Fields of Action

This dimension focuses on sustainability as a research topic. We discuss what a sustainable future might look like and how to achieve it, questions of debate in all disciplines. Topics include the climate, the environment, energy, and natural resources as well as cultural heritag, diversity, education, social institutions, and social development.

Most sustainability issues involve muliple political and societal interests and require a multidisciplinary approach. Thus, we should also reflect critically upon our own research on sustainability. Self-reflection in science and scholarship fosters development because it encourages different ways of thinking.

Education is a university's most effective tool for influencing society and meeting its public obligations. Thus, we need to ask how students can become educated citizens able to take part in and lead public discourse on what is worth protecting and how to do so.  Education is a complex but major responsibility and we need to think about how to foster a serious concern for a sustainable future in our students.

Political and social institutions involved in sustainable development should also be transparent and authentic with regard to their own development. This is equally true for a University for a Sustainable Future, both in its design and governance and at every institutional level. Thus, we also look at how we can manage our institution sustainably.