Vrije University - Summer graduate programs
Summer Course in Feeding the billions: Challenges and Innovation in Food and Water SecurityAmsterdam, Netherlands
DURATION
2 Weeks
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Request application deadline
EARLIEST START DATE
05 Jul 2025
TUITION FEES
EUR 765 *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* VU students
Key Summary
Introduction
In this course, you examine a range of approaches toward food and water security, from international policy agreements to community-based activities.
There are 8.0 billion people to feed today, and this number is expected to increase to about 10 billion by 2050. More food is needed, and more food means more water for crops and livestock to grow.
This course is evidence-based and addresses food and water challenges and innovative interventions from various disciplinary perspectives and socio-cultural contexts, using real-life examples. Interactive theoretical lecture sessions are alternated with debates, group work, and a field visit. Students will benefit from discussions with their peers from different disciplinary backgrounds and countries of origin.
Course Overview
- Course level: Advanced Bachelor's and Master's students.
- Coordinating lecturer: Dr Denyse Snelder and Sabina Di Prima
- Forms of tuition: lectures, discussions, group work.
- Forms of assessment: group presentation and active participation/debate.
- Contact hours: 45 hours
Gallery
Admissions
Scholarships and Funding
Equal Access Scholarship
Application Procedure
Application for the Equal Access Scholarship will open in Febraury
Great that you are interested in applying for the Equal Access Scholarship. You can apply to the scholarship between 12 February and 1 April. Please be aware that it is only possible to select one course.
The results of the scholarship selection will be announced in May. Since we have a limited number of scholarships available for a large number of applicants, we suggest - if possible! - to complete your payment at the time of your course application to guarantee your place in the course. However, if you are not able to come without the scholarship, you can just wait until the announcement. If you would like to come, regardless of whether you will be granted the scholarship, it is best to secure your place in the course by completing your payment via our regular application form. If the scholarship is granted to you, the tuition and accommodation fees will be reimbursed.
Deadline to submit your Equal Access Scholarship application: 31 March (23:59 CET).
Requirements
When you apply via the Equal Access Scholarship application form you will be requested to upload the following documents:
- Curriculum Vitae/Résumé (CV) stating your educational background.
- Professional Letter of Reference Including:
- His/her/their experience working with you (either in an academic, professional, or volunteer setting)
- His/her/their motivation for recommending you for the scholarship
- Complete contact information
- His/her/their experience working with you (either in an academic, professional, or volunteer setting)
- His/her/their motivation for recommending you for the scholarship
- Complete contact information
- When filling out the scholarship form, we will ask the following questions*:
- Why are you interested in joining VU Amsterdam Summer School?
- What’s your motivation for selecting this course?
- How you will use the information you learn to make a positive impact in the future for both you and your community?
- Why do you deserve this scholarship?
- Why are you interested in joining VU Amsterdam Summer School?
- What’s your motivation for selecting this course?
- How you will use the information you learn to make a positive impact in the future for both you and your community?
- Why do you deserve this scholarship?
Please stick to a maximum of 150 words per question.
Green Travel Grant
At VU Amsterdam Summer School we are also committed to VU's sustainability goals and we aim to reduce the environmental impact of mobility, and specifically, student travel. Therefore, we are thrilled to offer Green Travel Grants to encourage sustainable travel for students attending our summer school.
Where can I apply?
Once the courses have been confirmed to run in mid-May or June, we will send out a newsletter to our participants with a link where they can apply for either funding for train travel or funding for bus travel.
The application period will last two weeks, and we will select the winners via a lottery system. More information on the specific deadlines can be found in the newsletter we send out in May.
How does it work?
For students to receive the economic compensation they will need to submit their purchased travel tickets via email within two weeks after being selected as winners of the grant. Once the deadline to submit their tickets has passed, the students will receive the reimbursement.
Curriculum
At least five of the following topics will be covered:
- Drivers of food and water security
- Food systems and trans-disciplinary research
- Water management in flood-prone areas and water-scarce areas
- Food (and water) prices and food economics
- Innovative interventions to feed the world more sustainably
We bring practice to the classroom by using real-life examples from the Netherlands and from projects in Africa and Southeast Asia. Assessment is based on student participation in an in-class debate and a group presentation.
Program Outcome
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
- Better understand food and water security, its context (local to global), major challenges, innovative solutions and policies.
- Understand and can explain major concepts and theories in this field.
- Be able to select and apply appropriate transdisciplinary approaches in food and water security research
- Have acquired skills to evaluate research and do critical reading of the literature.
- Possess the communication skills needed to participate in current debates in the field of food and water security.