Department of Economics and Social Sciences (WiSo)

Sustainable management...

... of scarce natural resources and environmental goods
Scientific analysis...

... of economic, political and social processes, as well as technological and social innovations
Bioeconomy...

... knowledge-based production and use of biological resources for a sustainable economy
Our courses...

... cover economic, social, political and legal sciences
Integration...

... of approaches from economic and social sciences with natural sciences and engineering
Understanding consumer behaviour...

... for satisfied customers and innovative products

weiter zurück

Transformations towards sustainability? Novel perspectives from Social Ecology.

Online lecture series.

The world is facing critical challenges, from climate change to the overuse of natural resources and the loss of natural habitats. Societies will need to undergo important transformations to become more sustainable. Leading these transformations requires a better understanding of nature-society interactions, as well as innovative ideas to apply scientific knowledge. This lecture series, offered by young scholars working at the Institute for Social Ecology, will reveal cutting edge results from the field of social ecology, and provide reflections and solutions on how this knowledge can contribute to a more sustainable society.

Who we are

The department accommodates all economic, social, political and legal research and teaching activities at BOKU. We are a unique academic organisation in this field in Austria and internationally.

We synthesize economic, ecological, sociological and ethical aspects. Innovation, inter- and transdisciplinarity as well as internationality define our department culture.

The fields of research and teaching are:

Economics, policy and law of the agricultural, energy, food and forest sector,
Sustainable development and societal transformation,
Management of biological resources and environmental policy and history,
Management strategies of biogenic value added chains,
Governance, rural development and agricultural sociology,
Optimisation and evaluation of managerial and economic processes in agriculture, forestry and the timber industry as well as in the environmental and food sector.
Social ecology and societal metabolism.