Renata SOUKAND

·       PERSONAL INFORMATION

Family name, First name: Sõukand, Renata

Researcher unique identifiers: G-8243-2012, http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0413-8723

Date of birth: 04.04.1974

E-mail: renata.soukand@unive.it

URL for web site:  https://www.unive.it/data/persone/15846376

·       CURRENT POSITION

01/2018                        Associate Professor, DAIS, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia, Italy

·       PREVIOUS POSITIONS

08/2017-01/2018           Research Fellow, DAIS, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia, Italy

06/2017-07/2017           Independent researcher

04/2006–05/2017          Researcher, Department of Folkloristic, Estonian Literary Museum, Estonia

01/2008–02/2017          President, Kuldvillane LCC, Estonia.

09/2009–01/2010          Research fellow, Science Centre, Tartu University Library, Tartu, Estonia.

09/2004–08/2005          ISFNR congress secretary, Estonian Literary Museum, Tartu, Estonia.

09/2000–06/2004          Project Manager, Museum of Tartu University History, Tartu, Estonia.

04/1996–08/2000          Consultant, Leks Insurance LTD, Tartu, Estonia.

·       EDUCATION

09/2004–12/2010          PhD in Semiotics and Cultural Studies. Faculty of Philosophy, University of Tartu, Estonia

09/2000–06/2003          MSc in Environmental Technology. Faculty of Chemistry, University of Tartu, Estonia

09/1992–06/1999          BSc (equivalent to MA since 2004) in Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tartu, Estonia

·       RECEIVED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT GRANTS, acting as PI: 

2017-2022        ERC Starting Grant “Ethnobotany of divided generations in the context of centralization”. Project no: DiGe-714874, 1 496 675 EUR

2016-2018        Developmental grant by Foreign Ministry of Estonia” Developmental cooperation between Estonian Literary Museum and Center of Belarusian Culture Studies, Language and Literature”. Project no: 69-2016-A, 50 680 EUR.

2015–2016       Developmental grant by Foreign Ministry of Estonia “Increasing of scientific and educational capabilities and internationalization of humanitarian and social science institutions in Belarus”. Project no: 66-2015-A, 27 505 EUR.

2014–2018       Research and Development program “Estonian Language and Cultural Memory II” project “Resource publication of Estonian ethnobotany: interpretation of nature culture“, EKKM14–300, 55 000 EUR.

2009–2013       Research and Development program “Estonian Language and Cultural Memory” project “HERBA and satellite databases”, EKKM09–84, 48 878 EUR.

2007–2008       Enterprise Estonia research project “Preliminary study into identifying new medical herbs on the basis of folklore records”, EU27440, 12 659 EUR.

2006–2009       Research and Development program “Estonian Language and National Memory” project “HERBA” EKRM06–68, 27 993 EUR.

·       SUPERVISION OF STUDENTS

09/2018                      3 PhD students under supervision – Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Italy

09/2011–09/2017          1 PhD student – Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences / Estonian University of Life Sciences / Estonia.

2005–2011                      2 MA and 2 BSc (before 2008, 5 years of study, equivalent to MA) students supervised – Department of Pharmacy / Faculty of Medicine / University of Tartu / Estonia.

·       TEACHING ACTIVITIES                                  

2019, 2020       Ethnobotany – Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Italy / (6 ECTS) course for doctoral students, in English.

2018, 2019       Global change biology /Biodiversity and Global Change – Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Italy / (6 ECTS) course for international master students, in English.

2018                Fermentation in Eastern Europe – University of Gastronomic Sciences, Pollenzo, Italy / (2 ECTS) course for international master students, in English.

2017                Wild food of Estonia – University of Gastronomic Sciences, Pollenzo, Italy / (2.5 ECTS) course for international master students, in English.

2015/2016, 2014/2015 and 2011/2012    Introduction to ethnobotany – Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences / Estonian University of Life Science / Estonia (6 ECTS). Conducted in E-learing and classroom format.

2009                 Cultural heritage – Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences / Estonian University of Life Science (3 ECTS).

2008                Medicine as culture – Department of Semiotics / University of Tartu / Estonia (3 ECTS). Conducted in E-learning format.

·       FIELDWORK

2019                 Ethnobotanical work in Estonia, Lithuania and Belarus (in sum 2 months), Iraq (2 weeks), Tajikistan (1 week) and Armenia (1 week).

2018                 Ethnobotanical fieldwork in Setumaa, Estonia (6 weeks), Azerbaijan (3 weeks), Finland (1 week), and Georgia (1 week)

2017                 Ethnobotanical fieldwork in Ukraine (1 week), Latvia (1 week), Azerbaijan (2 weeks) and Iraq (1 week)

2016                 Ethnobotanical fieldwork in Belarus (1 week) and Ukraine (3 weeks)

2015                 Ethnobotanical fieldwork in Kosovo, Ukraine and Romania, every 1 week.

2014-2016        Ethnomedicinal and wild edible plants of Saaremaa, 3 month.

2011–2013        Wild edible plants, Estonia 3 months.

1999, 2001       Folkloristic fieldwork in Kullamaa, Estonia 2 weeks each year.

