INSOMNIA 2013: Interdisciplinary summer school

INSOMNIA 2013, a pilot interdisciplinary summer school for students, took place at the Molėtai observatory on August 12 – 16, 2013.
It has brought together 14 students of sociology, applied mathematics, political science and computer science and 10 experienced mentors from several major Lithuanian universites and research institutions.

Students worked in 4 mixed teams on a research sprint to tackle the following real-life problems:

• Which parties have the greatest chance of addressing specific lobby interests?
• Who has the most chances of winning the parliamentary elections in single-member districts?
• What influences the environmental attitudes and behaviour of Lithuanians?
• What factors affect the distribution of crime in 50 municipalities?

The summer school provided students with an opportunity to get hands-on research experience, learn the benefits (and challenges) of working with students from other disciplines and deliver a tangible result within very limited time. Practical skills were focused on the application of SPSS and R platforms for data analysis and visualisation. The process was enhanced by team-building and leisure activities. The informal atmosphere and day-long availability of mentors ensured an open and creative learning space.