This course is intended for students in Master’s and PhD programs. Its goal is for students to understand the deep roots of the current ecological crisis from interdisciplinary perspectives, to engage creatively in finding practical solutions to the pressing problems of humankind, through enhancing the training of a mentality (including cognitive and emotional faculties) that is ready to engage in concrete action for the betterment of human life in our 21st century global society. 

The course follows an interdisciplinary approach, geared for students with backgrounds or area specializations in scientific/technological fields such as physics, chemistry, medicine, engineering, economics, environmental studies as well as humanistic fields such as peace studies, cultural studies, political science, sociology, psychology, theology and related subjects. The course will be conducted by experts renowned in their respective fields. The scholars will reflect on their disciplinary approaches in an interactive way, so as to generate new and relevant questions about our way of life and to find solutions that go beyond compartmentalized understandings of reality. 

The course will be conducted in Myanmar, a country that is politically, economically and ecologically most vulnerable, and yet full of opportunities, bringing together experiences of an ancient Buddhist culture faced with the sufferings, struggles and challenges of the present economic and ecological situation of a Third World country, reflecting on new ways to engage in building a better future for its people. 

Students would benefit from this cross-over situation, make intense contacts in small groups with intellectual leaders and with each other, working on cooperative projects for further engagement on the level of national and international organizations that deal with the ecological situation, including United Nations Agencies, Think Tanks, Foundations, NGOs, and others. This Winter school provides an ideal setting to network academically, personally and institutionally. 

The Learning Goal will be to become familiar with the present frontiers in ecological thinking and to consider how best to implement solutions in in projects and to challenge industrial designs worldwide. Students will have an experience to draw their own consequences from the theoretical and practical input they get, for they will design their own virtual projects that will be discussed and critiqued by the other participants. 

Students will receive an academic certificate from the Human Science Centre of the University of Munich, Germany. 

Six Interdisciplinary Areas have been identified for analysis which will start with historical overviews (areas 1-2), move on to basic anthropological, psychological and structural themes (areas 3-4) and continue with explorations of possible solutions through cognitive and spiritual transformation, and reform of economic structures (areas 5–6). 

Six Interdisciplinary Areas: 

1. Ecological World Views of Ancient Traditions as well as of major World Religions (Anthropology, History, Religious Studies) 

2. Why Did Ancient Civilizations Perish and Why is Humankind Facing an Ecological Disaster Today? (Anthropology, History, Religious Studies, Ecosciences) 

3. Major Reasons for a Lifestyle out of Balance (Aggressivity, Greed, Social and Economic Forces) and Realistic Possibilities for Change (Empathy and Resources for Proper Decision Making) (Neurosciences, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Psychology, Buddhist Studies) 

4. Cooperation and Competition in Social Systems (Economy, Psychology, Neurosciences, Religious Studies, Law, Biology) 

5. New Models of Education: Holistic Views on Creativity, the Realization of Interdependency and Sustainable Life Styles (Psychology, Philosophy, History, Buddhist Studies) 

6. Economics and Ecology: Toward a Vision of An Ecologically Sustainable Economic System (Ecosciences, Economics) 

The Teaching Program follows the classical scientific investigation in three steps: Hypothesis or Question, Test or Experiment, Thesis or Theory (Result). 

First Step: In order to get to know each other in person and to learn about the different approaches taken by the academic disciplines, the faculty members will introduce themselves and their academic discipline by asking the relevant and so often un-asked fundamental questions as well as reflect on methodological approaches to arrive at answers with regard to the six topics mentioned above. If possible, they should relate the six topics to each other. 

Second Step: The Winter School will NOT follow a top-down teaching method where students would be merely the objects of education, but will take an approach that will be project-oriented, with students as active participants in the learning process. It will involve workshops that include mutual questioning and feedback, and shared learning. Each student will choose one of the four areas (a–d, as outlined below) beforehand as a virtual field work to focus on, and apply the knowledge and strategies gained in the six areas mentioned above in order to suggest realistic and practicable strategies, motivations and applicable solutions in all the four areas. Anthropological, economic, psychological, educational, religious and other perspectives shall be addressed and integrated into a holistic approach. In this period of the program, students will work in stable groups for a designated time frame with rotating faculty mentoring the virtual projects during the process. 

Third Step: The “projects” will be presented (papers pre-distributed, power point) in the plenary. Here, the focus shall be on new strategies for understanding the six fields on basis of the group work. All presentations of projects should link their practical projects worked out in the groups with some of the six interdisciplinary areas in order to make a contribution to more comprehensive theories and at the same time include practical solutions. Suggestions and objections from other groups will be discussed in detail. Both theoretical consistency and realistic applicability are important criteria for an evaluation of the suggestions. 

Finally, students will write a thesis with a more specified title taken out of the area they have been working with in their group. In order to find a proper topic they shall approach one of the faculty members as a mentor. He/she shall discuss the topic and strategy for writing the paper with the student. The findings and insights from the plenary discussions (third step) shall be considered carefully. The paper will be presented after three months first to the mentor for evaluation and shall be made available later online for all the participants of the Winter School. 

1. Sources and Resources (Hypothesis) 

Introductory Lectures, ca. 45 Min each: Each Discipline/Professor describes the topic and method with regard to the six areas 

2. Fields of Activity (Test) 

(Virtual) Projects in four Groups, such as: 

a) Traffic/Transportation (Ecological impact of carbon-fueled vehicles: toward alternative ways of transportation) 

b) Production and Consumption (Compare Rural and Urban systems) 

c) Energy Production and Utilization (Sustainable Cycles, Saving Energy) 

d) Humanized Industrial Worlds (Resource Cycles, Productivity and Human Fulfilment, Cooperation and Competition) 

3. New Strategies (Thesis for each of the 6 fields) 

Plenaries, Results in reference to Sources and Resources (1) 

4. Paper 

Students will write a Paper on their chosen topic describing concrete steps for implementing their results.