Faces Behind the Course: Meet the Team Behind the Environmental Collaboration and Conflict Resolution (ECCR) Network
Spring 2026 brings an exciting opportunity to engage with timely and thought-provoking topics through UniPID Virtual Studies. This ECCR course equips students with practical tools for collaborative governance and conflict resolution in the face of complex sustainability challenges. Discover the course and secure your place!
A New UniPID Course on Collaboration and Conflict Resolution
“Collaborative Approaches and Conflict Resolution Strategies for Sustainability Challenges” is the new UniPID course coordinated by the Environmental Collaboration and Conflict Resolution (ECCR), a global network and course series dedicated to fostering collaborative approaches to environmental governance and conflict resolution. Through teaching, research and international partnerships, the ECCR promotes the co-creation of knowledge and development of skills for addressing complex environmental challenges.
The network is led by the University of Eastern Finland in collaboration with the College of Business Education (Tanzania), the University of Jyväskylä (Finland), the Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (Indonesia), Makerere University (Uganda), and the Portland State University, the National Policy Consensus Center (USA).
Building on this strong institutional and international collaboration, the relevance of ECCR’s work becomes particularly evident in today’s geopolitical climate and complex sustainability challenges, where collaboration seems more important than ever. Since its launch in 2016, the ECCR has brought together academics, practitioners, and students to explore and practice collaborative approaches to environmental and natural resources governance.
In addition to its in-person course series, the ECCR is now launching an online course focused on collaborative approaches and conflict resolution strategies for sustainability challenges. The motivation to develop an online version of the ECCR course arose from the partner’s needs to introduce relevant theories with practical examples on collaborative governance to their students. Therefore, the ECCR in collaboration with UniPID, offers a course that explores theories, tools and practices that foster collaborative approaches and conflict resolution strategies.
What to expect from the online course?
This course offers a foundational understanding of theoretical and methodological approaches to collaboration and conflict resolution strategies in the context of sustainability challenges. Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:-
Understand and apply key theoretical frameworks for collaboration and conflict resolution;
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Understand preconditions for success regarding conflict resolution and collaborative processes;
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Understanding key building blocks of problem-solving processes and how to apply them in planning interventions;
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Explore participatory problem-solving approaches, including collaborative governance and partnerships;
- Apply and critically reflect on course content through case studies.
Completion methods
The course consists of five modules (four in an asynchronous format and one including synchronous sessions). At the end of each module, students must complete and pass a multiple-choice exam to proceed to the next module. To complete the course, students will analyze a case study of their choice and deliver a 15-minute PowerPoint presentation based on their findings during an online group session with a mentor. These sessions will be organized to accommodate different time zones.The course modules will be available from February to May 2026, and the live sessions will be arranged during May, based on participants’ time zones.
Get to know the teaching staff:
- Irmeli Mustalahti, Professor at the University of Eastern Finland (UEF), the chair of the ECCR network whose research focuses on people’s participation in natural resource governance.
- Ida Herdieckerhoff, doctoral researcher at UEF, has been coordinating ECCR activities since 2025.
- Lasse Peltonen, Professor of environmental governance and conflict resolution, enriches the course through his understanding of environment-related conflict and experience in their resolution.
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Dr Rijal Ramdani, Director of International Program of Government Affairs and Administration at the Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (UMY), adds expertise in collaborative governance related to fires and palm oil plantations, enriching the course with perspectives from Southeast Asia.
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Ubaldus Tumaini, Senior Lecturer at the College of Business Education (CBE) in Tanzania, with a background in development studies adds his expertise in co-learning processes in Tanzania.
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Kristen Wright, the Interim Director at the National Policy Consensus Centre at Portland State University, contributes practical experience in conflict resolution and collaborative approaches, helping students to connect theory and practice.
Curious about the course? Explore more details and information about the course, and secure your place by 25 January here: https://www.unipid.fi/virtual-studies/collaborative-approaches-and-conflict-resolution-strategies-for-sustainability-challenges/
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Photo credits: Afriyandi Setiawan, 2024 on UnSplash.
