Climate University: Annual Meeting 2026

The registration to the Climate University Annual Meeting of 2026 is open! This year the Annual Meeting is hosted by the University of Eastern Finland (UEF) and organised at UEF Joensuu campus. We welcome you to come and meet other Climate University teachers, coordinators and education developers! The theme of the Climate University Annual Meeting of 2026 is Learning from nature, which reflects the host’s and Climate University chair institution’s research interests in biology of environmental change, sustainable use of natural resources, and environmental health. 

Our keynote speakers this year are Arjen Wals, who is a Professor of Transformative Learning for Socio-Ecological Sustainability at Wageningen University and the UNESCO Chair of Social Learning and Sustainable Development, and Climate University chair 2026 Elina Oksanen, who is a Professor in Plant Physiology and Biotechnology at UEF. 

At the Climate University Annual Meeting in Joensuu a set of interesting programme will be organised. During the first day the Climate University strategy workshop welcomes the annual meeting participants to gather together to imagine the future of the Climate University network and to discuss the different focus areas of this workshop session (see the focus areas in the registration form). Visits to UEF premises are arranged simultaneously with the strategy workshops and will take the participant to see unique high-tech research and learning environments relating to environmental monitoring, such as the Learning observation classroom and Virtual Forest in XR Lab, and novel applications of photonics at the Photonics labs (for example Plant spectral imaging and phenotyping laboratory. 

Visits to the UEF premises are possible on the second day as well when the visits are arranged in parallel with the Climate University course meetings. At the course meetings Climate University course teachers gather to discuss teaching and development of the courses. 

Programme

Wednesday 11.11. 

14:15 Welcome words by Elina Oksanen and Markku Hauta-Kasari, University of Eastern Finland

14:35 Keynote speech by Arjen Wals, Wageningen University

15:30 Coffee break 

15:45 Climate University greetings by Laura Riuttanen,
Introduction to CU strategy workshop and visits to UEF premises
 
16:10 CU strategy workshop / Visits to UEF premises
 
17:00 Summary of the workshops 

17:30 End of the session 

19:00 Dinner at restaurant Frans & Ellie at Original Sokos Hotel Kimmel 
 

Thursday 12.11. 

9:00 Welcome, Keynote speech: Elina Oksanen
 
9:50 Introduction to the day 
10:00 Slot 1: Course meetings / Visiting Fotoniikka lab / Pakohuonepeli demo / 3d virtual forest 
10:45 Break 
11:00 Slot 2: Course meetings / Visiting Fotoniikka lab / Pakohuonepeli demo / 3d virtual forest 

11:45 Lunch break (at own cost) 

13:00 Slot 3: Course meetings / Visiting Fotoniikka lab / Pakohuonepeli demo / 3d virtual forest 

13:45 Closing remarks
 
14:00 End of the meeting 

The event is on-site only, with the exception of course meetings that allow for remote participation upon prior request. If you wish to participate in the course meetings remotely, please register for the event and request remote participation to the course meeting you are interested in by selecting online participation after choosing the course meeting(s) you wish to attend. 

Please see full programme on Climate University’s website here.

Registration

Registration is open until 26 October. 

The event is organised in collaboration with UEF, University of Helsinki and Atmosphere and Climate Competence Center ACCC. 

Side event

The Climate University Annual Meeting will be held after the Unifi Sustainability and Responsibility Seminar 2026 (Unifin kestävyys- ja vastuullisuusseminaari in Finnish)


For more information on the Climate University Annual Meeting, please contact Professor Elina Oksanen, email [email protected]. 

Welcome to Joensuu!