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South Westphalia International Sustainability Week

Blended Summer School 18 – 24 May 2025

 

There is no future without thinking, acting, and living sustainably.

Welcome to the blended South Westphalia International Sustainability Week

In summer 2025, we at South Westphalia UAS would like to invite you to our Erasmus+ International Sustainability Week where we will discuss sustainable futures by exploring the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), global guideposts for sustainable action. Together with our partners, we offer field-specific tracks as blended modules on individual SDGs in

  • agriculture,
  • business administration,
  • early childhood education
  • engineering,
  • and management.

Located near the Ruhr Area close to Dortmund in western Germany, we will all meet on the South Westphalia campus location Soest to explore what sustainability can be for us as individuals and in our various disciplines. Participating in field excursions, lab work, and group activities, students will acquire skills for sustainable awareness based on the framework of the Inner Development Goals (IDGs) tailored totheir disciplines and recognized in their home degree programs.

Come and join us for an exciting summer experience to contribute to a sustainable future!

Here are our field-specific tracks:

Track #1 - Agriculture

Sustainability in agricultural land use and food systems

In this module, we will discuss selected issues in agriculture (plant production and soil, livestock, ag engineering, socio-economics) and food systems more holistically. We look into methods on how to assess the sustainability of agricultural businesses (SAFA, SMART) and into innovations in agricultural land use and food systems aiming for higher levels of sustainability.

Module description

Track #2 - Business Administration

Collaborative Team Challenge

Offered in partnership with the Economic Development Department of the city of Hagen, the module addresses challenges across mobility, energy, social issues, environmental sustainability, and urban development. Participants will work on innovative solutions to these complex challenges, contributing to Hagen's sustainable growth.

Module description

Track #3 - Early Childhood Education

“Kids for Future”- exploring climate change in early childhood

How can we address climate change to children aged 6? Students and lecturers will discuss selected climate change challenges from an international perspective, develop hands-on ideas and create material that motivate children to explore technical issues. You will take these co-created ideas back into your home country and put them into practice with children, discuss with educators and evaluate their feasibility. We will exchange results, experiences and feedback in a follow-up online meeting.

Module description coming soon

Track #4 - Engineering

Applied Smart Building Systems

What is the impact of smart building systems on energy and resource efficiency? The module compares models for sustainable building efficiency from various countries participating in the International Sustainability Week. Bring your examples to our classroom

Module description

Track #5- Engineering

Hydrogen as a clean energy carrier

Hydrogen is regarded as one of the most important energy carriers for a sustainable energy supply. In this module, we will discuss the characteristics of hydrogen as well as the advantages and challenges of hydrogen as an energy carrier. We will look into stationary and mobile applications for hydrogen and develop a demonstrator that illustrates the generation and technical use of hydrogen.

Module description

Track #6 - Management

Sustainability of Companies

Participants will become acquainted with the basics of corporate social responsibility in relation to climate and environmental protection by familiarizing themselves with the sustainability management of companies. We will also deal with sustainability reporting and analyze the environmental impact of companies.

Module description

Financial support für participants:

Students: if you are a student of one of our partner universities, you can apply at your home university for an Erasmus+ grant for a Blended Intensive Programme. The funding can be up to €79 per day and if you travel by bus, train or car-pooling to Soest, you can get extra days of funding for the travel days as well.

Lecturers: if you are part of the teaching staff in one of the blended modules, you can apply at your home university for an Erasmus+ grant for a teaching staff mobility. You can receive a daily funding of €180 as well as travel support depending on the distance and means of travelling.

Registration opens January 2025

Looking forward to seeing you in May 2025!