How can sustainability be systematically integrated into engineering education? Students and lecturers from five countries addressed this question at the "Energy and Well-Being" Winter School at TU Ilmenau. They spent a week developing ideas together, discussing best practices and exchanging ideas on an international and interdisciplinary level. The Winter School was funded and organized as part of the Erasmus+ project "SUSEE".
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An interdisciplinary approach to sustainability - Winter School "Energy and Well-Being" at TU Ilmenau brings SUNRISE students together
For Nicola Balzarini, sustainability is a key topic for the future of electrical engineering. The student from Bolzano is particularly interested in organic materials that could replace conventional electronic materials in the future. To learn more about sustainability in engineering, the student took part in the SUSEE Winter School at TU Ilmenau. After a week of exchange with students from Europe, Nicola feels encouraged: "As a budding engineer, I want to help develop technologies that are environmentally friendly later on," says the student.
Ideas for more sustainability in university teaching
At the SUSEE Winter School "Energy and Well-Being", students like Nicola and lecturers from five countries had the opportunity to find out more about sustainability in the engineering sciences and to develop their own ideas for more sustainability in university teaching. The Winter School is part of the Erasmus+ project "Smaller Universities for Sustainability in Engineering Education(SUSEE)", which is being implemented under the leadership of the University of Information Technology and Management in Rzeszow and the SUNRISE alliance. Students, lecturers and scientists from the SUNRISE partner universities in France, Italy, Portugal and Poland as well as a lecturer from Karabük University in Turkey came to Ilmenau for the Winter School. The project participants are pursuing the common goal of developing teaching modules for more sustainability in engineering education and bringing them together in a joint handbook.
An interdisciplinary approach to sustainability
In interactive workshops, excursions and case studies, the participants examined the topic from various perspectives - including economic ones. Prof. Rainer Souren, Head of the Group for Sustainable Production and Logistics Management at TU Ilmenau, showed the students how economic efficiency and sustainability can work together:
Sustainability only works on an interdisciplinary basis - technology and economics must be considered together. It is not enough to just look at what is technically feasible. Sustainable action must also be economically feasible.
Prof. Jens Müller, Vice President for International Affairs and Transfer at TU Ilmenau, warmly welcomed the Winter School participants to TU Ilmenau. They received input on renewable energies from scientists such as Prof. Erich Runge and Prof. Christian Karcher - including laboratory tours of the machine hall in the Newton Building at TU Ilmenau and the Center for Micro and Nanotechnologies. The students also developed their own solutions for a sustainable future in a case study. They were accompanied by Fabian Bendisch, a member of the ThüLeNa - Thuringia Teaches and Learns Sustainably project.
Next Summer School in Italy
Dr. Heiner Dintera, who coordinated the SUSEE Winter School at TU Ilmenau together with his colleague Dr. Diana Moehrke-Rasul, sees the added value of the format in the personal exchange between the participants:
Personal contacts are central to such collaborations. The Winter School is an ideal opportunity to get to know each other and learn from each other. For smaller universities in particular, close cooperation offers the opportunity to broaden their own horizons and gain new impetus for teaching.
Following the successful premiere at TU Ilmenau, the project will be continued at other SUNRISE partner universities. The next SUSEE Summer School will take place in Italy from July 14 to 18, 2025. Interested parties can find more information here: https://susee-project.eu/
As part of the Winter School, the students were guests at Radio hsf. In the Ilmenau Sustainability Corner, they share their views on sustainability: https://www.radio-hsf.de/blog/67ebf8b22d6336b2f238b020