Digital brainstorming - numerous ideas for a sustainable university

Brainstorming is known as a creative method of generating ideas. In particular, it promotes creativity to actively think about or participate in a particular topic. For this process, one usually needs time and the necessary motivation to deal with a topic. Many university stakeholders do not always have this time available in their everyday university life. For this reason, the organizers are more than surprised by the large number of constructive submissions and are pleased that sustainability is seen as a major issue at the University of Kassel by both students and staff. 

Among the 160 submissions, many ideas and suggestions were received, dealing with topics such as nutrition (more vegetarian dishes in the cafeteria, abandonment of disposable packaging in the dining halls), mobility (e.g. e-bike leasing for employees, expansion of charging stations for e-cars and e-bikes), area design on campus (more green spaces, trees and flowering meadows), the use, or ordering, of recycled paper and sustainable office supplies, and the installation of drinking water dispensers.

But there are also many wishes with regard to sustainability-related research and teaching. These include, for example, the introduction of obligatory sustainability teaching in the course of studies and better internal as well as supra-regional networking.

In addition, concrete ideas were expressed for improved coordination structures for the sustainability area as well as for improved information work and sensitization to environmental and sustainability aspects.

A large number of the students show great motivation and commitment in terms of participation and making contributions. However, they would also like the university to create appropriate framework conditions for co-design in the future. 

In order not to let the process end with the brainstorming action, the organizers, the Integrated Sustainability Management in Operations, the Office for Environmental Profile Development and the AStA, invited to a joint exchange on the topic of sustainable development in university operations, with the Chancellor, Dr. Oliver Fromm, on October 9, 2020. At the event, the results of the brainstorming were presented and discussed for interested parties.

The ideas and wishes of the employees and students will now be processed and subsequently presented on the website on environment and sustainability. All contributions are seen as helpful suggestions for research, teaching and operations, which should be taken into account in future planning. The goal is to involve university stakeholders more in the future and to create transparent structures, thereby involving all those interested in the topic in the process of sustainable development at the university.

Contact:

Integrated Sustainability Management in Operations
Department V - Construction, Technology, Real Estate
Group VC - Occupational Safety and Environmental Protection

Georg Mösbauer
Nadine Chrubasik

E-mail: nachhaltigeuni@uni-kassel.de