In October 2022, the Sustainability Challenge started a new round. This is an interdisciplinary course (u:find), each of which extends over a period of two semesters. The Challenge was launched by RCE Vienna (Regional Centre of Expertise) and deals with topics of the Urban Sustainability Lab (SDGs and sustainable development). Kerstin Krellenberg and Yvonne Franz accompany the course as experts from a geographical perspective around the topic “city”. They are in charge of the “Service Learning” project of “klimaaktiv” (climate protection initiative of the Federal Ministry). The overall theme of this project is: Saving energy together – opportunities and challenges
Motivation
The examination of urban problems in the context of the Sustainability Challenge can be seen as a kind of “test bed” for the Urban Sustainability Lab. Cities today are confronted with many conflicts and challenges for which solutions and recommendations for action are needed.
Background
The Sustainability Challenge takes place in cooperation with several universities throughout Austria (WU Vienna, BOKU, TU Vienna, University of Vienna, die Angewandte, University of Graz & Mozarteum Salzburg). Experts from these universities will supervise various projects that students will implement together with practice partners during the winter and summer semesters of 2022/2023.
Implementation
The Sustainability Challenge aims to strengthen and further develop the commitment to a sustainable future among participants. To achieve this, concrete steps are planned in the course of the two semesters:
After an introduction at the beginning of the first semester, there is a team-building meeting to get to know each other better as a group. The opportunity to make further contacts was given at the kick-off event in the Kuppelsaal of the TU Wien on October 17, 2022 (see picture gallery). While the goal of the service-learning project groups will be to create a concept by the end of the first semester, the participants of the start-up groups will formulate a business model. Two teaching conferences and consultation hours with experts will also be held during the two semesters. Finally, at the end of the second semester, the implementation phase takes place. Afterwards, there will be a touch-down event on June 23, 2023 in the Festsaal of WU Wien, where the final results of the individual groups will be presented.
