I am Kaja and, before joining the MESPOM programme, I had studied Liberal Arts and Sciences with a Major in Earth and Environmental Sciences in Freiburg, Germany. When studying abroad in Budapest during my undergraduate, I ran into some MESPOM students who had just started their studies at CEU. I was fascinated by that diverse, open and friendly group. Everyone I spoke to had interesting and yet different background and a lot of captivating stories to tell. When it was my time to apply for a Master programme, I remembered these people and their stories, and tried my luck.
Birdsmonitoring, Ecosystems Management course (Spring, UAegean. Lesvos)
Semester 2/b at the University of the Aegean in Lesvos, Greece
(16 ECTS credits) 14 weeks
April 8 - July 12 in 2019
(including 2 weeks of Easter Holidays April 22 - May 6)
April 6 – July 3 in 2020
(including 2 weeks of Easter Holidays April 13-26)
April 5 - July 9 in 2021
(including 2 weeks break April 26 - May 7)
April 6 - July 8 in 2022
(including 2 weeks break April 18-29)
April 3 - July 7 in 2023
(including 2 weeks break April 10-23)
April 1- July 5 in 2024
(including 2 weeks break April 29-May 12)
The focus of this semester is Ecosystems’ Management, and in its core lies the following mandatory course (6 ECTS, ENVS540):
- Assessment, Modelling and Scenarios for Ecosystems Management
that examines adaptive environmental management, and in particular the cultural/social-ecological dimensions of human-nature interactions.
Students may also choose from a variety of elective courses [2-4 ECTs] including courses pertaining to applied science (such as Applied Ecology; Air pollution& Climate Change; Freshwater Resources: Natural systems, Human Impact and Conservation; Aquatic Pollution and Wastewater management and, Sustainable Tourism) as well as technical/research skills (such as Environmental Application of GIS and Research Design and Methods in Social Sciences). Besides the in-class lectures and seminars, the semester also includes fieldwork, a number of fieldtrips, and various academic and social activities.
10 credits of the following elective courses need to be selected (2021):
- Applied Ecology; Introduction to Environmental Sciences @ CEU in Fall a prerequisite (2)
- Air Pollution & Climate Change (3)
- Aquatic Pollution and Wastewater Management (2)
- Environmental Applications of GIS: Spatial Analysis and Modeling; Intro to Geospatial Analysis, Spatial Analysis with GIS @ CEU in Winter (or equivalent) a prerequisite (3)
- Freshwater Resources: Natural systems, Human Impact and Conservation (2)
- Research Design & Methods in Social Sciences (4)
- Sustainable Tourism and Local Development (2)
For a detailed description of the UAegean semester, please, visit the Department of Environment, University of the Aegean, website as well as the dedicated UAegean MESPOM page.
Also, have a look at some research publications resulting from previous MESPOM students’ theses with the Department of the Environment, UAegean (the student’s name appears in bold).
- Botetzagias I., Tsagkari M. & Malesios Chr. (2018) Is the ‘Troika’ bad for the environment? An analysis of EU countries'' environmental performance in times of economic downturn and austerity memoranda. Ecological Economics, 150: 34-51.
- Guerreiro S. & Botetzagias I. (2018) Empowering communities – the role of intermediary organisations in community renewable energy projects in Indonesia. Local Environment, 23(2):158-177.
- Simha Pr., Mutiara Z.Z. & Gaganis P. (2017). Vulnerability Assessment of Water Resources and Adaptive Management Approach for Lesvos Island, Greece. Sustainable Water Resources Management, 3:283-295.
- Beckham Hooff, S., Botetzagias, I. & Kizos, Ath. (2017). Seeing the Wind (Farm): Applying Q-methodology to Understand the Public’s Reception of the Visuals Around a Wind Farm Development. Environmental Communication, 11(5):700-722.
- Chandra Al. & Gaganis P. (2016), Deconstructing vulnerability and adaptation in a coastal river basin ecosystem: a participatory analysis of flood risk in Nadi, Fiji Islands. Climate and Development, 8(3): 256-269.
Recreational activities in Lesvos; Bus time-table in Lesvos to campus
MESPOM @ UAegean News and Stories
December 30, 2021
The web portal Study in Greece, campaigning for the promotion and international visibility of Greek Universities interviewed Professor Petros Gaganis, Head of the Department of Environment of the University of the Aegean, on the
December 8, 2020
Sara Velander, 2020 MESPOM graduate told us about how MESPOM helped her kick-start her career journey. Keep reading to find out more about it…
February 4, 2020
Current Manchester-track student Joel Gordon reflects on his MESPOM journey over the past 1.5 years as Batch-14 settles into their thesis semester.
January 28, 2020
MESPOM is jointly operated by a consortium of 4 European and 2 North American Universities, each location presents its own unique set of learning opportunities.
This week Prof. Dr. Thanasis Kizos from the University of the Aegean on Lesvos shares his reflections on the MESPOM experience in Greece.
December 20, 2019
This week, batch-10 alumni and 2016 graduate, Imelda Phadtare talks about her work climate resilience, risk and chaos.
April 8, 2017
May 31, 2013
The arrival of MESPOM students at the University of the Aegean in Greece has become an annual tradition on the island of Lesvos. Each year since 2005, a diverse group of students from around the world have traveled to Lesvos to complete 6 weeks of coursework focused specifically on environmental issues from the unique perspective of an island ecosystem.