This year saw the successful conclusion of the 8th ICOS Summer School held at Hyytiälä Forest Station, Finland.
Running from 5th-15th May 2025, 35 students from Europe and beyond spent the best part of two weeks together learning about the carbon cycle and participating in a variety of practical exercises. The programme included a visit to the SMEAR II station in Hyytiälä.
Discussing the present and future of ICOS
It was a packed schedule of practical work and lectures covering a breadth of scientific topics such as the climate system, chamber flux measurements, and modelling.
Beyond the scientific programme, the students also participated in sessions and discussions on climate advocacy, wellbeing and maintaining a healthy work-life balance in academia. These topics often prompted deep discussions between teachers and students alike and provided valuable insights for the students in this early point of their careers.
The lectures and practical work all fed into the final group presentations on the theme “ICOS in 2035”. The groups presented development opportunities and options for ICOS, including creative ways of expanding the station network and identifying ecosystem types that could be prioritised in future network expansions.
Bonding via volleyball, rowing and sauna
Beyond the scientific programme, the students spent their evenings together unwinding and taking in the bright nights of early Finnish summer. Typical evening activities included rowing in Kuivajärvi (the lake at Hyytiälä Forest Station), trips to the sauna, and playing volleyball.
“The best moments have been spending time with the group in this beautiful place, with the lake and sauna,” says Ellinoora Ekman, Doctoral Researcher at the University of Helsinki and part of the Summer School organising team. “Of course, I've enjoyed the scientific courses as well, but I feel that just being part of this group and creating networks has been very valuable part of this experience:”
The Summer School had clearly been on the minds of some of the students for a long time. “Since I heard about the announcement during ICOS Science Conference 2024, I had been waiting to apply for this Summer School,” recalls Konstantinos Politakos, Research Assistant at Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (FORTH) and manager of two urban ICOS stations in Greece.
“I was amazed by the job that is being done in Hyytiälä. The station engineers face so many different challenges compared to my work in urban environments. Another highlight for me, apart from the rowing, was the modelling practical exercises. I really enjoyed working on large spatial scales and learning more about model parameterisation.”
The two weeks at Hyytiälä finished with a three-course dinner and a party. When the time came to depart, it was clear that the group had developed a strong bond and sense of community within ICOS, with references and in-jokes abound.
Previously organised every other year, ICOS Summer Schools are now held annually as part of the Horizon Europe project NUBICOS. Providing training for the next generation of ICOS scientists is a key objective of NUBICOS.
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