“European collaboration is a key factor”
“Our transdisciplinary master’s programme TRACEE allows students to live and study in three different European countries. In addition to subject knowledge they learn to see things from widely varying perspectives. Hopefully this inspires humility and diversity”, says Anna Sobek, Head of the Department of Environmental Science and Professor of Environmental Chemistry at Stockholm University.
TRACEE – Transdisciplinary Studies of Climate, Environment and Energy – is the result of an educational collaboration within the European university alliance CIVIS. All of the eleven partner universities participate in TRACEE, with Stockholm University as programme host. The autumn of 2025 saw the launch of the programme where students study their first semester in Stockholm. Depending on their chosen specialisation they then continue their studies in for instance Salzburg, Lausanne or Glasgow.
Anna Sobek, Head of the Department of Environmental Science and Professor of Environmental Chemistry, sees great value in European collaboration.
TRACEE blends natural sciences, social sciences, humanities and law, aiming to prepare the students with tools to address some of the world’s greatest challenges: climate change, energy transitions and environmental crises. Anna Sobek teaches on one of the courses on the programme: Climate, Energy, and Environment – a Transdisciplinary Perspective.
“Exactly the type of students that we dreamed of”
“We have thirteen students, from Europe and beyond, this first round. Right now we’re in the middle of the selection process for autumn 2026, hoping to admit between twenty and thirty students for the second round of TRACEE. The students who started last autumn are amazing: curious, motivated and dedicated. Exactly the type of students that we dreamed of when creating this study programme”, Anna Sobek says enthusiastically.
As the TRACEE students head off to different European countries, depending on their respective study path, she and her colleagues, at Stockholm University and the other CIVIS universities, continue to look after them. They keep in touch online and have regular digital meetings.
Some of the TRACEE students at the beginning of the autumn semester 2025 at Stockholm University.
A unique focus on education
At the Department of Environmental Science, European and other international collaborations take place the whole time. What makes CIVIS and TRACEE unique, according to Anna Sobek, is the fact that eleven universities have joined forces to give a master’s programme that is open to all students with a bachelor’s degree in any subject.
Within CIVIS, Stockholm University is responsible for establishing hubs for joint courses and programmes, research partnerships and collaboration on various societal challenges. The vision and ideas behind TRACEE were born within the hub for climate, environment and energy. One of the driving forces behind the master's programme is Alasdair Skelton, Professor of Geochemistry and Petrology at Stockholm University.
“Considering the troubling times that we live in, with wars in Europe and the Middle East, this type of partnership is especially important”, Anna Sobek thinks.
“We are all affected by what’s happening in one way or another, regardless of national borders, and we have to try to deal with the situation by acting for change and development. European collaboration is a key factor.”
Intercultural collaboration sometimes involves certain challenges. Examination systems, IT platforms etc. need to be synchronised. Sometimes there are cultural misunderstandings in communication.
“Things work differently in different countries; it's a continuous learning process. This applies to both teachers and students. You grow a lot on a personal level and find new ways to collaborate”, Anna Sobek concludes with a smile.
Last updated: 2026-05-21
Source: Communications Office