Program

> All week

• Group work for the investigation of Wicked Challenges, with support provided by instructors
  Throughout the workshop, participants will work in teams that apply the concepts learned in the workshop to propose a task force (members and activities) for mitigating the spread of a vector-borne disease beyond its current endemic location or to  reduce the disease pressure in endemic region. At the end of the workshop, each team will present the goals, methods and stakeholders of their mitigation effort to all participants, followed by debate and discussion.
   

> Monday

• Welcome and introduction
   
• Teaching session 1 - Biology and cycles of vector-borne diseases (VBD)
  In this section, we will understand why and how fundamental knowledge of a pathosystem is a prerequisite for action. Disease cycles from emblematic examples of the three types of health will be presented, and a comparative analysis will highlight the key elements of the biology and ecology of these systems that are levers for detection and management.
   
• Special lecture by Florence Fournet on `Green cities and vector-borne diseases: emerging concerns', and Ice breaker among participants

> Tuesday

• Teaching session 2 - Habitats and dispersal for VBD
  Participants will learn how ecological, genetic, and spatial modeling tools can be integrated to understand and predict the dispersal patterns of vectors, as well as to identify areas of high disease risk.
   
• Teaching session 3 - Landscape ecology and impacts
  This session explores how landscape structure and land-use change influence vector-borne disease dynamics. It covers key ecological principles, impacts on vectors and hosts, and human-wildlife interfaces. Participants will engage with real-world examples and apply analytical tools through hands-on exercises.
   

> Wednesday

• Teaching session 4 - Case studies of habitat and social transitions in relation to management of VBD
  In this session, we will illustrate by concrete examples how integrated and multidisciplinary approaches, that involve stakeholders, can be mobilized to improve vector borne disease management in the context of habitat and social transitions (global change, urbanization, deforestation, social ban of pesticides, socio-technical transitions….).
   
• Teaching session 5 - Serious games
  In this session, we will demonstrate how 'serious games' can help address disease as a 'wicked problem' and encourage the development of innovative disease management strategies. We will present the case of the “I-Care” game, which aims to explore collaborative strategies for managing wheat pests, specifically Septoria and Vulpine. The game brings together key stakeholders, including farmers, cooperatives and representatives from the agrochemical sector. 
   

>  Thursday

• Teaching session 5 - Targeting and managing desired impacts
  Via insight from real-time research impact assessment and transformative science, participants will learn how to adapt the objectives, structure and management of research projects to better target the expected long term goals that effectively contribute to resolving societal challenges. They will apply this insight to identifying the transformative goals of the Wicked Challenge projects of their teams and the most pertinent stakeholders.
   
• Teaching session 6 - Models for the dynamics of VBD
  This session will introduce participants to the principles of modeling disease dynamics, starting with a general overview and a hands-on exercise using a user-friendly tool. Building on this foundation, the session will explore how to incorporate vectors into models of vector-borne diseases (VBDs), with applications to animals, humans, and plants. Participants will be then introduced to methods for fitting VBD models to data, before turning to agent-based approaches and a practical exercise allowing participants to explore their dynamics in a hands-on way.
   

> Friday morning

• Presentation of Wicked Challenges by the participants
   
• Group discussion, feedback...