·       ORGANISATION OF INTERNATIONAL COURSES

2014                 Main organiser and teaching scholar for the intensive summer course “Designing and conducting ethnobiological research in Eastern Europe” Saaremaa, Estonia, June 29 – July 05, 2014. Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Estonian University of Life Science, 5 ECTS, 22 post-grad students from 7 European countries, 7 teaching scholars. http://folklore.ee/ethnobio

·       ORGANISATION OF SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS

2010                Main organiser of the First Eastern-European regional workshop “Old treasures in the new Europe: the future of ethnobiology in the East and Far East”. Tallinn, Estonia 15–18 October 2010, 35 international participants (http://www.folklore.ee/~renata/workshop/default.htm). Organized under the official patronage of the International Society of Ethnobiology. This established a tradition, as the 4th workshop will be organized in 2016 in Turkey.

2005                Responsible secretary of “Folk Narrative Theories and Contemporary Practices” (14th Congress of the International Society for Folk Narrative Research (ISFNR)). Tartu, Estonia 26.–31. July 2005. Over 300 international participants.

2004 – 2008     Main organiser of first five workshops in the MEDICA series, including two international workshops. Approximately 30 participants in every workshop.

·       REVIEWED FOR SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS – over 150 verified reviews: https://publons.com/researcher/378566/renata-soukand/peer-review/

·       INTERNATIONAL PROJECT REVIEWER

2020     Expert panel member for Archimedes Foundation Structural Funds Agency, Estonia

2018     Member of International Review Panel for HERA Joint Research Programme “Public Spaces: Culture and Integration in Europe.”

·       MEMBERSHIP IN COMISSIONS and COMMITTEES

2019     PhD evaluation committee at the University of Oslo, Norway

2019     Estonian Research Council Scientific Advisory Committee member for Humanities panel

2018     PhD program commission, Environmental Sciences, Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Italy

·       MEMBERSHIPS OF EDITORIAL BOARDS OF INTERNATIONAL JOURNALS

01/2016 –         Editorial Board member Journal of Ethnobiology

04/2013 –         Editorial Board member Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine.

06/2011 –         Associate Editor. TANG: International Journal of Genuine Traditional Medicine.

·       MAJOR COLLABORATORS (several joint publications and non-formal research projects)

Andrea Pieroni – University of Gastronomic Sciences / Italy

Cassandra L. Quave – Emory University / Center for the Study of Human Health / USA.

Ingvar Svanberg – Uppsala Centre for Russian and Eurasian Studies / Uppsala University / Sweden.

Łukasz Łuczaj – Department of Botany and Biotechnology of Economic Plants / Institute of Applied Biotechnology and Basic Sciences / University of Rzeszów / Poland.

Manuel Pardo-de-Santayana – Departamento de Biología / Universidad Autónoma de Madrid / Spain.

·         IMPACT ON SCIENCE

Articles in all databases of ISIWoS/Scopus = 41/44, h-index =14/15, sum of citations ISIWoS (without self-citations) = 411 (30.03.2020).

I have published 44 peer-reviewed articles in international journals, being leading or only author for 19 articles, corresponding author for other 9 articles and senior (last) author for 5, signalling substantial contribution. Seven more articles are currently under review.

·       MEMBERSHIPS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES

2009 –              Member of International Society of Ethnobiology.

2007 –              Member of Society for Economic Botany, elected Council Member for 2014–2017.

2005 –              Member of Estonian Semiotics Association.

2004 –              Member of Estonian Naturalists' Society.

·       POPULARIZATION OF SCIENCE

2011–2017        Results of work have been featured repeatedly in interviews on national TV (Aktuaalne kaamera), radio (Teaduslabor), and in newspapers (Postimees, Päevaleht, Maaleht).

2012 – 2013      The popular science article “Interpreting History through Changes in Herbal Landscape” was published in Frankfurter Allgemeine (15.03.12), El País (29.08.12), IlSore24ORE (18.10.13) through Atomium Culture popularization of sciences initiative.

2008–2012        Three short popular courses on historical plant use, Estonian Folklore Council.

2007–2015       Over twenty invited lectures to schools and adult education programs in Estonia, including twice at European Researchers’ Night.

·       FELLOWSHIPS AND AWARDS

2013                EMP/Norway Scholarship for a short visit to Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norwegian Centre for Child Research for preparation of a joint grant application for EMP/Norway research grant. March 2013.

2012                Royal Anthropological Institute (RAI), scholarship for participation at the conference “Anthropology in the World” 8–11.06.12, GB, London; oral presentation.

2010                Diploma in PhD students’ research competition for the doctoral dissertation “Herbal Landscape” awarded by the Archimedes Foundation.

2010                Open Science Network in Ethnobiology (OSN) scholarship for attending the 2nd Annual meeting of the OSN and the 51st Annual Meeting of the Society for Economic Botany. June 5–10, 2010 Mexico.

2010                DoRa (Estonia) scholarship for attending the pre-congress student workshop and 12th International Congress of Ethnobiology. May 9–14, 2010, Canada, Tofino.

2006                Prime scholarship for the presentation “How to read the text on herbal healing” at the conference “Young scientists in science history” (Estonian Academy of Young Scientists). 20. April 2006.

2005                Yearly silver award (2004) from the journal Academia for the article “Medicinal plants in Estonian folk medicine: historical background, collection and analysis of ethnopharmacological data”.

2000– 2014      Personal awards from Cultural Endowment of Estonia for developing HERBA, years 2000, 2008–2011, editing and translating articles 2010, 2011 and for attending conferences 2012–2014.

·       LANGUAGE SKILLS

SPEAKING                              READING        WRITING

ESTONIAN (native):                 fluent                            fluent                fluent

ENGLISH (C2):                        near fluent                    fluent                very good

RUSSIAN (C2):                        fluent                            fluent                very good

UKRAINIAN (C1):                   near fluent                    fluent                            good

ITALIAN (B2)                          good                             very good                     good