Commitments for Future - Sustainability in Higher Education

30th Mar – 3rd Apr 2020 09:00 – 17:30

Freie Universität Berlin is the first university in Germany to declare a climate emergency and thus to join renowned international universities that make the topic of climate protection and  sustainability the focus of their institutional practice.

In 2019, social movements raised awareness of climate change and sustainability in public and scientific discourse, urging political leaders, business executives, and public institutions to “act now, not later”. This discourse has also reached Higher Education Institutions around the world. While sustainability has been increasingly rooted in research, teaching, and on the university campus, the current development has brought a new political and social dimension to campus:

How do universities as public institutions respond to calls for action from their community and stakeholders?
How do universities shape their governance structures in light of new participatory demands?
How does the current discourse impact the societal and political role of universities?

This conference will focus on addressing these commitment questions, as well as the core pillars of Higher Education Institutions: research, teaching, campus & management, and transfer & outreach activities.

Researchers, practitioners and PhD students are invited to submit contributions for the research and management workshops. Further information and the calls for contributions for the Spring Campus Conference 2020 are available on this website: https://www.fu-berlin.de/en/sites/spring-campus/03_Program/index.html

Please contact UAS network manager Katrin Schweigel (Katrin.schweigel@fu-berlin.de) with any questions.