontline of limnology, under the protective wings of our young international supervisors.

The students themselves were responsible for asking and answering the scientific questions that appear. They planned and designed field- and laboratory work, they worked independently in the laboratories, and they reported their results.

The Research School is a kind of boarding school or "scientific monastery". All students lived together and worked together at the laboratory with the intention that scientific discussions would become a part of life. However, as we recognize that science after all is not everything, we also offered other types of activities: sports, a barbecue, a visit to the historical village of Storholmen, or a trip to Stockholm.

We had four terrific weeks with a wonderful group of youngsters and we do look forward to the coming summer when 15 new students will meet at the Erken Laboratory.