Freie Universität Berlin and 4 other universities join forces in the University Alliance for Sustainability

Five universities – Freie Universität Berlin (UNICA member university), Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Peking University, St. Petersburg State University and the University of British Columbia – joined forces and in 2015 established the University Alliance for Sustainability. The initiative aims to develop research and teaching projects in the area of sustainability through different types of activities happening at Freie Universität Berlin.

 

The University Alliance for Sustainability offers three types of activities:

  • Annual sustainability spring campus in Berlin, where research and management incubators, as well as intensive training for doctoral students, will take place,
  • Teaching Incubators for academics in charge of teaching activities from relevant partners’ departments at Freie Universität Berlin, and
  • Management Incubators for management staff, where participants will be able to share best practices in sustainable campus management and develop joint projects. Furthermore, several mobility programmes, such as senior, junior and student research stays abroad, sustainability volunteer swap, explorative research visits and administrators’ explorative stays abroad will be implemented throughout the year of 2015-2018.

 

The alliance is under the patronage of Prof. Dr. Dr. Klaus Töpfer, former Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, and is funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).

 

Throughout the year, it is expected that the efforts in research and teaching, as well as the exchange of experiences in campus management, will make the University Alliance for Sustainability an incubator of ideas and an example for other universities to follow suit.

 

Freie Universität Berlin is an active member of UNICA GREEN initiative. Dr Andreas Wanke, Head of Energy and Environmental Unit at the Freie Universität Berlin, currently chairs the UNICA GREEN Core Group.

 

Read more about the project in the leaflet