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“Learning” as a way out of unsustainability

The policy seminar with Katrien Van Poeck and Leif Östman, held at CIRCLE, was a light-hearted and informal gathering of researchers keen on discussing the concept of learning.

– Published 4 December 2024

Three researchers at a table laughing together. Photo.
Leif Östman expresses his joy over the interest of learning and teaching in the gathered group of researchers. In this photo: Mart Laatsit, coordinator of the CIRCLE innovation policy theme hosting the seminar with invited guests Leif Östman, professor of curriculum studies at Uppsala University and Katrien Van Poeck, associate professor at Ghent University's department of Political Sciences.

Katrien Van Poeck started the presentation by describing “learning” as a hot topic mentioned in many published research articles, but also pointing out that merely talking about it doesn’t make us knowledgeable on a deeper level. 

She moved on to presenting an analytical framework for understanding how learning happens in the context of sustainable transition, where she expressed:

– The best way to learn about a situation is to try and change it.

Katrien handed over the baton, or laser pointer in this case, to Leif Östman, and we were taken deeper into the theory of the analytical steps of the framework.

The gathered researchers were looking for inspiration for their own transformation related research, such as transformation in energy, water resources and value chains, and they continued the discussion well into the lunch break. One angle raised was the idea of learning and unlearning being the missing pieces of transformation.


To learn more, read the paper “Opening up the black box of learning-by-doing in sustainability transitions” by Katrien Van Poeck, Leif Östman and Thomas Block.

New perspectives on innovation policy

The seminar was hosted by CIRCLE’s research theme “New perspectives on innovation policy”