Balancing People, Planet, and Prosperity

"It's really important to look at what people want, what the economy needs, and also not forget ecosystem health."

That simple idea is what first drew Kai Nijhuis to the Summer School in Indonesia.

As a Master's student in Marine Biology at the University of Groningen, Kai has spent much of his academic journey studying marine protected areas and biodiversity conservation. Yet, for him, protecting nature has never been only about ecosystems. It is also about understanding the people who depend on them and finding solutions that work for society as a whole.

The opportunity to explore those different perspectives came through the Summer School, themed Building Resilience Highland to Ocean (H2O): The Role of Nature-Based Solutions in Supporting a Sustainable Blue Economy. Organised under the Higher Education Partnership for a Sustainable Blue Economy (STABLE), one of the Higher Education Institution (HEI) Clusters supported through SCOPE-HE, the EU–ASEAN Sustainable Connectivity Package – Higher Education Programme, the Summer School brings together students, researchers and academics from Europe and Southeast Asia to exchange knowledge and strengthen collaboration under the European Union's Global Gateway strategy.

Learning How a Blue Economy Is Built

Before coming to Indonesia, Kai's studies had largely focused on marine systems where policies and management frameworks were already well established. What surprised him most during the Summer School was the opportunity to understand what happens long before those systems are in place.

"In Groningen, we mostly learn about a Blue Economy when it's already established," he says. "Here, they showed us the process of establishing one."

For Kai, this offered a perspective he had not encountered before.

"I hadn't really heard about the challenges of making policies, getting funding, or deciding how marine protected areas should be organised," he explains. "I like that they tell us about the process because I missed that a bit in my education."

Rather than focusing only on the end result, the programme exposed participants to the complex decisions behind building a sustainable Blue Economy—from governance and financing to marine spatial planning and stakeholder engagement.