How sustainability can be incorporated into teaching and research
Sustainability is a cross-cutting issue that affects all areas of life, including research and teaching. What is the current situation at our university? For example, what role do the 17 sustainability goals defined by the international community under the umbrella of the United Nations play in teaching and research at OVGU? The OVGU Sustainability Forum offers academics who are concerned with this topic and would like to anchor sustainability more explicitly in research and teaching, including through specific projects and activities at our university, a space to discuss sustainability in their work, share experiences and gather new ideas. Spokesperson Prof. Dr. Michael Bücher from the Department of Political Science introduces it.
What is the Sustainability Forum?
The Sustainability Forum has existed at OVGU since 2016, providing a forum for researchers and lecturers who deal with sustainability-related issues in their academic work and/or teaching. Sustainability is not only related to ecological issues, but also includes economic and social aspects, as understood by the well-known concepts of the "sustainability triangle" or the UN's "Sustainable Development Goals" (SDG). There is currently at least one meeting every semester.
Why was it created?
It was set up to provide a space for the exchange of experiences among OVGU academics working on this topic and to anchor the topic of sustainability more explicitly in research and teaching, including through specific projects and activities at OVGU.
What is discussed in the Sustainability Forum?
Current topics and projects relating to sustainability that are relevant to OVGU or are planned or ongoing at OVGU are discussed. The aim is to talk about current activities, research and ideas and to learn about, discuss or present new developments and ideas for research and teaching in the cross-cutting topic of sustainability. For example, the EU GREEN project was presented and the current research projects "KlimaPlanReal" and "SENATRA", which involve OVGU researchers, were discussed.
Who can get involved in the Sustainability Forum?
The Sustainability Forum serves the exchange between lecturers and researchers across institutes and faculties; however, enriching ideas "from outside" are also welcome.
Are there resolutions that are implemented?
As the Sustainability Forum is not an "official" body of OVGU, there are no formal "resolutions". However, good ideas are supported by many people and may end up in the relevant committees if their approval is required.
Sometimes ideas are developed that are then implemented: In the past, the Sustainability Forum gave rise to the very well-attended "Science Slam Sustainability 2019" event. The sustainability certificate at OVGU "NAO", which all OVGU students can obtain after graduation, was also the result of intensive discussions in the Sustainability Forum about how sustainability can be implemented in teaching.
Campus design is currently a major issue for the university. Is the Sustainability Forum getting involved?
The Sustainability Forum has so far been less involved in this area, as it does not primarily concern the field of research and teaching apart from new/additional teaching spaces. However, discussions about this could certainly be a topic at the next meetings. The next meeting will be on July 11, 2024.
Thank you very much for the interview, Professor Böcher.