BTU overview
Faculty 5
Chair of Sociology of Technology and the Environment Prof. Dr. phil. Melanie Jaeger-Erben

BTU4future - Participatory climate protection

The transdisciplinary module "BTU4future" has been available since summer semester 2022 - open to all students who want to deal with climate protection and sustainable development in a very practical way!

Information on the module: 13710 - BTU4future - Transdisciplinary module for climate protection and sustainable development

In the summer semester 2024, the FÜS module "BTU4future" consists of the following courses

Link to the Moodle course: https://www.b-tu.de/elearning/btu/course/view.php?id=13217

BTU4future logo

Core idea and objective

At the BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg, research is being conducted in various disciplines on climate protection as well as sustainable development. Whether the project of sustainable development succeeds, however, depends not least on whether the manifold interconnections of climate change and social injustice are understood in their complexity. This requires suitable teaching formats that illuminate the problem of the climate crisis as an interdisciplinary cross-cutting issue and translate it into concrete knowledge for action.

The teaching project "BTU4future - Climate Protection Participatively" develops an innovative didactic concept that bundles inter- and transdisciplinary perspectives and competencies and encourages, supports and actively involves the broadest possible student body as central shapers of sustainable development.

I will recommend this module to other students because of the active project work and the chance to help shape the university. It would be desirable if more projects and modules of this kind were offered at the university."(Course participant from the winter semester 2022/ 23)

In order to strengthen participation and practical relevance, a project workshop was set up: students should be motivated to discover their own creative spaces and to develop educational and action formats co-creatively in small groups. The aim of the project workshop is for students to develop a critical understanding of universities as actors/locations for sustainable development and then to conceive and implement their own climate protection project ideas.

"The topics of the lecture series are very diverse and people from different courses are motivated to work together on something." (Course participant from summer semester 2022)

I met a lot of cool students with whom it was possible to implement a good idea." (Course participant from summer semester 2022)

Our local practice partners:

  • BTU's Information, Communication and Media Center (IKMZ/MMZ)
  • Fridays for Future Cottbus
  • Architects for Future Cottbus
  • Fablab Cottbus
  • Network of open workshops
  • Green University Group StuRa

What has happened so far?

The teaching project "BTU4future - participatory climate protection" has already successfully run through several semesters (since summer semester 22). In the first run of the project, the focus was on examining one's own university as an actor in sustainable development and the students initially only made individual interventions (including helping to design the Car-Free Campus Day). In the subsequent rounds, concrete project ideas were developed and implemented.

Projects that were created or supported in the BTU4Future module:

MINT CHALLENGE award

Award

In March 2023, the BTU4future module was recognized as a "Best Practice" project as part of the 5th MINT Challenge.
AWARD

Media reports on the lecture series in summer semester 2022

"The officers and their research work gave a great insight into where your own journey could take you in research - contacts were made and it was generally very encouraging." (Course participant from the summer semester 2022)

Reports on the BTU4Future festival at the end of the module in the winter semester 2022/2023

Car-free university day, part of the 2023 summer semester