Ariane König is Assistant Professor of Regenerative Social-Ecological Systems at the University of Luxembourg. She and her team are engaged in research projects to facilitate and learn from social processes with experts and stakeholders to co-design, set up, scale up, and transfer ideas from place-based projects to regenerate diverse and climate resilient ecosystems, also as basis for human health, well-being and flourishing. The research focus is on food and water and land-use systems as well as ecosystems as tightly coupled social-ecological-technological systems. The work seeks to better understand and act on the interdependencies and feedback loops between transformations within the spheres of society, technology, ecology and the personal spheres. Much of the research work is in the form of participatory inquiry and develops and implements methods for collaborative systems mapping and scenario approaches and citizen science. König also built and coordinates an innovative study programme in “Sustainability and Social Innovation” that seeks to equip change agents and is open to students and professionals. Apart from her membership of the national government advisory gremium Observatoire de la Politique Climatique, König is a member of the European Statistical Advisory Committee and has completed two terms as a member of the national Conseil Supérieur pour un Développement Durable.
König obtained her Bachelor and Ph.D. in Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge, Emmanuel College. She also completed a first trimester on European Law and Competition Law of the Master in European Law, Government and Policy at the London School of Economics. Her first employment was as Regulatory Affairs Manager in the agrifood section of a leading multinational life science corporation. Her role at the interface of science, the law, politics and public acceptance involved compiling and presenting environmental and health impact assessment data and engagement in regulatory processes in over 30 countries, three continents and at EU level. Thereafter she joined the universities of Harvard and Oxford, where she conducted research and taught post-graduate and executive training courses on governance of new technologies and risk, with a focus on sustainable agricultural food production and the co-production of science, technology, knowledge and social norms and practices. She has also worked as an independent scientific consultant for the OECD, the European Commission, and EU research consortia. She has over 50 publications, her most recent book ‘Sustainability Science: Key Issues’ was published by Routledge in 2018.
Motto: Let’s work together for healthy ecosystems, social systems and lifestyles!
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